MUScoop
MUScoop => The Superbar => Topic started by: shoothoops on August 18, 2020, 10:43:43 AM
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The USTA has reported its first positive test out of 1400 tests for the two upcoming tourneys in NYC, non-player, but within the Long Island bubble.
The Cincinnati Western & Southern Open is being played at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in NYC this year w/o fans. (Starts Saturday) And then the U.S. Open will be played at the same place after.
Thus far, 81 of the top WTA 100 Women players are committed to playing the U.S. Open (subject to change until it starts). And 91 of the top 100 ATP Men's players (subject to change) are committed to play the U.S. Open.
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Nadal is not playing. Staying away
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Interesting tidbits:
90% of the bubble is already in the bubble. Upon bubble entry, must test negative twice on two tests 48 hours apart.
8 players renting houses within the bubble, the rest are staying at the bubble hotel.
Seeded players (1-32) men and women each get their own suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium since they will not have more than 15 minutes access to lounge and locker room. (Also reduced down to 30) Players only. No team.
Vastly reduced capacity down to 50 from several hundred for dining.
40 Hotel Ambassadors will monitor the bubble in 20 person shifts.
Massage and Training tables outdoors.
They have 500,000 masks.
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Gonna bee tough ta smuggle inn prostitutes, aina?
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Guido Pella's physio (Juan Manuel Galvan) was the one positive test. Despite testing negative Pella will isolate and still be U.S. Open eligible. Pella's coach Jose Acasuso was also a negative test but will isolate as well. Qualifier Hugo Dellien also works with the same physio and will isolate. All other tests negative as the bubble nears 100% occupancy.
(U.S. Open Doubles Draws came out today.)
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Useful signage gesture here:
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Mask protocols:
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Bubble Life:
https://twitter.com/CincyTennis/status/1298626477655818241?s=19
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Watched a bit yesterday. Found it amusing that with all the bubble and mask protocols, players still must tap rackets instead of shaking hands, and they don’t engage the umpire. Seems a bit excessive, but better safe than sorry I suppose
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Watched a bit yesterday. Found it amusing that with all the bubble and mask protocols, players still must tap rackets instead of shaking hands, and they don’t engage the umpire. Seems a bit excessive, but better safe than sorry I suppose
Yep. Masks required by all, everywhere when not playing, even just walking around. No lines judges. No fans. There is a bubble hotel and 8 players are renting houses within the bubble area. (Serena, Djokovic, etc...) Ball persons are not allowed to touch players towels, equipment etc...I have long been a proponent of players managing their own towels etc..
They have a nice set up for various games and activities at the BJK Center, which is a big place. Each seeded player 32 gets a suite at the 22k Arthur Ashe Stadium to lounge, physio etc...
They are also using Hawk-Eye-Live technology. Previously Hawk-Eye has been used many years. For those that don’t know it is the replay system technology that calls ball in or out etc...and is used for challenged replay. The Live version expands on that where every call is a verbal in or out loud or soft based on how far in or out it is. It has worked very well. Very accurate. It isn’t perfect but it is more accurate than humans. It can even call foot faults.
So if you watch this week, what you are often hearing is a machine, unless it is a chair umpire overrule.
The Cincinnati Western & Southern Open, played in NYC this year for the Pandemic, is the first tournament to use the Live technology for a tournament. The U.S. Open will use it as well. The Chair Umpire can overrule. So far it has gone well. Expect other tournaments to adopt the technology soon after this experiment. World Team Tennis has been using Hawk-Eye-Live for about three years now.
This of course means potential job loss for a few hundred lines officials, a close knit group popular with many players.
Hopefully the technology of at least the replay version will be adopted by clay court tournaments. They have long been reluctant to use replay. That is long overdue in my opinion.
Cincy event is a high level tour event and a good practice run for the up coming U.S. Open.
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I drove by the stadium in Cincy two weeks ago and assumed it was canceled this year. Little did I know it was on, but not in Cincinnati.
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I drove by the stadium in Cincy two weeks ago and assumed it was canceled this year. Little did I know it was on, but not in Cincinnati.
Yep, one year only. It will be back next year. Unfortunately the nearby Mason, OH Applebee’s is no longer there. It’s a tennis joke because due to convenience many players would eat at the nearby Applebee’s at all hours out of convenience. They embraced the small town outer burb/exurb compared to the hustle bustle of many tour stops. They put on a good tournament. They are running the NYC version too with some help from the U.S. Open people.
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Yep, one year only. It will be back next year. Unfortunately the nearby Mason, OH Applebee’s is no longer there. It’s a tennis joke because due to convenience many players would eat at the nearby Applebee’s at all hours out of convenience. They embraced the small town outer burb/exurb compared to the hustle bustle of many tour stops. They put on a good tournament. They are running the NYC version too with some help from the U.S. Open people.
I miss my local tournament: The Volvo International/Pilot Pen International/Connecticut Open that was 10 minutes down the expressway from my house. It was held in between the Cincinnati Open and the US Open. It always had a mixed bag of players depending on which ones liked the week off before the US Open and which liked a warm up tourney just before. Morphed from a men's tournament to women's then both simultaneously, then back to women's. Ended after the 2018 tourney when they couldn't get enough sponsorship money for 2019. You would always see players in downtown New Haven. My daughter volunteered twice (for high school required volunteer hours) and they gave plenty of free-bees to volunteers that included match passes.
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Yep, one year only. It will be back next year. Unfortunately the nearby Mason, OH Applebee’s is no longer there. It’s a tennis joke because due to convenience many players would eat at the nearby Applebee’s at all hours out of convenience. They embraced the small town outer burb/exurb compared to the hustle bustle of many tour stops. They put on a good tournament. They are running the NYC version too with some help from the U.S. Open people.
I’ve been to that tournament many times. I highly recommend it. You can see a lot of good tennis up close. The facility is great now that they expanded with both men and women playing at the same time.
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I miss my local tournament: The Volvo International/Pilot Pen International/Connecticut Open that was 10 minutes down the expressway from my house. It was held in between the Cincinnati Open and the US Open. It always had a mixed bag of players depending on which ones liked the week off before the US Open and which liked a warm up tourney just before. Morphed from a men's tournament to women's then both simultaneously, then back to women's. Ended after the 2018 tourney when they couldn't get enough sponsorship money for 2019. You would always see players in downtown New Haven. My daughter volunteered twice (for high school required volunteer hours) and they gave plenty of free-bees to volunteers that included match passes.
New Haven, Yale, sure. It used to be big time for men and women as the first main combined pre U.S. Open tourney. Lots of big names played there (and the few Vermont years) Volunteering is a great idea/memory, great access up close to the tennis, the people, lots of perks too. Great opportunity for pizza sampling as well in New Haven. 👍
In recent memory, a few things.....Cincinnati has become big, sweet spot of two weeks prior to U.S. Open. Similar to golf, some, many skip the tourney immediately before or after a major. And the week prior to Cincinnati is the Canadian Open. (men and women alternate between Toronto and Montreal annually) These are both big tour events with big money. (Almost $3 million each)
The men moved down to Winston-Salem, NC the week before the U.S. Open. College tennis is big in the state especially at Wake Forest where they have been recent national champions. The Women started a new tourney in a public park in the Bronx last year. We'll see how that goes
But don't sleep on the Oracle Challenger Series New Haven stop. It is first week of September. It's new/recent. There you will find a mix of up and coming future stars, steady ATP/WTA tour players outside the top 50 or so, maybe a few higher ranked players looking for match play, or veteran names that still want to play.
For example, Jen Brady (UCLA) played New Haven Challenger last year. She is having a breakout season this year. She has wins in 2020 over Sharapova, Barty, Muguruza, Svitolina, Gauff, Bouzkoba, Riske, Teichmann, etc....and she won the new Kentucky tourney. She improved her ranking to 40 and she will likely get seeded at the U.S. Open.
Whitney Osuigwe also played. She just turned 18. She was the number one ranked World Junior. She was the first American to win the French Open Juniors in 28 years. She has been training at IMG Academy since she was little. Her dad coaches there. Astra Sharma won a National Title at Vandy, also played
Then you have a veteran such as a Lauren Davis who has made the round of 32 at both Wimbledon and the French Open multiple times each.
It's a nice mix. Former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd played college tennis at Baylor. He understood the need for the transition to the ATP/WTA tour. So Oracle has been pumping a lot of money into tennis. Jim Courier's company runs the events very professionally, way better than past minor league type of events.
Larry Ellison, Oracle Founder, bought the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and tour stop for $100 million in 2009. It has since become the best non slam/major in tennis. He has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on stadiums reconstruction, amenities etc...some players half joke it sits above the French Open in order and preference for players. Almost half a million fans annually and almost half a billion $ for their economy there. So even at the Challenger Series level, New Haven is worth checking out prior to many players heading out to the "Asian Swing" of the tour in Sept/Oct.
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I’ve been to that tournament many times. I highly recommend it. You can see a lot of good tennis up close. The facility is great now that they expanded with both men and women playing at the same time.
Yep, it's good, a big event, with most top Men and Women players playing. Good money there and good ranking points too. It is the only big Midwest ATP/WTA tour stop. Crowds are also much easier to handle than the always very crowded but fun U.S. Open.
Each place has its uniqueness for different reasons. Cincinnati is certainly a good choice for anyone seeking to see the highest level of tennis up close. The Applebee's was infamous because you would see the likes of Roger Federer and so many others just grabbing a bite there of all places. Graeter's has been popular there as well, and of course Skyline for some who work the tour. The nearby amusement park is popular with tour player/workers and their families. I had friends that lived in Mt. Adams, and other parts of the area Dayton, Columbus, that would visit when I have been there.
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the semifinals of Cincinnati in solidarity with other athletes from across the sports landscape. She is the favorite to win the tournament. Discussions ongoing now that more might join her.
https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1298785716487548928?s=19
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Busy busy tennis.
Anerican Doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan announce their retirement effective immediately.
Playing together .....1,108 wins, 119 titles, 179 Finals, 39 ATP Masters 1000 Titles, Olympic Gold, World number 1 for 438 weeks, Year end number one ranked doubles team 10 times, 16 Grand Slam/Major Titles, 30 Grand Slam/Major Finals, Davis Cup Team Champions, 25-5 Record all time at Davis Cup, ATP fan favorite team 15 times. ....and many more.
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the semifinals of Cincinnati in solidarity with other athletes from across the sports landscape. She is the favorite to win the tournament. Discussions ongoing now that more might join her. 16 year old Coco Gauff has also been an outspoken, well spoken leader on the issue as well.
The Tourney will pause play for Thursday and resume Friday:
https://twitter.com/CincyTennis/status/1298820185902772230?s=19
https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1298785716487548928?s=19
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the semifinals of Cincinnati in solidarity with other athletes from across the sports landscape. She is the favorite to win the tournament. Discussions ongoing now that more might join her.
https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1298785716487548928?s=19
Really hope she reconsiders this decision. What a void this will leave. Such a prestigious event too.
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Busy busy tennis.
Anerican Doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan announce their retirement effective immediately.
Playing together .....1,108 wins, 119 titles, 179 Finals, 39 ATP Masters 1000 Titles, Olympic Gold, World number 1 for 438 weeks, Year end number one ranked doubles team 10 times, 16 Grand Slam/Major Titles, 30 Grand Slam/Major Finals, Davis Cup Team Champions, 25-5 Record all time at Davis Cup, ATP fan favorite team 15 times. ....and many more.
I didn’t realize they were still playing. Absolute legends, best to ever do it, but they’ve clearly lost a step. Haven’t won a major in 5+ years I believe. Both top 30ish in all time earnings, despite neither being higher than 120 in the world as singles players. Just remarkable
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I didn’t realize they were still playing. Absolute legends, best to ever do it, but they’ve clearly lost a step. Haven’t won a major in 5+ years I believe. Both top 30ish in all time earnings, despite neither being higher than 120 in the world as singles players. Just remarkable
They are 42. Bob had hip surgery a few years ago, after having terrible pain and limited movement and he sat out a while.
Mike then teamed up with American Jack Sock to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as well as the year end championships in 2018.
When Bob was ready, he teamed back up with Mike for a comeback. Mike broke the all time record for individual Grand Slam doubles titles with 18 with Sock. Bob has 16. They kept playing together to get Bob to 18. Todd Woodbridge and John Newcombe had 16 and 17. They weren’t able to do it. But they have the most as a team and many other records.
Had Mike kept playing with Sock, he could have won more. Jack Sock is an exceptional doubles player and mixed doubles player.
Interestingly enough the book on them early in their career is they made lots of Grand Slam finals but lost in finals. They more than overcame that over time. Staggering stats.
Both were superstars at Stanford winning individual and team singles and doubles National Titles. As kids their parents would not let them play each other. They would take turns defaulting to the other in tourneys.
They stopped playing singles knowing if they focused on doubles they could have a long successful career and they have.
Very high level character people as well. They also play several musical instruments and have a band. Really brought lots of positive attention to doubles which often deserves more attention.
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Really hope she reconsiders this decision. What a void this will leave. Such a prestigious event too.
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
-Arthur Ashe
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Really hope she reconsiders this decision. What a void this will leave. Such a prestigious event too.
Its sports. We aren't talking about Nobel prizes here.
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Really hope she reconsiders this decision. What a void this will leave. Such a prestigious event too.
Osaka has experienced quite a bit of racism, in Japan, the U.S. and elsewhere.
She is the highest paid Women's athlete, (she made almost $40 million last year) she doesn't need the money, and, she has a big platform. 9 or 10 of the highest paid Women's athletes are tennis players. The Cincy tourney responded to Osaka by pausing play for a day. Osaka and Gauff have been effective outspoken leaders.
As much as I like sports, there are some things in life that are bigger than sports and come first.
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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
-Arthur Ashe
I’ve always loved that quote from a truly fine human being. Very appropriate now. Thanks for posting.
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I’ve always loved that quote from a truly fine human being. Very appropriate now. Thanks for posting.
Yep, it's hard to miss when at The U.S. Open.
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the semifinals of Cincinnati in solidarity with other athletes from across the sports landscape. She is the favorite to win the tournament. Discussions ongoing now that more might join her.
https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1298785716487548928?s=19
Osaka will play her semifinal match tomorrow, Friday.
The WTA and USTA lobbied for her to play, and, she has agreed. The entire tournament was paused a day after Osaka withdrew.
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Still having some bubble fun:
https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1299362633905246212?s=19
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Absolutely UNREAL match from Djokovic. Clearly under the weather and struggling, up 5-2 returning at deuce, proceeds to lose that game and the next 3 straight, getting broken twice. His last service game he honestly looked like he was going through the motions. Then he somehow summons up the energy to break Bautista-Agut to get to the tiebreak and then flamethrows him 7-0. He’s absolutely unreal to watch sometimes
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A match that easily could have gone either way, Djokovic escapes to the final.....where he can become the first player to win all Masters 1000 events twice with a win in the finals.
Bautista Agut is a tough matchup for Djokovic, very, very consistent, few unforced errors, chases down everything. Long a good consistent top 20 player, he's really stepped up even more the past few years. He is one of the few people to have 3 straight hard court wins over Djokovic, almost four today. Doha and Miami last year and Shanghai a few years ago. It's a grind.
Djokovic is now 22-0 on the year. He's won all of his past ten tiebreakers and 19 of his last 20 breakers. He finds ways to win. Quick turnaround for the final, a bit unusual. His good news is Raonic has never defeated Djokovic all time, 10-0 Nole. But Raonic will be a bit more fresh this time.
A resurgent Azarenka playing well in 2020 against one of the game's best in Osaka in the final. Konta had been playing well as had Mertens. Some serve hiccups for Osaka today but her game is as good as anyone's today. Azarenka really returning serve very well, as an Azarenka of the past.
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Osaka pulls out of Cincy Final, left hamstring. Azarenka takes Cincy title.(Her 2nd Cincy title, 2013)
Osaka is one of the big U.S. Open favorites, that begins Monday, with a more favorable draw on paper than some of the other favorites.
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https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1299813396179750912?s=19
Tight 3 setter and Djokovic finds a way to win again. Raonic had his chances. A one minute video look above at all 35 Djokovic Masters 1000 wins, becoming the first and only to win each at least twice.
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https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1299813396179750912?s=19
Tight 3 setter and Djokovic finds a way to win again. Raonic had his chances. A one minute video look above at all 35 Djokovic Masters 1000 wins, becoming the first and only to win each at least twice.
I don’t even know what else you can say about Joker. He looked DOA during that first set. Raonic was playing fantastic, Joker looked exhausted, under the weather, and struggling. Then he got his legs under him in set 2 and just executed a vintage, controlled cruise to victory. Dude is a cyborg
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French player Benoit Paire is the first bubble positive COVID-19. He is out of the U.S. Open.
Paire arrived in New York on the very last possible day allowed to compete in Cincinnati event, four days before his first round match. He retired from that match down 6-0,1-0 while appearing visibly ill. He will be replaced in the event.
All tournament badges are imbedded with a locator chip for contact tracing.
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For the U S. Open on Monday oepning, Arthur Ashe Stadium will have 8 large LED screens, 4 large Black Lives Matter signage in all four corners. Several New York Tough signage.
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18 Black and BIPOC artists had their artwork featured in the front rows of the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the U.S. Open. Their artwork is featured in this thread.
https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1300503929294385157?s=19
Also, Naomi Osaka wears a Breonna Taylor Mask to her match tonight.
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18 Black and BIPOC artists had their artwork featured in the front rows of the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the U.S. Open. Their artwork is featured in this thread.
https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1300503929294385157?s=19
Also, Naomi Osaka wears a Breonna Taylor Mask to her match tonight.
Osaka said she has 7 different masks with 7 different names on them for the tournament. She hopes to make the finals to be able to wear all of them.
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Day One:
American Women opened 0-8 (yipes) but finished winning 7 straight. Many of the Women were teenagers The Men went 8-5. Men from California went 5-0.
Zverev over Anderson in 4 sets in highest profile Men's match.
Yastrenska v Sharma and Sevastova v Gauff two of the best/most exciting Women's matches. Brady and Sevastova continue to be two of the best American Women players this year.
There was a Jack Sock sighting with a 5 set thriller win, and Stevie Johnson takes out Isner in 5.
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Day One:
American Women opened 0-8 (yipes) but finished winning 7 straight. Many of the Women were teenagers The Men went 8-5. Men from California went 5-0.
Zverev over Anderson in 4 sets in highest profile Men's match.
Yastrenska v Sharma and Sevastova v Gauff two of the best/most exciting Women's matches. Brady and Sevastova continue to be two of the best American Women players this year.
There was a Jack Sock sighting with a 5 set thriller win, and Stevie Johnson takes out Isner in 5.
Thanks, Mr. Tennis!
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Day One:
American Women opened 0-8 (yipes) but finished winning 7 straight. Many of the Women were teenagers The Men went 8-5. Men from California went 5-0.
Zverev over Anderson in 4 sets in highest profile Men's match.
Yastrenska v Sharma and Sevastova v Gauff two of the best/most exciting Women's matches. Brady and Sevastova continue to be two of the best American Women players this year.
There was a Jack Sock sighting with a 5 set thriller win, and Stevie Johnson takes out Isner in 5.
Isner and Sock, another pair of promising Americans who will fail to ascend to the games highest levels. Isner is 35 so he's on the back end of his career, and Sock is a fantastic doubles player, but he's fallen out of the top 200 for a variety of reasons including health.
Fritz, Opelka, and Steve Johnson seem to be the same issue as Isner. Monster servers, but don't have the complete game and just need to get broken once and they are toast. Fritz has the most promise IMO and he's still young.
The US has been great at producing guys in the top 50-200 in the ATP rankings, but light on true contenders for majors. I REALLY like Tiafoe, but he has a long ways to go in consistency as well.
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Thanks, Mr. Tennis!
I like and play a variety of sports.
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Isner and Sock, another pair of promising Americans who will fail to ascend to the games highest levels. Isner is 35 so he's on the back end of his career, and Sock is a fantastic doubles player, but he's fallen out of the top 200 for a variety of reasons including health.
Fritz, Opelka, and Steve Johnson seem to be the same issue as Isner. Monster servers, but don't have the complete game and just need to get broken once and they are toast. Fritz has the most promise IMO and he's still young.
The US has been great at producing guys in the top 50-200 in the ATP rankings, but light on true contenders for majors. I REALLY like Tiafoe, but he has a long ways to go in consistency as well.
Various things here...
Isner has been ranked in the top 20 in the World, every year for 10 straight years. Not a lot of players can say that. It's a big accomplishment. He has a ceiling based on his service return and a few other things but he doesn't get enough credit for some of his success as a player. He hasn't had elite Slam success and he plays big man tennis which isn't always popular, but he's been solid, even top ten some years. 15 titles. The issue is that he has been the best American player during this time.
Sock has had the most talent, singles talent the past decade but has frequently had fitness issues. Unbelievably talented, work ethic and discipline comes and goes. Can't do that at this level. He's the Male version of Sloane Stephens when it comes to underachieving talent. Sloane likes the lights of the big events, plays better. And she's won a Slam and has won at a much higher level than Sock. She has had a bad couple of seasons for her.
Lots of big guys, Querrey, Opelka, Fritz, the mentioned Isner. The men's tennis height sweet spot is about 6'1, Fed, Sampras, Nadal, others.... There have been guys, Del Potro, Cilic both 6'6 to win majors but to consistently do it at the extreme physical heights are a bit fewer and far between.
Opelka and Fritz are very young and both top 25, and that us different from the 30 ish Querrey or Stevie Johnson (one of the all time best American college players at USC)
Tennis is a global sport. 3 of the 4 majors are not in the U.S. Indian Wells, Miami, Cincinnati are the three big American tour events. There are some others not at the elite field level. Good tennis is played all over the world these days.
The women have it going with 8 top 50 American players, and lots of depth. There have been several Black up and coming players inspired by the Williams sisters. There have been a few Americans with Russian backgrounds. There will always be some that go the college route. The top 10 highest paid female athletes in the world are tennis players. Money is good in Women's tennis compared to other professional Women's sports.
Competition vs other sports in the U.S. for Men is a thing. Isner was a very good basketball player. He chose tennis and it has worked out for him. He's earned $20 million plus playing not including annual endorsements and other money.
There have been some mishaps with path selection for Americans to make it as a pro. Not enough cooperation and too much competition for players USTA system vs Private.
The U.S. needs more Tiafoe players, homeless as a kid, hungry to play. Frances is one of the best U.S. talents right now. Only 22 years old and is close to turning a corner. He needs to better manage the strategic parts of the game and in match adjustments. His talent is there, needs to smooth out a few mechanics on his strokes.
15 of the top 20 Women are from different countries...and that extends even more as you keep going down the rankings list. The Men aren't too dissimilar. But there is no reason the U.S. can't have a handful of both Men and Women winning Grand Slams, top 10.
If healthy, Opelka, Fritz, Tiafoe, best U.S. Men's players right now. Opelka had a recent injury. Sock is dangerous with talent if he can stay away from the hot humid match times.
Brady, Pegula playing the best for the Women. Serena has a decent draw. Stephens, Keys, Anisimova, Kenin, capable. Kenin won the only Slam this year and had a great 2019.
Serena breaks record with 102 all time U.S. Open Singles Wins. Venus breaks record 22 U.S. Open appearances.
16 U.S. Women advance to round two, the most since 1995. 11 U.S. Men advance to round two, the most since 2012.
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I like and play a variety of sports.
Me too ... though I'm gettin' a little too old to play some of 'em.
My parents played tennis well into their 70s, and I hope I do as well.
I seriously was thanking you for your reports. I'm a little less interested this year due to all those not playing (including my fave, Rafa), so I'm not watching it very much. So it's nice to read your stuff. Keep it coming, Mr. Tennis!
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Me too ... though I'm gettin' a little too old to play some of 'em.
My parents played tennis well into their 70s, and I hope I do as well.
I seriously was thanking you for your reports. I'm a little less interested this year due to all those not playing (including my fave, Rafa), so I'm not watching it very much. So it's nice to read your stuff. Keep it coming, Mr. Tennis!
👍Thanks.
Some may say there is an asterisk (I don't) but you could have an asterisk in many eras for many reasons.
Random example: When the Australian Open was played at the end of the year as opposed ro the beginning, many people skipped it, especially elite American players. Now of course it is a must stop to begin the year for many.
I will check it but roughly speaking the U.S. Open draws contain 90 of the top 100 players in one draw and 80 plus of the top 100 players in the other draw. That's pretty good. And there is some variety with recent champions.
You just have to get more familiarity with some of the newer elite players just as you have in other eras. Many of them are there.
I am someone that can watch with or without fans, doesn't matter. I definitely prefer the usual raucous NYC atmosphere (each location has its own unique atmosphere) as it does not much better than some of the yesteryear Grandstand matches with an Argentine in the mix and the singing vibrating stands for example, or an American making a run. But I like the chess and intricacies of the play, and, for that, they can play in a quiet back alley somewhere, doesn't matter.
Sloane Stephens with perhaps the line of the night when asked about playing without fans, she joked: "I didn't realize how annoying it was to hear my coach after every point." Sloane also sported a "Black Lives Matter Mask"
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👍Thanks.
Some may say there is an asterisk (I don't) but you could have an asterisk in many eras for many reasons.
Random example: When the Australian Open was played at the end of the year as opposed ro the beginning, many people skipped it, especially elite American players. Now of course it is a must stop to begin the year for many.
I will check it but roughly speaking the U.S. Open draws contain 90 of the top 100 players in one draw and 80 plus of the top 100 players in the other draw. That's pretty good. And there is some variety with recent champions.
You just have to get more familiarity with some of the newer elite players just as you have in other eras. Many of them are there.
I am someone that can watch with or without fans, doesn't matter. I definitely prefer the usual raucous NYC atmosphere (each location has its own unique atmosphere) as it does not much better than some of the yesteryear Grandstand matches with an Argentine in the mix and the singing vibrating stands for example, or an American making a run. But I like the chess and intricacies of the play, and, for that, they can play in a quiet back alley somewhere, doesn't matter.
Fact check: I checked and....for the Men, on the money, 90 out of top 100 are playing.....and I'd say 4 to 6 wouls be potemtial contenders not playing. For the Women 77 of top 100 are playing, and I'd put it at a similar 4 to 6 contenders not playing.
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I’m just a big Rafa fan, so any tournament always loses some interest for me if he’s not playing or gets eliminated.
And now that I know that Sloan supports Marxists, I obviously can’t watch this tournament at all.
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I’m just a big Rafa fan, so any tournament always loses some interest for me if he’s not playing or gets eliminated.
And now that I know that Sloan supports Marxists, I obviously can’t watch this tournament at all.
Well, Venus Williams wore a Wonder Woman mask last night, so, there"s that too.
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Any talk during coverage from Flushing Meadows whether the hockey jersey American on the men's side was playing the circle game or flashing white power hand gesture?
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Any talk during coverage from Flushing Meadows whether the hockey jersey American on the men's side was playing the circle game or flashing white power hand gesture?
It’s being looked into as we speak. JJ Wolf from Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio St. One of the former top Juniors and top college player, won his first round match at age 21 at the U.S. Open this year...
Several photos have emerged some alone, some with friends where he is either playing the Circle Game, or flashing White Power signs. Neither is a good look for him.
I can say a few of the American Men’s players have some outspoken extreme right wing views, including Sandgren, Harrison, even Isner.
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9 more American Women wins Tuesday. 3 for the Men.
3 time Champion Kim Clijsters making a comeback fell in a tight 3 setter. Still hits great. Stomach muscle and lack of match fitness the difference. Let one slip away but credit her opponent who stepped up a lot.
There are 9 Women in the combined fields that are moms.
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Naomi Osaka, hoping to wear 7 different masks for 7 different matches to win the tournament, reveals mask #2 tonight:
Elijah McClain
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It’s being looked into as we speak. JJ Wolf from Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio St. One of the former top Juniors and top college player, won his first round match at age 21 at the U.S. Open this year...
Several photos have emerged some alone, some with friends where he is either playing the Circle Game, or flashing White Power signs. Neither is a good look for him.
I can say a few of the American Men’s players have some outspoken extreme right wing views, including Sandgren, Harrison, even Isner.
The stereotype of tennis players would indicate that but I don't follow the sport to have known those things.
Wolf popped into my feed because the last few years has seen a plethora of teen to twenties doing it and some are naive, some are willing, and doesn't seem to fade away.
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The stereotype of tennis players would indicate that but I don't follow the sport to have known those things.
Wolf popped into my feed because the last few years has seen a plethora of teen to twenties doing it and some are naive, some are willing, and doesn't seem to fade away.
With regards to American Tennis Players, or tennis players in general, those few guys and a few more standout because it is actually very different from many others and their beliefs. Very.
The U.S. Open has gone way out of its way to make it clear they are 100% supportive of Black Lives. Billie Jean KIng, Martina Navratilova, Chrissie Evert, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, on and on outspoken supporters, not to mention a growing long list of black players... historically and currently have been very progressive on these issues. Agassi for example has raised several hundred million dollars and has helped open over 80 charter schools across the country for Black and Hispanic children. Many modern era current and recently retired players are very progressive on these issues. The bulk of Roger Federer's foundation does work in Africa. Some individual people are more outspoken than others. Others do more speaking with their actions. Andy Murray is one of the more insightful speakers on many of these issues. He's also a huge champion for Women and other issues.
Is the stereotype you have in your head wealthy White suburban Conservative American Country Club kids?
Professional tennis, and, even Junior tennis is way larger than that. Professional tennis is truly a Global sport, very diverse racially, socio-economically, etc...
But yes there is a small group of American Men's tennis players who's ideologies would raise some eyebrows, yes. But just about all of the American Men's players on tour are friends with each other regardless of those views. The American women players are on average very progressive. You may find a different isolated example here or there..
You will definitely find a some othere who just don't like to speak up/share their views publicly.
There are way more Black and Asian professional tennis players than in the oast. Those two segments stand out quite a bit racially for growth, which is good for the sport.
There's a podcast called "Behind The Racquet".... where professional tennis players speak in their own words. It's run by fledgling American professional tennis player and New Yorker Noah Rubin and a few others.... They also sell merchandise (Noah and his girlfriend) where 30% of every sale goes to NAMI NYC which is a great cause. Many issues are covered at various points. Worth checking out some time.
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So many great examples of modern day tennis and modern day American Tennis, at the U S. Open...A 2nd round match today features:
1) Just turned 16 year old Katrina Scott is into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open. Her mother, a ballet dancer from Iran, emigrates to the U.S. at age 17 to find breast cancer treatment for her mother, settles in L.A., marries, has Katrina who tried ballet and figure skating first but liked tennis. .....frequently wearing Black Lives Matter apparel....(her paternal grandmother is African American) recently training in Columbus, Ohio.
Her 2nd round opponent is Amanda Anisimova, just turned 19 last week...parents emigrated from Russia for a better life. Born in New Jersey, relocated to Florida, older sister played at UPenn. Coached by her dad until his tragic heart attack at a young age last year. Had moved up into the top 20's.
5 more American Women wins yesterday. 19 year old American male Brandon Nakashima falls to 5th seed Alexander Zverev but not before taking a set and pushing him a bit. From San Diego, finished his first year at UVA and turned pro.
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With regards to American Tennis Players, or tennis players in general, those few guys and a few more standout because it is actually very different from many others and their beliefs. Very.
The U.S. Open has gone way out of its way to make it clear they are 100% supportive of Black Lives. Billie Jean KIng, Martina Navratilova, Chrissie Evert, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, on and on outspoken supporters, not to mention a growing long list of black players... historically and currently have been very progressive on these issues. Agassi for example has raised several hundred million dollars and has helped open over 80 charter schools across the country for Black and Hispanic children. Many modern era current and recently retired players are very progressive on these issues. The bulk of Roger Federer's foundation does work in Africa. Some individual people are more outspoken than others. Others do more speaking with their actions. Andy Murray is one of the more insightful speakers on many of these issues. He's also a huge champion for Women and other issues.
Is the stereotype you have in your head wealthy White suburban Conservative American Country Club kids?
Professional tennis, and, even Junior tennis is way larger than that. Professional tennis is truly a Global sport, very diverse racially, socio-economically, etc...
But yes there is a small group of American Men's tennis players who's ideologies would raise some eyebrows, yes. But just about all of the American Men's players on tour are friends with each other regardless of those views. The American women players are on average very progressive. You may find a different isolated example here or there..
You will definitely find a some othere who just don't like to speak up/share their views publicly.
There are way more Black and Asian professional tennis players than in the oast. Those two segments stand out quite a bit racially for growth, which is good for the sport.
There's a podcast called "Behind The Racquet".... where professional tennis players speak in their own words. It's run by fledgling American professional tennis player and New Yorker Noah Rubin and a few others.... They also sell merchandise (Noah and his girlfriend) where 30% of every sale goes to NAMI NYC which is a great cause. Many issues are covered at various points. Worth checking out some time.
This is a good rundown. Thank you.
I suppose most of my stereotype is limited to American men's players. Certainly the big name international guys are known enough to have heard of their efforts and causes but since we've had a lull in top level title winning Americans over the last decade or so the news items tend to be negative which fills in the blanks for me. Happy to read there's a push to open up access as you never know where the next champion is living.
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This is a good rundown. Thank you.
I suppose most of my stereotype is limited to American men's players. Certainly the big name international guys are known enough to have heard of their efforts and causes but since we've had a lull in top level title winning Americans over the last decade or so the news items tend to be negative which fills in the blanks for me. Happy to read there's a push to open up access as you never know where the next champion is living.
And, as I said, the viewpoints of individuals vary widely. Google James Blake and NYC Police sometime. He was waiting outside his hotel, when he was shockingly jumped and roughed up by NYC Police. (They had the wrong person. James is Black) James speaks about this around the country. Former U.S. Player, went to Harvard, now Miami Tourney Director, as well as tv commentator. He’s doing this event for ESPN, also does others.
Another good 2nd round matchup today, was 2 seed American Sofia Kenin, she won Australia, vs Leylah Fernandez 17 year Canada phenom. Kenin’s parents are Russian, mother a nurse, she came to the U.S. as a baby. Fernandez’ dad was an Ecuadorian soccer player and mom of Filipino descent. They moved from Montreal to Florida.
For me, where do they train and when gives me a snapshot of their path. There are many paths and many ways of doing it. The USTA has long preferred junior players only train with them. This is a mistake in my opinion, and narrow minded thinking. Just like any other sport, there are many ways to be successful. Ans sometimes being a support system of secondary coaching os better. There have been some inconsistencies with how different players are treated and sponsored over the years.
Anyway, the previous two above trained at Kass Tennis and Nick Saviano separately. These few here did with Rick Macci, others.
Coco Gauff, American teen sensation last year, from Florida, parents were a hooper at Georgia St. and a track star at Florida St. Dad’s coach but also gets support from Mouratoglou Academy.
Back to American Men, there is a pocket right now of some with those previously mentioned beliefs bit it is some not all, and many before and after them do not hold those views. But many are friendly with one another.
But the talent level and depth of American Women's tennis players is very, strong, especially in comparison to the Men. Many others, Robin . Montgomery who has trained with Frances Tiafoe, many others. As I believe I mentioned, the ten highest paid world athletes are tennis players. That doesn't hurt either.
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American Katrina Scott walked onto court with a Black Lives Matter shirt.
https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1301538758051860480?s=19
Playing a little later, Sloane Stephens with a No Justice No Peace mask.
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The son of Diamond Mine workers in Sierra Leone, West Africa, ...who left civil war behind and emigrating to the U.S....from homelessness, to sleeping on fold up tables in a small back office as a kid, American, Frances Tiafoe, 22, has reached the round of 32 at the U. S. Open for the first time after surviving 5 sets over four hours.
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5 more American Women wins. Two more suspended mid match as heavy rains moved in the evening. Muguruza and Konta out.
2 American Men advance. Murray and Dmitrov out.
Opportunities today for Taylor Fritz, Ann Li, Jen Brady, Jessie Pegula.....as well as Vickery ans McNally.
Weekend popcorn matches, Serena Williams vs an in form Sloane Stephens, two past champions. Anisimova v Sakkari, Jabeur v Kenin, Keys v Cornet.....Fucsovics v Tiafoe, Wolf v Medvedev, all Saturday.
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In her quest for 7, Naomi Osaka's mask today is:
Ahmaud Arbery.
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With McNally's win today, 11 American Women have reached the Round of 32, the most in 31 years (1989). Combined with the 3 Men, it's the most combined in 18 years (2002)
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The Shapo-Fritz match was INSANE. What a comeback. Shapo looked dead to rights, figured even when he was up 40:15 with Fritz serving for the match that he’d fade like he had. But then he finished the game, got through a nervy service game to even it at 5-5, then blew Fritz away in the 5th after sneaking through the tiebreak. Rough for another young American talent but Shapo is one of my favorite guys to watch. His backhand is amazing and he plays with a surplus of emotion and energy
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The Shapo-Fritz match was INSANE. What a comeback. Shapo looked dead to rights, figured even when he was up 40:15 with Fritz serving for the match that he’d fade like he had. But then he finished the game, got through a nervy service game to even it at 5-5, then blew Fritz away in the 5th after sneaking through the tiebreak. Rough for another young American talent but Shapo is one of my favorite guys to watch. His backhand is amazing and he plays with a surplus of emotion and energy
So many chances for Fritz to close it out in the 4th ....and when he didn't, the air was out of the balloon. Good example where the NYC crowd would have been roaring for Fritz there. Definitely a factor. But you have to be able to win in front of 22k as well as in the back of a dark alley.
Great effort from Taylor. Shapovalov has a little bit more experience in those situations despite his youth an almost complete player. Elite talent, as is fellow Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime who also is still alive. All three, 22, 21, 20, are just getting started and turning the elite corner. Felix was lights out last night v Andy Murray. Dominant
Shapovalov coming in at 17 has been 13 and knocking on door of top 10. Taylor coming in at 24. He is clearly a top 20 caliber player and improving. He now has a go to backhand now to to with his service game. Felix sits at 21, and is a future top 10 player as well. Some of the best up and comers in North America for the Men.
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Promising aggressive 21 year old American JJ Wolf, one of the nation's best college player after his 3 seasons at Ohio St. had a nice run to the round of 33 until running into one ot the World's best, Daniil Medvedev.
Just 2 errors in 53 first set points for Medvedev (can't hit through him need angles and slice to reset points) set the tone.
Wolf learned perhaps a bigger off court lesson this week. This ws about recently surfaced past online photos with circle game hand gestures with friens that resemble modern White Power symbols. Ever learning, Wolf showed up for warm ups in a Black Lives Matter tee.
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For the first time ever, 3 Canadian Men are into the second week, Round of Sixteen at the U.S. Open. (The defending Women's Champion not entered due to injury is also Canadian) The Round of 16 is represented by 12 different countries. 22 year old Frances Tiafoe represents the U.S.
In the Women's Round of 16, 10 different countries are represented. The U.S. has the most at 4. And two others live have lived and trained in the U.S. since they were very young. Jen Brady, Shelby Rogers, Serena Williams, and Sofia Kenin represent the U.S.
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25 year old American Jen Brady becomes the first former college tennis player (UCLA) to make the U.S. Open Women’s singles Quarterfinals since 1994, with a convincing 6-1,6-4 win over Former World Number 1 and 3 time Grand Slam Champion Angie Kerber.
She took a chance and spent the off season in Germany with a new coach, new physio. Different player. Playing lights out tennis for some time. Big serve, added a kicker, big forehand, pace, depth, margin. Wins over Sharapova, Barty, Muguruza, Svitolina, Gauff, Garcia, Kerber, on and on this season.
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25 year old American Jen Brady becomes the first former college tennis player (UCLA) to make the U.S. Open Women’s singles Quarterfinals since 1994, with a convincing 6-1,6-4 win over Former World Number 1 and 3 time Grand Slam Champion Angie Kerber.
She took a chance and spent the off season in Germany with a new coach, new physio. Different player. Playing lights out tennis for some time. Big serve, added a kicker, big forehand, pace, depth, margin. Wins over Sharapova, Barty, Muguruza, Svitolina, Gauff, Garcia, Kerber, on and on this season.
If she keeps advancing and eventually will face Williams, I can hear the pre-match interview already:
EVERT: "You are playing a great opponent next. What do you think of her?"
JEN BRADY: "Serena! Serena! Serena!"
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Holy Shyte!
Djokovic out after hitting a linesman with the ball.
It was an accident that he hit her in the throat, but it still was a tennis ball struck out of anger and the rule is clear.
The only way Djokovic doesn't win this tournament is if he gets hurt or if he somehow implodes. Well, he somehow imploded.
2020 ... what an effen year!
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The Djokovic DQ was the correct call. Intent doesn’t matter in this instance. He had zero intent of course. He already did something earlier in the same match. Hopefully the lines person is doing well.
Some of the 2020 chatter has been whether or not Novak’s COVID-19 behavior has been in the reckless or not responsible category. Here he is being held responsible for his “reckless” behavior.
Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slams. The remaining field? Zero. This was the first loss of 2020 for Djokovic.
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27 year old Charleston, SC native Shelby Rogers was ranked 174th in the World coming off of knee surgery in 2018. She trained hard, getting into the best shape of her life. She won an ITF event before the pandemic.
After a strong pandemic restart including her first ever win over Serena Williams in Kentucky, today, she gets the gutsy 3 set thriller win over 2 time Grand Slam winner Petra Kvitova (saved four match points) to move into her first ever U.S. Open quarterfinals. Very high level both players.
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In the quest for 7, tonight's Naomi Osaka mask is:
Trayvon Martin
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Americans Taylor Townsend and Asia Muhammad advance in dominant fashion to the U.S. Open Women's Doubles Semifinals. They are seeking their 12th title together, first Grand Slam title.
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Serena Williams is into the U.S. Open Women's Quarterfinals with a 3 set blinder over Greece's Maria Sakkari (who has really played some great tennis) avenging her Cincinnati loss.
Several moms making a run at the Open in both singles and doubles.
With the win the updated list here of Men and Women players with 100 wins at Arthur Ashe Stadium (opened 1997):
Serena Williams. That's the list.
Next closest?
Federer 77
Djokovic 74
Venus Williams 72
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If she keeps advancing and eventually will face Williams, I can hear the pre-match interview already:
EVERT: "You are playing a great opponent next. What do you think of her?"
JEN BRADY: "Serena! Serena! Serena!"
People will learn her name.
Jennifer, Jenny, Jen, Brady has advanced to the United States Open Tennis Semifinals for the first time.
3 Moms (not Brady) are in the Women’s Quarterfinals.
6 of the 8 Men’s Quarterfinalists are under age 25.
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Quest for 7 masks, seven matches, tonight's Naomi Osaka Quarterfinal mask against Shelby Rogers, is George Floyd.
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In the Women's Doubles Semifinals, in one of the best matches of the tournament, heartbreak city for Americans Taylor Townsend and Asia Muhammad falling 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9).
Serena Williams advances to her 14th United States Open Semifinal and 38th Grand Slam Semifinal. Serena's 20 aces today is the most she has had in 8 years. Her serve has often been her differentiator.
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In the Women's Doubles Semifinals, in one of the best matches of the tournament, heartbreak city for Americans Taylor Townsend and Asia Muhammad falling 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9).
Serena Williams advances to her 14th United States Open Semifinal and 38th Grand Slam Semifinal. Serena's 20 aces today is the most she has had in 8 years. Her serve has often been her differentiator.
Hoops, sounds like you're a tennis fanatic. I watch all the Majors, but that's about it.
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Serena Williams advances to her 14th United States Open Semifinal and 38th Grand Slam Semifinal. Serena's 20 aces today is the most she has had in 8 years. Her serve has often been her differentiator.
Pironkova’s run was pretty amazing. Unlike Azarenka’s comeback when she was a former #1, she was never even a top 30 player before pregnancy.
On the men’s side, Thiem is fantastic but I don’t know who stops Medvedev with Novak out. He looks like the Terminator right now. Rublev had been playing well. He dismantled Berettini, smoked Caruso...and Medvedev just handled him with ease, more or less.
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Hoops, sounds like you're a tennis fanatic. I watch all the Majors, but that's about it.
Casual fans, New fans, Slam only fans are all welcome. I enjoy it. I played travel soccer, basketball, baseball, and tennis growing up. Rec/fun level football and hockey even though I liked them as well. I was fortunate enough to get to go to see different sports in person, played them, and then follow them and keep up with some of them. I'm definitely not a one sport person. My interests flow with the sports seasons.
I enjoy all of the above sports as well as some Olympic Sports, especially summer, even though I didn't compete in many of those.
If you ever get the chance, it's certainly worth a bucket list day or weekend. In the U.S., the Open or Indian Wells/Palm Springs, Miami or Cincinnati would be the best choices. As with many other sports, seeing it up close at least once, gives a good perspective of the speed, pace, athleticism, skill, physicality, strategy, the stories etc..... Example: there was nothing like an Argentinian night match at the old grandstand court at the Open. The singing, the cheers, the flags, the ground shake, seeing the place overrun with Argentines wondering where you are for a minute. Good times. Let alone an American run. .....and each event and geography has its own scenery, and feel. The variety is good.
Unlike golf where 3 of 4 majors are in the U.S. and an entire tour...tennis has one U.S. major and less than a half a dozen elite events a year in the country. (smaller ones yes) It's very International.
With so many sports going at the same time right now, it's a bit challenging to keep up with. With some team sports, I can barely keep up with much more than the teams or individual players of my own rooting interest. A two week tennis Major, in the U.S. is a pretty big one right now. So that's more priority viewing for me at the moment. It's a good problem to have I suppose.
Women's semifinals in particular will be popcorn level:
Jen Brady v Naomi Osaka
Serena Williams v Vika Azarenka
Brady is the American Cindarella, Osaka the sport's next/current star, Serena is one Major title from tying the all time record, and Vika is making rhe comeback of comebacks aa if it were 8-10 years ago. Any of the four could win it and it would not surprise me. High level tennis.
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Pironkova’s run was pretty amazing. Unlike Azarenka’s comeback when she was a former #1, she was never even a top 30 player before pregnancy.
On the men’s side, Thiem is fantastic but I don’t know who stops Medvedev with Novak out. He looks like the Terminator right now. Rublev had been playing well. He dismantled Berettini, smoked Caruso...and Medvedev just handled him with ease, more or less.
Pironkova was a big surprise, and it's always nice to see game variety. She brought that. Big time semifinals matchups. Any of the four women can win it.
Zverev has the talent but Medvedev has the brick wall patience thay wears everyone down. And few discussing Carreno Busta but all he keeps doing is racking up win after win over high level players.
I was really bummed for Townsend/Muhammad in the dubs semis. Just a great match that slipped away. It's tough to win a slam.
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The Azarenka comeback tour storms onward. She’s been remarkable the past weeks. So resilient and unflappable. She shook off that horrid first set and then absolutely handled Serena the rest of the way. Crazy that she hasn’t made a Slam final in 7 years and she’s still relatively young at 31. She had so much success at a young age. Should be a fantastic matchup with Osaka.
Gotta think this may have been Serena’s last good shot at a major. Weakened field without Barty, Svitolina, Halep, Andreascu and others. The 5th seed in the field isn’t even a current top 10 player. Also a very favorable draw as Keys had to withdraw and Serena didn’t face a seed higher than 15 through the Semis. Stars had kind of aligned.
Honestly, ive not been a Serena fan for quite awhile. Unquestionably the best female player of all time, and arguably the best female individual athlete ever, but as electric and amazing as she was when she was younger, since reaching the consensus top of the mountain, she’s been a rather unlikable player IMO. Bombastic and overly demonstrative when playing well; however, incessantly petulant, whiny, and looking to place blame whenever she’s not flamethrowing an opponent. I thought she was a pretty clear poor sport even before the Osaka fiasco. I doubt any of it will even come close to placing any shadow on her legacy, but I’ve had numerous chats about it with my tennis playing friends (including a pair of former high level women’s players who feel largely the same).
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The Azarenka comeback tour storms onward. She’s been remarkable the past weeks. So resilient and unflappable. She shook off that horrid first set and then absolutely handled Serena the rest of the way. Crazy that she hasn’t made a Slam final in 7 years and she’s still relatively young at 31. She had so much success at a young age. Should be a fantastic matchup with Osaka.
Gotta think this may have been Serena’s last good shot at a major. Weakened field without Barty, Svitolina, Halep, Andreascu and others. The 5th seed in the field isn’t even a current top 10 player. Also a very favorable draw as Keys had to withdraw and Serena didn’t face a seed higher than 15 through the Semis. Stars had kind of aligned.
Honestly, ive not been a Serena fan for quite awhile. Unquestionably the best female player of all time, and arguably the best female individual athlete ever, but as electric and amazing as she was when she was younger, since reaching the consensus top of the mountain, she’s been a rather unlikable player IMO. Bombastic and overly demonstrative when playing well; however, incessantly petulant, whiny, and looking to place blame whenever she’s not flamethrowing an opponent. I thought she was a pretty clear poor sport even before the Osaka fiasco. I doubt any of it will even come close to placing any shadow on her legacy, but I’ve had numerous chats about it with my tennis playing friends (including a pair of former high level women’s players who feel largely the same).
While I appreciate the tennis enthusiasm, I couldn't disagree more w/this post here.
First, your admitted bias against Serena affects your characterization of her play last night. I see zero credit given to her in your post for how she played. You chalk it up to Azarenka played poorly in the first set. Reality is that Serena was dominant in the first set winning 6-1 playing better than she has in many years. Vika, to her credit, and improved serve, got off of the matt and played great as well.
I also disagree that this was Serena's last chance to win a major. Serena has either made the semifinals, finals or won 15 out of the last 19 majors she has played. Even if you focused on more recent majors, that would still be 5 out of her last 9. Now go find me all of the other players that can say the same. The list is small. Also I don't see any mention in your post that Serena sat out several majors while being pregnant and after giving birth. In Serena's missed opportunities while whe was playing, there were a handful where she let a great opportunity get away against an inferior opponent. In many others, her opponent played great that day.
With regards to the field, 11 of the past 15 Women's slams have been won by different players. Last night had a good example where Jen Brady had one poor service game away from defeating Osaka and making the final. And Osaka's play last night was among the all time best in tennis. That good. Brady spent the past 3 years outside of the top 50 prior to her monster season this year.
Your comments are even more interesting considering her opponent last night, Vika Azarenka. Vika, like Serena, is popular on tour with many. But, Vika has spent her career, including last night playing with a manufactured high pitch squeal on every shot as a strategic tactic against her opponent. Ever watch Vika practice? Silence. Vika also admitted last night that her long break from top player, slam winner, had a lot to do with her attitude, which some well respected tennis people called prickly this week. She can be arrogant, cocky, brash, finger wagging, overconfident at times at her own admission. Do you see the double standard? However, Vika still has deserved popularity at other times based on her interactions with others. She is a great player that has won at the game's highest level and she has that level back right now. Good for her. It is the first time in 12 tries that she has defeated Serena at a slam.
Back to Serena, if anything since teaming up with Patrick Mouratoglou, her pressers, pr, etc...have been much more consistently professional and her attitude is very positive and much more congratulatory with other players. That's been many years.
Take the Djokovic example. Read the media headlines and compare it with those of Serena last year. There is clearly a double standard. In the incident that happened with Serena last year, a soft warning is very common and has been in this tournament for similar incidents. The amount of racism and mysogony that she and some others have experienced has been quite a bit over many years.
These were Serena’s gracious comments after losing a tough 3 set slam semifinal:
Serena on Azarenka:
“She's had a lot of, I would say, downs in her career. She started on a lot of highs. I don't know how she stayed positive, to be honest, so.. That's a good lesson for all of us. No matter what, you just got to keep going. Hopefully she keeps living her dream.“ "Vika is just the kind of person you root for, unless you are playing her obviously."
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While I appreciate the tennis enthusiasm, I couldn't disagree more w/this post here.
First, your admitted bias against Serena affects your characterization of her play last night. I see zero credit given to her in your post for how she played. You chalk it up to Azarenka played poorly in the first set. Reality is that Serena was dominant in the first set winning 6-1 playing better than she has in many years.
I also disagree that this was Serena's last chance to win a major. Serena has either made the semifinals, finals or won 15 out of the last 19 majors she has played. Even if you focused on more recent majors, that would still be 5 out of her last 9. Now go find me all of the other players that can say the same. The list is small. Also I don't see any mention in your post that Serena sat out several majors while being pregnant and after giving birth. In Serena's missed opportunities while whe was playing, there were a handful where she let a great opportunity get away against an inferior opponent. In many others, her opponent played great that day.
With regards to the field,11 of the past 15 Women's slams have been won by different players. Last night had a good example where Jen Brady had one poor service game away from defeating Osaka and making the final. And Osaka's play last night was among the all time best in tennis. That good. Brady spent the past 3 years outside of the top 50 prior to her monster season this year.
Your comments are even more interesting considering her opponent last night, Vika Azarenka. Vika, like Serena, is popular on tour with many. But, Vika has spent her career, including last night playing with a manufactured high pitch squeal on every shot as a strategic tactic against her opponent. Ever watch Vika practice? Silence. Vika also admitted last night that her long break from top player, slam winner, had a lot to do with her attitude, which some well respected tennis people called prickly this week. She can be arrogant, cocky, brash, finger wagging, overconfident at times at her own admission. Do you see the double standard? However, Vika still has deserved popularity at other times based on her interactions with others. She is a great player that has won at the game's highest level and she has that level back right now. Good for her. It is the first time in 12 tries that she has defeated Serena at a slam.
Back to Serena, if anything since teaming up with Patrick Mouratoglou, her pressers, pr, etc...have been much more consistently professional and her attitude is very positive and much more congratulatory with other players. That's been many years.
Take the Djokovic example. Read the media headlines and compare it with those of Serena last year. There is clearly a double standard. In the incident that happened with Serena last year, a soft warning is very common and has been in this tournament for similar incidents. The amount of racism and mysogony that she and some others have experienced has been quite a bit over many years.
These were Serena%u2019s gracious comments after losing a tough 3 set slam semifinal:
Serena on Azarenka:
%u201CShe's had a lot of, I would say, downs in her career. She started on a lot of highs. I don't know how she stayed positive, to be honest, so.. That's a good lesson for all of us. No matter what, you just got to keep going. Hopefully she keeps living her dream.%u201C "Vika is just the kind of person you root for, unless you are playing her obviously."
Where did I say Azarenka played poorly? I said she shook off a horrid first set. Whether you double faulted 10 times with a bunch of unforced errors or your opponent was just on fire hitting winner after winner, dropping a set 6-1 in which you were broken 3 times is a horrid start to a semi. And I never even glowingly spoke of Azarenka, just pointed out the long lay off between Grand Slam finals for her. Why would I need to praise Serena for her lay-off? She missed a year cycle and was back to top form shortly thereafter. Hardly comparable to the gap I was talking off.
I didn’t say it was her last chance, I said it was her last good chance. She still has the French this year, but clay has never been her forte though she’s obviously won there plenty. She’ll be closer to 40 than 39 by the 2021 cycle. It would be breaking her own oldest winner record by 4+ years. If anyone could do it, it’s her, but the odds get a lot longer, especially with the depth you yourself spoke of on the tour and plenty of players who can match her strength and pace and are 10-15 years younger.
Also, the Joker/Serena comparisons don’t work for me. This isn’t to downplay the racism or misogyny Serena has faced, as that’s undeniable. But Djokovic struck the line judge by accident. Hit it out of anger to be sure, but it was a fluke strike. Serena verbally lambasted an umpire repeatedly and personally. It’s the difference between a QB getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing a ball out of bounds, after being frustrated by a delay of game penalty, and hitting a linesman versus a penalty being assessed for the QB chasing the ref down, screaming in their face with insults and obscenities. Both rightfully deserved penalties, but intent was markedly different.
We can agree to disagree. You’re certainly not alone in your defense of Serena. She’s just not for me anymore. And that’s coming from someone who specifically went to see her play in Cincy multiple times during college and jumped at the chance to meet her through a college friend at Indian Wells one year. Not like I’ve had some deep seated bias against her from the jump
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While I appreciate the tennis enthusiasm, I couldn't disagree more w/this post here.
First, your admitted bias against Serena affects your characterization of her play last night. I see zero credit given to her in your post for how she played. You chalk it up to Azarenka played poorly in the first set. Reality is that Serena was dominant in the first set winning 6-1 playing better than she has in many years. Vika, to her credit, and improved serve, got off of the matt and played great as well.
I also disagree that this was Serena's last chance to win a major. Serena has either made the semifinals, finals or won 15 out of the last 19 majors she has played. Even if you focused on more recent majors, that would still be 5 out of her last 9. Now go find me all of the other players that can say the same. The list is small. Also I don't see any mention in your post that Serena sat out several majors while being pregnant and after giving birth. In Serena's missed opportunities while whe was playing, there were a handful where she let a great opportunity get away against an inferior opponent. In many others, her opponent played great that day.
With regards to the field, 11 of the past 15 Women's slams have been won by different players. Last night had a good example where Jen Brady had one poor service game away from defeating Osaka and making the final. And Osaka's play last night was among the all time best in tennis. That good. Brady spent the past 3 years outside of the top 50 prior to her monster season this year.
Your comments are even more interesting considering her opponent last night, Vika Azarenka. Vika, like Serena, is popular on tour with many. But, Vika has spent her career, including last night playing with a manufactured high pitch squeal on every shot as a strategic tactic against her opponent. Ever watch Vika practice? Silence. Vika also admitted last night that her long break from top player, slam winner, had a lot to do with her attitude, which some well respected tennis people called prickly this week. She can be arrogant, cocky, brash, finger wagging, overconfident at times at her own admission. Do you see the double standard? However, Vika still has deserved popularity at other times based on her interactions with others. She is a great player that has won at the game's highest level and she has that level back right now. Good for her. It is the first time in 12 tries that she has defeated Serena at a slam.
Back to Serena, if anything since teaming up with Patrick Mouratoglou, her pressers, pr, etc...have been much more consistently professional and her attitude is very positive and much more congratulatory with other players. That's been many years.
Take the Djokovic example. Read the media headlines and compare it with those of Serena last year. There is clearly a double standard. In the incident that happened with Serena last year, a soft warning is very common and has been in this tournament for similar incidents. The amount of racism and mysogony that she and some others have experienced has been quite a bit over many years.
These were Serena’s gracious comments after losing a tough 3 set slam semifinal:
Serena on Azarenka:
“She's had a lot of, I would say, downs in her career. She started on a lot of highs. I don't know how she stayed positive, to be honest, so.. That's a good lesson for all of us. No matter what, you just got to keep going. Hopefully she keeps living her dream.“ "Vika is just the kind of person you root for, unless you are playing her obviously."
I believe your admitted bias against Serena affected your description of the semifinal.
I try to take every individual situation individually and examine it as such, regardless of past and/or personal interest, and I try to do so positively, negatively, and indifferently based on what is applicable to me. And, thoughts, feelings, opinions can and do vary based on each individual situation.
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The Open on 9-11 today:
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in her quest for 7 masks 7 matches, mask number six for Naomi Osaka was Philando Castile.
Both semifinals were as advertised, elite level 3 set thrillers.
Naomi Osaka 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 over Jen Brady. .....both players with 35 winners, but just a few more unforced errors for Brady. Very close match.
Vika Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 over Serena Williams.
Both Osaka and Azarenka are seeking their 3rd Grand Slam titles respectively.
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36 year old mom, and former World Singles #2 player, Vera Zvonerava wins the U.S. Open Women's Doubles Championship with Laura Siegemund 6-4,6-4 over #3 seed Nicole Melichar and Xu Yifan. It's her 3 U.S. Open title and it happens 10 years after she reaches the U.S. Open Singles final.
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In the quest for 7 masks, 7 matches, Naomi Osaka enters the Women's Singles Finals wearing a Tamir Rice mask.
The 7 masks:
Breonna Taylor
Elijah McClain
Ahmaud Arbery
Trayvon Martin
George Floyd
Philando Castile
Tamir Rice
She leaves the 2020 United States Open Women's Singles Champion, and, with it, $3 million. At age 22, it's her 3rd Major Title.
Osaka started slow, as Azarenka did hot. Lots of errors but she made the calm, confident adjustments after the first set.(Wim Fissette waa a nice add this year) Azarenka used her great service return re-directing shots, while standing inside the baseline. But anticipating the cross court and going more down line to neutralize was well done. And the serve, in tennis is always the great equalizer. And Osaka has one of the best. Easily the current best talent on super fast hard courts.
1-6, 6-3, 6-3
https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1304909347449757696?s=19
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U.S. Open wraps up with two of the half a dozen to a dozen or so next generation elites going the distance in a 5 set thriller. While play level wasn’t as quality at times as they can produce, excitement level was a 10 out of 10 as Dominic Thiem wins his first Major/Grand Slam title over friend Sascha Zverev 2-6,4-6,6-4,6-3,7-6 (8-6) despite severe cramping late in the match. Thiem is the first player in the Open Era to win the title coming back from down 2 sets.
Thiem’s first win in four Slam final tries. He also happens to be the only player to ever have defeated Rafa Nadal four times on clay. It just so happens the tour now moves to the red clay of Europe and this week Rome, and the Cypress Trees, in one of the French Open Master 1000 tuneups.
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As previously mentioned, Naomi Osaka, winner of this year's U.S. Open, and last year's World's highest paid professional Women's Athlete at almost $40 Million, wore 7 masks for 7 matches.
Here is a clip from Japanese television where her individual masks, are explained and discussed in Japan and Asia. Quite an impact.
https://twitter.com/rumireports/status/1304917652108767232?s=19
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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that Fed Cup, which is the Women’s version of Davis Cup, will be renamed Billie Jean King Cup to honor her.
Rafa Nadal makes his Pandemic debut in Rome.
Nice run in Rome for 16 year old American Coco Gauff falls short in Rome to 2 time Slam winner and former World Number 1 Gabby Muguruza, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6. She had a good win over Jabeur prior. She is still in the doubles with Christina McHale.
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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that Fed Cup, which is the Women’s version of Davis Cup, will be renamed Billie Jean King Cup to honor her.
Rafa Nadal makes his Pandemic debut in Rome.
Nice run in Rome for 16 year old American Coco Gauff falls short in Rome to 2 time Slam winner and former World Number 1 Gabby Muguruza, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6. She had a good win over Jabeur prior. She is still in the doubles with Christina McHale.
Not sure what highly ranked player looked worse in Rome, Wawrinka or Kenin. Wawrinka vultured the Challenger Tour for awhile then looks completely noncompetitive against the young Italian Musetti. Loss looks a bit less brutal after he take down Nishikori in straight sets right after blitzing Stan.
Kenin gets double bageled by Azarenka. Absolutely unreal. Second terrible performance against a highly ranked opponent after Mertens handled her without much issue at the US Open.
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Not sure what highly ranked player looked worse in Rome, Wawrinka or Kenin. Wawrinka vultured the Challenger Tour for awhile then looks completely noncompetitive against the young Italian Musetti. Loss looks a bit less brutal after he take down Nishikori in straight sets right after blitzing Stan.
Kenin gets double bageled by Azarenka. Absolutely unreal. Second terrible performance against a highly ranked opponent after Mertens handled her without much issue at the US Open.
Haven't watched the Kenin match yet but I will take a look, and I knew the result. Often times there is an injury or illness with that. It is surprisingly the 14th time a Slam Champ has been double bageled, 6-0,6-0. It has happened to some all time greats. I will grab that list when I get a chance. Interestingly enough, Azarenka and Kenin played doubles together for both Cincy and U.S. Open. .....Some players, especially old school ones will not default and they will finish the match even if not feeling well. Kenin has been slumping but she is very talented, and will turn it back around.
Stanley had some rust and walked into a hot young player. Gonna be a challenge for him with quick turn around for France.
Osaka is opting out of the French Open, hamstring and lack of prep time.
Found the list attached of the 14 Slam Champs that have been double bageled.
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Roma.
Stop the presses. Rafa Nadal has lost a tennis match on clay.
Epic effort and performance from Diego Schwartzman 6-2,7-5 in the quarters. A crosscourt backhand clinic It is his first win on clay over Nadal after losing 9 straight. Nadal had won 9 Italian Opens. His record now falls to 63-7 there all time. Nadal has won 12 French Opens but he enters for the first time not having one at least one clay court tuneup. Nadal's all time clay court record drops to a still staggering 438-40.
Schwartzman will face Denis Shapovalov in the semis. Shapo won his 100th career ATP Tour match, and he will enter the top 10 World Ranking for the first time.
Djokovic advances in 3 to face Ruud.
In the Women's, Match of the day, Garbiñe Muguruza high level 3 set win over Vika Azarenka. Very cakey, inconsistent surface made the level for both that much more impressive. Simona Halep looms on the horizon. All 3 of the above French favorites.
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Five players out of French Open qualifying due to COVID-19
https://sports.yahoo.com/five-players-french-open-qualifying-032158790.html
Five players have been withdrawn from the French Open qualifying tournament after two players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19, organisers have said.
The qualifiers will begin later on Monday, with the main draw set to commence on Sept. 27.
"The Roland Garros tournament directors can confirm that two players competing in the qualifying tournament have tested positive for COVID-19 and three others have confirmed close contact with a coach who has tested positive for COVID-19," the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said in a statement.
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Five players out of French Open qualifying due to COVID-19
https://sports.yahoo.com/five-players-french-open-qualifying-032158790.html
Five players have been withdrawn from the French Open qualifying tournament after two players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19, organisers have said.
The qualifiers will begin later on Monday, with the main draw set to commence on Sept. 27.
"The Roland Garros tournament directors can confirm that two players competing in the qualifying tournament have tested positive for COVID-19 and three others have confirmed close contact with a coach who has tested positive for COVID-19," the French Tennis Federation (FFT) said in a statement.
One player is 114th ranked Damir Dzumhur and his coach.
For those that don't follow tennis, a qualifier is a mini tournament held immediately before an event for players not already in the 128 player main singles draw.
128 additional players play the qualifying tournament each for Men and Women. 16 Men and 12 Women will make it to the main draw from the qualifying tournament for French Open 2020.
The U.S. Open had one positive test pre-tourney upon player bubble arrival. But otherwise the event went very well, zero positive tests, as did the Cincy tourney there. Some players did not travel to NYC over COVID-19 concerns. Rafa Nadal for example didn't but he is playing the French. Prague event went well as has Rome.
The French Open is a mix of players that played in New York, and others that stayed in Europe and elsewhere.
The French Open has wanted to have limited fans for the event. No other event has had fans.
Final smaller tuneup events this week for some players seeking extra clay court match play are in Hamburg, Germany for the Men, and Stasbourg, France for the Women.
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The French Open has wanted to have limited fans for the event. No other event has had fans.
An update on this:
https://www.essentiallysports.com/is-french-open-2020-allowing-spectators-atp-wta-tennis-news/
Initially, the organizers had planned on allowing 20,000 spectators each day into the stadiums. But that number shrunk to 11,500 and then to 5000 due to the severe rise in COVID-19 cases. The event had 35,000 spectators on average, each day last year. The total over the 14 day period was 52,0000 which was a record for the tournament.
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So the current plan is down to 5,000 per day from an initial proposal of 20,000. My suspicion is that could still go lower as COVID numbers continue to rise in France and across the EU.
For comparison, the Tour de France just finished yesterday, but organizers restricted fan access more and more as the event proceeded. There were a few late stages where there were virtually no fans at the finish.
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The French continues to do its own thing. When the Pandemic began, it announced it waa moving its late May event to Sept/Oct without really chatting with anyone else in tennis.
The French Open is near completion of a big long term renovation project. Going from 850 Acres to 1250 acres,(U.S. Open has 1900 acres by comparison) rebuilt main stadium after 90 years, new smaller stadium builds, retractable roof, lights for the first time this year. It is located in the hustle bustle of Paris. Recent higher end brand sponsors, partnerships with China etc....after being outdated for a very long time and least popular w/some players.
Wimbledon canceled its 2020 event. It had 17 year Pandemic Insurance that paid out $141 million.
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The French continues to do its own thing. When the Pandemic began, it announced it waa moving its late May event to Sept/Oct without really chatting with anyone else in tennis.
The French Open is near completion of a big long term renovation project. Going from 850 Acres to 1250 acres,(U.S. Open has 1900 acres by comparison) rebuilt main stadium after 90 years, new smaller stadium builds, retractable roof, lights for the first time this year. It is located in the hustle bustle of Paris. Recent higher end brand sponsors, partnerships with China etc....after being outdated for a very long time and least popular w/some players.
Wimbledon canceled its 2020 event. It had 17 year Pandemic Insurance that paid out $141 million.
Yeah, doing their own thing is kind of a French thing to do.
However, I'm not sure what your point is regarding the location of Roland Garros...while it is in Paris city limits, it's no more in the 'hustle and bustle' than Wimbledon or the National Tennis Center. Heck, you can walk from a match at Billie Jean King stadium to a Mets game at Citi Field in about 5 minutes, all while getting a close up view of planes taking off and landing at Laguardia.
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Novak Djokovic overcomes a willing Diego Schwartzman to win the Rome Title. It is his 36th Masters 1000 Title, and with it, he passes Rafa Nadal who has 35. Great run for Diego with wins over Nadal and Shapovalov, (really playing well, offensive tennis) his 9th and 10th Top ten wins. Schwartzman further solidifies his place as the best modern day 5’7 player. Attached is a photo of two top 40 ATP players. One is generously listed at 5’7. One is 6’11/7’0. (Reilly Opelka)
In the Women’s final Simona Halep won comfortably over Karolina Pliskova. Halep skipped New York and played and won Prague instead.
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Yeah, doing their own thing is kind of a French thing to do.
However, I'm not sure what your point is regarding the location of Roland Garros...while it is in Paris city limits, it's no more in the 'hustle and bustle' than Wimbledon or the National Tennis Center. Heck, you can walk from a match at Billie Jean King stadium to a Mets game at Citi Field in about 5 minutes, all while getting a close up view of planes taking off and landing at Laguardia.
It’s about not having the space to expand previously. It’s somewhat Western outskirts but still Paris. I could have worded that better. It’s about not having a lot of room to expand in Paris previously on their footprint. It was a legal battle for years. The French has had a limited footprint, tight quarters. It finally received court approval to expand to the Greenhouse Garden next door.
Yes you can walk to Citi Field from the U.S. Open, just as you can to the park museums and other things on the far opposite side of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Have double dipped a few times via LIRR, the 7, or car. There are some good places to eat nearby as well. Inside the park the food options have improved a lot but I still prefer the neighborhoods nearby.
Speaking of tight space, little of course compares to the intimacy of Wimbledon in Southwest London. One ot the best set ups in professional tennis is the Australia Open in Melbourne Park. Good location, lots to see and do, well run, well maintained events, multipurpose facilities too.
One of these was taken from the practice courts behind Arthur Ashe Stadium. The other greets you upon train arrival. 👍
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Beginning Saturday Paris is limiting public gatherings from 5,000 to 1,000.
There have been ongoing discussions as to what that will mean for the French Open. For example, there are expected to be 1,000 accredited people on site daily for the event alone, which doesn't even count spectators. Fans allowed is expected to be reduced again.
Qualifying tourneys finishing up this week on site, as are tune up events elsewhere in France, Germany, and q Challenger in Italy. Speaking of the Italy Challenger, Lorenzo Musetti has defeated Wawrinka, Nishikori, Gabashvili, and now Challenger top seed Tiafoe, making a case for a French Wildcard invite.
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Final players and teams arriving at the two Paris Bubble Hotels. Several players own flats/apartments around Paris but unlike the U.S. Open, all players must stay at the bubble hotels. The U.S.Open allowed player paid house renting for about 8 players within the bubble.
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Nine day Paris forecast, 50's to highs around 60 to low 60's and rain, as Sloane Stephens arrive s in the bubble. And Serena gets in an early practice on her 39th birthday today.
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Beginning Saturday Paris is limiting public gatherings from 5,000 to 1,000.
There have been ongoing discussions as to what that will mean for the French Open. For example, there are expected to be 1,000 accredited people on site daily for the event alone, which doesn't even count spectators. Fans allowed is expected to be reduced again.
Qualifying tourneys finishing up this week on site, as are tune up events elsewhere in France, Germany, and q Challenger in Italy. Speaking of the Italy Challenger, Lorenzo Musetti has defeated Wawrinka, Nishikori, Gabashvili, and now Challenger top seed Tiafoe, making a case for a French Wildcard invite.
Italian teen sensation Lorenzo Musetti won the Italy Challenger this morning. However, npt understanding timely entertainment the French Open didn't issue him a Wild Card when they could so he will not be playing there.
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Enormous dub for 16 year old American teen Coco Gauff over 9th seed Jo Kanta 6-3, 6-3 under the cold breezy, drizzled lights in Paris. Kanta has had a strong re-start.
Korda,.Fritz, and Isner moving forward for American Men.
Vandy's Astra Sharma getting it done for College Tennis in 3 sets.
Warwrinka dominant over Andy Murray.
First ever under the lights play as well as Center Court Roof play. Ans there has already been debate in matches when to close it.
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The obligatory annual, NBC is trash message.
The only NBC tennis event is the French Open and the long term deal goes through 2024.
No tennis on NBC, NBC Sports Network, nor any other NBC owned Network. Tennis Channel has their usual coverage. And limited Fox Sports Regional Coverage has been added this year which has been ok, but they cut coverage way too early, and, showing the same match on FS Regional and Plus has been bad. One needs a Tennis Channel Plus Subscription to watch all matches and pick and choose. (And that's fine for die hards, not so much others, and TC Plus needs to clean up some policy issues.
It's an insult to the sport. If NBC doesn't want it, that is perfectly fine, but let someone else take it off of their hands. What limited weekend coverage they do have ia often not even live. 5 years and counting until NBC is done.
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Rafa Nadal improved to a staggering 94 wins 2 losses all time at the French Open. (12 French Open Titles)
Women:
Americans: Keys out, Muguruza wins a 3 set thriller, Serena Williams, Amanda Anisimova and Christina McHale advance.
Of note advancing Kvitova. Kerber is out.
Men:
American, Sandgren and Tiafoe win and lose 5 set thrillers respectively. Jack Sock with a big win over fellow American Reilly Opelka. Playing well.
Of note, Monfils and Medvedev are out. Daniil Medvedev has never won a French Open Match. Thiem rolls on.
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Men:
American, Sandgren and Tiafoe win and lose 5 set thrillers respectively. Jack Sock with a big win over fellow American Reilly Opelka. Playing well.
Of note, Monfils and Medvedev are out. Daniil Medvedev has never won a French Open Match. Thiem rolls on.
Tiafoe with a standard frustrating inconsistent performance. He looked super strong at times and spastic at others. Sandgren seemed dead in the 4th set, super impressive resilient win.
Monfils continues to be an absolute enigma 15 years into his career. Just looks so disinterested, then turns it on when he’s already way down. Sometimes he storms back, sometimes he just doesn’t like today.
Medvedev, sheesh. Just completely lost mentally and gave up in the 4th. Shocking after his performance in NYC
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Tiafoe with a standard frustrating inconsistent performance. He looked super strong at times and spastic at others. Sandgren seemed dead in the 4th set, super impressive resilient win.
Monfils continues to be an absolute enigma 15 years into his career. Just looks so disinterested, then turns it on when he’s already way down. Sometimes he storms back, sometimes he just doesn’t like today.
Medvedev, sheesh. Just completely lost mentally and gave up in the 4th. Shocking after his performance in NYC
Gael has had an early and later career arc of being a top 15 player. At times he has appeared more interested in the entertainment aspect of the game than winning. When interested he can play with anyone. Getting and keeping that for long periods has been hus challenge. His girlfriend Elina Svitolina has had a different career of being very consistent and good in non-majors buy yet to be able to pit that together in big moment majors.
Medvedev hasn't looked comfort able on clay. Happens to many players. He is a different player on clay.
Frances is still young enough to put it together. He needs to learn how to win more of his big close matches. Wish he was working with perhaps a Paul Annacone type who has helped Taylor Fritz a lot.
The French is the last major to not have a final set tie break. There have been several long final set endings thus far, including 18-16 in the 5th.
Conditions are still heavy, slow, cool, and rhe new tennis balls are also playing slow. It's abit challenging for big hitters.
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Women:
Kenin moving forward, Jen Brady loses 9-7 in 3rd to 17 year old big hitting Danish teen Clara Tauson.
There has been a Sloane Stephens sighting and she has a nice path deep in the tourney if she is "interested."
Vekic out. Danielle Collins getting it done for college tennis. (UVA)
Speaking of college tennis Mayar Sherif (Pepperdine) was the first Egyptian tennis player in Grand Slam Main Draw. And she has a big fan in Egyptian soccer star Mo Salah. Then she almost takes out 2 seed Karolina Pliskova 7-6, 2-6, 4-6.
Men:
American Sam Querrey led Andre Rublev 7-6,7-6,5-3 and loses, ouch. Rublev won in Hamburg and was U.S. Open Semifinalists.
Tsitipas and Shapovalov rally for long match wins.
Djokovic untested.
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Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open with an achilles injury. She is expected be out 4-6 weeks and likely will return for Australia in January.
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20 year old American Qualifier Sebastian "Sebi" Korda has advanced to the Round of 16. Playing great tennis. His reward will be the player he named his cat after, Rafa Nadal. Both of Korda's parents were professional tennis players and both of his are LPGA tour players. Sebi is the youngest player to reach the Round of 16 at The French Open since American Michael Chang in 1991.
Men: Thiem, Djokovic, Nadal, dominant.
Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka out in Round 3. Shapo in round 2. Schwartzman, Zverev moving forward.
239th ranked Frenchman Hugo Gaston had never wom an ATP Tour level match before. After taking out Wawrinka, he is in the final 16.
Women:
Halep dominant. Svitolina, Mugu, Kvitova strong.
Cindarella, Martina Trevisan backs up Gauff win with win over Sakkari. Local Garcia, moving forward with rowdy 1k French fans on hand.
Pliskova and Stephens out.
Kenin, Ostapenko, Collins, Canadian teen sensation Fernandez still alive for now.
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Only 4 of the top 32 seeds remain on the Women's side of the French Open.
Halep getting crushed by 19 year Swiatek was a stunner.
Italian Martina Trevisan had one career top 100 win before the French Open. She now sits in the Quarterfinals. (Her comeback win over Gauff looks bigger by the match)
Danielle Collins and Garbiñe Muguruza played a blinder and the American Collins survives and advances to her first ever round of 16 at The French.
American Sofia Kenin has regained her form and is in to the Round of 16.
Jabeur, Badosa also moving on.
3 Time Slam Champ Petra Kvitova over Canadian Teen Leylah Fernandez in two close sets.
Men:
Rublev, Tsitipas, Dimitrov Djokovic all looking strong into Round of 16. Berretini out.
Nadal into the Quarters ending Korda's dream run.
Doubles: Kenin/Mattek-Sands into the Quarters, and Ram/Salisbury on the men side. There will be one more American doubles team on the women's side into the Quarters today.
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Rafa didn't just end Korda's dream run. He squashed it like a bug. Thiem survives.
Looking more and more like a Rafa-Novak final. Should be a classic. I'll be rooting for the King of Clay.
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Rafa didn't just end Korda's dream run. He squashed it like a bug. Thiem survives.
Looking more and more like a Rafa-Novak final. Should be a classic. I'll be rooting for the King of Clay.
Rafa's lopsided win was expected. Incredible run by the recently turned 20 year old Sebi Korda. He made it through qualifying and all the way into the round of 16. He even had Rafa sign a shirt for him.
While Djokovic and Nadal are among the title favorites, there are some others too. Dominic Thiem is fresh off of winning the U.S. Open, and, he has defeated Nadal five times since 2016, including the 2010 Australian Open. And four of those wins have come on clay. Schwartzman just defeated Nadal in Rome. Sinner the Italian teen has had some big wins. Rublev, Tsitsipas capable too.
Men Quarters next:
Nadal v Sinner
Thiem v Schwartzman
The other four will be decided Monday.
Women Quarters:
Swiatek v Trevistan
Podoroska v Svitolina
The other four will be decided Monday.
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Obviously, Rafa is not invincible.
But folks haven’t lost much money betting on him at Roland Garros.
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Obviously, Rafa is not invincible.
But folks haven’t lost much money betting on him at Roland Garros.
Rafa would be 100 wins 2 losses all time there if he wins the tourney. And he is one of the favorites to do just that.
But there are some others who can win it too. And there are several other worthy story lines in the various draws.
Below is the shirt Nadal signed for Korda.
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French Open Quarterfinals, Men:
Nadal (97-2 at French, tie The Fed?)
Sinner (Not crying w/the Saints)
Thiem (Elite, emotionally spent?)
Schwartzman (won't be outworked)
Rublev (Eite inside fire)
Tsitsipas (Moroutoglou maturity?)
Djokovic (18?)
Carreno-Busta (strong season)
On paper, the middle two natches may take a while.
Quarterfinals Women:
Swiatek (next big teen)
Trevisan (if the slipper still fits)
Podoroska (if the slipper still fits)
Svitolina (Finally win a major?)
Kvitova (multi slam winner add clay?)
Siegemund (grizzled vet, likes clay)
Kenin (2 Slams at 21)
Jabeur or Collins (Tunisia v Wahoos)
Jabeur v Collins was moved back a day due to weather delays. It will be a good one. Few play with more variety (hands, feet) than Jabeur and few play w/more fire than Collins.
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Big day for Argentina Men and Women.
7-6, 6-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2...5 hrs 7 mins.
In an epic showdown, Diego Schwartzman takes out U.S. Open Champ and hood friend, Dominic Thiem, in the French Quarters.
Rafa Nadal over Sinner 7-6, 6-4, 6-1
Schwartzman v Nadal in the semifinals. Schwartzman defeated Nadal in Rome last month 6-2, 7-5.
Women:
Danielle Collins outlasts Ons Jabeur 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 as entertaining as expected. She now faces fellow American Sofia Kenin in the Quarterfinals.
Argentine Nadia Podoroska lopsided over Elena Svitolina, and another Slam opportunity missed for Svitolina.
Polish Teen, Iga Swiatek over Martina Trevisan. It ends the Cindarella run for Trevisan.
Argentine Podoroska, a qualifier that had never won any Slam event match ever, is in the French Open.
Swiatek, former French Open Juniors champ.with American Caty McNally, and former Wimbledon Singles Junior Champ was dropped by Nike early this year and moved to Asics. That will turn out to be a big mistake. She has a soohisticated,.very multifaceted game.19 years old.
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The King of Clay crushes the Sinner!
If I were a betting man, I'd put my life savings on Rafa over Schwartzman.
Joker will be another story. That's gonna be an epic final.
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Rafa-Joker will be a battle but I don’t know who beats Joker right now. Carreno Busta is a very solid top 15-20 player who is very experienced on clay and after the first set, Joker toyed with him and made him look like an amateur. The number of rallies that PCB was in “control” of that resulted in a Joker winner was ridiculous. Truly remarkable player
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Rafa-Joker will be a battle but I don’t know who beats Joker right now. Carreno Busta is a very solid top 15-20 player who is very experienced on clay and after the first set, Joker toyed with him and made him look like an amateur. The number of rallies that PCB was in “control” of that resulted in a Joker winner was ridiculous. Truly remarkable player
One day at a time, one match at a time. Both have to get through the semis first. They are favored to do that but can't look ahead just yet.
Tsitsipas today played perhaps better than I have ever seen him play in his quarterfinal. Rublev was coming off of a clay court title and U.S. Open semifinal and Tsitipas won easily. A former Junior World #1 Tsitsipas is quickly turning the corner on tour, physically, strategically, emotionally. Two time slam semifinalist. Just 22. He will win one some time. He could have played with anyone today. Variety, easy power, depth.
Schwartzman defeated Nadal in Rome two weeks ago. 3 out of 5 at a slam is a bigger ask. He's playing great.
Djokovic and Nadal are expected, but let's play it out first.
Djokovic is in his 10th French Semifinal. He's had so many other close calls but he has just the one French Title for thus far. Nadal is now 98-2 all time at The French. 12 Titles.
Women:
Sofia Kenin w/the win over Danielle Collins in a quality All American
quarterfinal. This is why no one needed to overreact to her double bagel loss to Vika. 2020 Aussie Open Champ, Kenin is one win from the final.
Petra Kvitova has played as well as anyone in the tourney. Quietly. Seeking her 3rd slam.
Swiatek may be the sneaky favorite based on play thus far. Can she do it in the big moment. I think she can.
Podoroska is the first qualifier to make the semis at the French. livin' the dream.
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Women's Semifinals:
19 year old Polish teen Iga Swiatek has become the first Polish Women's player in the Open era to advance the French Open Final. In winning her 6 matches thus far, she not lost more than 5 total games in any match. Dominant.
In the final Swiatek faces 21 year old American Sofia Kenin who defeated two time Grand Slam Champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 7-5 in two tight sets. Kenin is the current Australian Open Grand Slam Champion and is seeking her 2nd overall Grand Slam Title, in Paris. Her overall match record in 2020 Grand Slams improves to 16-1.
It will be the youngest Women's French Open Final since 2008. (Ivanovich, Safina)
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Nadal over Schwartzman in straight sets. Loses convincingly two weeks ago to same opponent and makes adjustments. Moved up 10 feet on returns where Nadal is less comfortable but it was more effective. For undersized Schwartzman to win against Nadal, he has to have his "A" game and he didn't...left too many balls short. Nadal cut off baseline.
Djokovic outlasts Tsitsipas in 5 sets. Tsitsipas was 0 for 10 in his first 10 break point chances and Djokovic was 4 of 5. Nole played the big points better, and that is often the separator. Tsitsipas was able to turn that stat around later, take advantage of 2nd serves in the match and made it a 5th set take all.
Tale of the tape:
All time record head to head:
Djokovic 29 Nadal 26
In their last 18 matches:
Djokovic 14 Nadal 4
In their last 15 matches on clay since 2015:
Nadal 8 Djokovic 7
In Majors:
Nadal 9 Djokovic 6
At French Open:
Nadal 6 Djokovic 1 (1-0 Djokovic since 2015)
All time Major titles:
Federer 20
Nadal 19
Djokovic 17
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Rafa!
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Poland Garros.
Iga Swiatek dismantles Sofia Kenin 6-4,6-1 to become the first female or male player from Poland to win a Grand Slam.
Slow, uptight start from Kenin, too many unforced errors, in between decision making, not wanting longer rallies, hesitant to approach. Rallied later first set but unusually deflated after losing it. Swiatek steady, and big shots in big moments. Heavy, depth, top spin, angles. Strong at net.
Terrible but unsurprising NBC broadcast effort. Instead of using many capable broadcasters that were on site for 2 weeks, channel switch to NBC and they use 3 people in a U.S. studio. Dan Hicks and Johnny Mac were terrible. Mary Carillo can and is good at times but loses quality when pared w/life long friend in McEnroe.
Swiatek never lost more than 5 games in a match in the entire tourney. Dominant.
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Rafa!
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Rafa!
Rafa Nadal? Nice up and coming player. Has potential. I’m not so sure about all these massive spin quantities and variety and receiving serve super deep. Might have a nice little career. Ha!
But what’s that you say, you want more info about EEE-ga ....shh-vee AH-tek?
Iga Swiatek, the 19 year old Polish teen is the youngest French Open winner since Monica Seles in 1992. She lost the fewest games in doing so since Steffi Graf in 1988. She almost became the first player since Mary Pierce to win both singles and doubles the same year at the French. (Swiatek lost in the dubs semis)
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Only one set but, did not see this coming. Not even fun to watch at this point.
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Only one set but, did not see this coming. Not even fun to watch at this point.
We'll see. That's why they play best of 5. Be patient. It took almost an hour. There are different types of bagels.
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We'll see. That's why they play best of 5. Be patient. It took almost an hour. There are different types of bagels.
IDK, Novak wont go full Kyrgios out there and quit, it just "feels" like Rafa is toying with him the way Joker can toy with 99% of players on a hard court.
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IDK, Novak wont go full Kyrgios out there and quit, it just "feels" like Rafa is toying with him the way Joker can toy with 99% of players on a hard court.
Djokovic is uncharacteristically struggling on his serve. He didn't start hitting out until set 2. Can't ease into it. Had his chances for close first set. Missed break point opportunities. 13 unforced errors.
You can't ease into a final v Nadal, feel out process. Gotta come out asap. Nadal playing well from the jump. Nadal has won 4 of 5 head to head on clay. Djokovic will need to clean up his game and have Nadal come down a level to take it deep. Nadal too good thus far.
So far, (plenty of time left) this is what can happen when one elite player plays at his level and the other does not.
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RAFA!!!!!!!
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RAFA!!!!!!!
At Roland Garros...
15 years.
13 Titles
100 Wins 2 Losses
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To beat him, you have to bring your A+ game. For the first set and a half, Novak didn’t even have his B- game.
Novak finally found his serve but he just wasn’t sharp enough to beat The King of Clay.
I appreciate the 3-set win so I don’t have to go back and forth between tennis and football.
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What is tennis going to do when Rafa, Djokovic and Federer eventually retire.
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What is tennis going to do when Rafa, Djokovic and Federer eventually retire.
Tennis will keep moving forward with other players as they have before.
These are three all time greats and the best of their overlapping eras. But eras are different and aren't really comparable. Open vs Non Open era, Slam $, Slam emphasis, technology, fitness, nutrition, training, coaching, etc...have all changed and evolved over the years and decades.
I like what Pete Sampras said when asked how he would have done in today's game. He said, I'd like to think I would have adjusted." Even when Sampras played, for much if his career, counting slams wasn't a thing.
Chris Evert won 125 straight matches on clay. Martina Navratilova won 59 combined slams across several categories. Along came Graf, Seles, Williams sisters, others.
These three are very deserving to be celebrated and are worthy of all of the accolades. But new players will keep coming along. No individual player or team is bigger than any sport.
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I'll disagree with you a little, shoot. These three players actually ARE bigger than tennis. They have owned and dominated tennis.
I am not saying there won't be great players in the future. I am saying that it will be a long, long time -- if ever -- that even one player as good as these three arrives.
So the odds of the three greatest players ever overlapping each others' careers for close to two decades are extremely long. Actually, astronomical.
Meanwhile ...
It's fun to speculate which of the big three will end up with the most majors.
I'll eliminate Roger. He is 39, which is 5 years older than Rafa and 6 years older than Novak. Roger is still in phenomenal shape, and he's very strong mentally, so he certainly could win one or two more, but I think that's his ceiling - say 22.
Today's win was huge for Rafa because it ties him with Roger and puts him 3 ahead of Novak. (Had Djokovic won, he'd have been within 1 of Rafa and 2 of Federer.) Rafa probably has a minimum of 2-3 more French Opens in him, and I'll say he picks up 2 more wins from the other three majors before he's done. So I'll put him at 24-25.
Novak, when healthy, is an athletic freak, and he has the best all-around game in tennis. I would say he has 4 more years during which he can win 1-2 majors per year. I'll give him 6 during that time -- 2 in each of 2 years, and 1 in each of 2 more years. That's 23.
So, I'm saying Rafa 24 (maybe 25), Novak 23, Roger 22.
Call your bookie!
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I'll disagree with you a little, shoot. These three players actually ARE bigger than tennis. They have owned and dominated tennis.
I am not saying there won't be great players in the future. I am saying that it will be a long, long time -- if ever -- that even one player as good as these three arrives.
So the odds of the three greatest players ever overlapping each others' careers for close to two decades are extremely long. Actually, astronomical.
Meanwhile ...
It's fun to speculate which of the big three will end up with the most majors.
I'll eliminate Roger. He is 39, which is 5 years older than Rafa and 6 years older than Novak. Roger is still in phenomenal shape, and he's very strong mentally, so he certainly could win one or two more, but I think that's his ceiling - say 22.
Today's win was huge for Rafa because it ties him with Roger and puts him 3 ahead of Novak. (Had Djokovic won, he'd have been within 1 of Rafa and 2 of Federer.) Rafa probably has a minimum of 2-3 more French Opens in him, and I'll say he picks up 2 more wins from the other three majors before he's done. So I'll put him at 24-25.
Novak, when healthy, is an athletic freak, and he has the best all-around game in tennis. I would say he has 4 more years during which he can win 1-2 majors per year. I'll give him 6 during that time -- 2 in each of 2 years, and 1 in each of 2 more years. That's 23.
So, I'm saying Rafa 24 (maybe 25), Novak 23, Roger 22.
Call your bookie!
I understand what you are saying. And I can say without hesitation that these three are and will be enormous all time names in the sport.
How difficult is it to win? Nadal has not won a Wimbledon Title, nor has he won an Australian Open title in the past decade. His other than French event is the U.S. Open where he has four.
Djokovic’ favorite Slam, and best performing Slam is the Australian. And, Fed’s has been Wimbledon. Fed has been more traditional of a non-clay court player in that he has a lot of balance in 3 slams, many, many, Titles in 3 of them, but he secured the elusive French once. Djokovic has had a similar pattern, a few less and swap U.S. Open with Australian Open.
As I said before, it isn’t really possible to compare eras. So many times in the past top players skipped Australia because it was played at a different time of year. That hasn’t been the case in the more modern era. Slam money is huge now compared to past eras. For example, to a top few hundred player, a little Slam success, just one, can help cover your expenses that year. Counting slams was not a thing in the past.
For a while winning Slams will be more spread out than these three. It will be the case in men and women. It is more difficult than ever to win.
But time goes by, new players come through. These are the three best men’s players of their overlapping eras. No question about it. But no chance I am comparing them with Sampras, Laver, whomever because so many things change over time. Different circumstances.
These are three elite players to be enjoyed while you can, but tennis will be okay when they leave. They have been great in their eras. And of course they would be all time greats in any era. There will be new eras over time.
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By the way, 512 tests between U.S. Open and French Open singles players, Men and Women twice. All tests except one were negative for COVID-19. Bubbles work.
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I understand what you are saying. And I can say without hesitation that these three are and will be enormous all time names in the sport.
How difficult is it to win? Nadal has not won a Wimbledon Title, nor has he won an Australian Open title in the past decade. His other than French event is the U.S. Open where he has four.
Djokovic’ favorite Slam, and best performing Slam is the Australian. And, Fed’s has been Wimbledon. Fed has been more traditional of a non-clay court player in that he has a lot of balance in 3 slams, many, many, Titles in 3 of them, but he secured the elusive French once. Djokovic has had a similar pattern, a few less and swap U.S. Open with Australian Open.
As I said before, it isn’t really possible to compare eras. So many times in the past top players skipped Australia because it was played at a different time of year. That hasn’t been the case in the more modern era. Slam money is huge now compared to past eras. For example, to a top few hundred player, a little Slam success, just one, can help cover your expenses that year. Counting slams was not a thing in the past.
For a while winning Slams will be more spread out than these three. It will be the case in men and women. It is more difficult than ever to win.
But time goes by, new players come through. These are the three best men’s players of their overlapping eras. No question about it. But no chance I am comparing them with Sampras, Laver, whomever because so many things change over time. Different circumstances.
These are three elite players to be enjoyed while you can, but tennis will be okay when they leave. They have been great in their eras. And of course they would be all time greats in any era. There will be new eras over time.
I turn 60 this week. I’m thinking I will never again see a trio dominate men’s tennis the way these three have.
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22 year old Frances Tiafoe won the Parma, Italy ATP 250 Challenger, (his 5th Challenger title) He's playing Sardinia as well, including doubles with American Tommy Paul (who had a deep French Open doubles run)
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Interesting COVID-19 situation.
American Sam Querrey tested positive for COVID-19 at The St. Petersburg, Russia tour event this week. (so did his wife and 8 month old son) Protocol is to quarantine 14 days at The Four Seasons St. Petersburg. However, Querrey received an unexpected call from Russian Health Officials saying he could be forced to be hospitalized if experiencing symptoms. (they were)
Uncertain of what would happen next, and concerned about possibly separating from their 8 month old son in a foreign country, Querrey and family“escape” on a private jet with whom he is affiliated as a sponsor. Querrey paid for a flight across borders into an unknown European Country that does not require negative COVID-19 test upon entry. And they are staying at an Air BNB there.
Straight out of a movie.
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With a win tomorrow in Vienna, Novak Djokovic will tie Pete Sampras for most World Number 1, year end rankings.
Pete Sampras did it 6 straight times from 1993-1998. Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have both done it 5 times.
Djokovic will get Bora Coric who is playing well.
Down the road, Federer has the record of 310 straight days of being ranked number one. Djokovic could
pass that March 2021.
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Great season continues for Russian Andrey Rublev winning Vienna. He passes Novak Djokovic (4) with 5 titles on the year. He didn't drop serve all tourney. His 39 wins ties Djokovic on the season.
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Paris Indoors Masters 1000. (One of 9 mandatory point heavy, ATP stops)
Daniil Medvedev over Alex Zverev in the final. Zverev had previously defeated Nadal and Wawrinka to get therr. 21-4. But Medvedev with 3 set comeback.
How difficult is it to win a Masters 1000 title where you don't get thr Slams extra days off?
Medvedev and Zverev are now two of seven active players with three, three total. The four players with more? Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Murray.
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ATP Finals, London, top 8 round robin groups:
Djokovic
Medvedev
Zverev
Schwartzman
Nadal
Thiem
Tsitsipas
Rublev
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Round Robin Round 1
Thiem over Tsitsipas
Nadal over Rublev
Djokovic over Schwartzman
Medvedev over Zverev
Round Robin Round 2
Thiem over Nadal
Tsitsipas over Rublev
Zverev over Schwartzman
Medvedev over Djokovic
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Tennis Australia was told by government that International Players would not be allowed to arrive Mod December for 2021 Australian Open as previously planned with a two week quarantine. Earliest players can arrive is January 1, 2021.
All Australia tennis tourney tuneups for the Australian Open have been moved to Melbourne, site of the Australian Open. Melbourne has had zero new COVID-19 cases the past 3 weeks.
Other January 2021 Australian Open tuneups in other nearby countries have been postponed. (New Zealand etc..)
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Round Robin Round 1
Thiem over Tsitsipas
Nadal over Rublev
Djokovic over Schwartzman
Medvedev over Zverev
Round Robin Round 2
Thiem over Nadal
Tsitsipas over Rublev
Zverev over Schwartzman
Medvedev over Djokovic
Round Robin Round 3:
Rublev over Thiem
Nadal over Tsitsipas
Djokovic over Zverev
Medvedev v Schwartzman
Semifinals:
Medvedev v Nadal
Thiem v Djokovic
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Round Robin Round 3:
Rublev over Thiem
Nadal over Tsitsipas
Djokovic over Zverev
Medvedev v Schwartzman
Semifinals:
Medvedev v Nadal
Thiem v Djokovic
Thiem over Djokovic. He becomes the 2nd player with at least 5 wins each over Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. (Andy Murray)
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Thiem over Djokovic. He becomes the 2nd player with at least 5 wins each over Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. (Andy Murray)
ATP Finals semifinals:
Thiem over Djokovic
Medvedev over Nadal
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ATP Finals semifinals:
Thiem over Djokovic
Medvedev over Nadal
ATP Finals:
Medvedev over Thiem.
Daniil Medvedev is the 2020 ATP Finals Champion. He went 5-0, and defeated the number 1, (Djokovic), nunber 2 (Nadal) , and number 3 (Thiem) ranked players in the World to do it.
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https://twitter.com/Barbados/status/1332026459406397449?s=19
This is more challenging than it looks.
..... separately, it would appear February 1 is a possible Australian Open target date.
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The Australian Open will begin February 8th, 3 weeks later than normal.
https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/12/report-australian-open-begin-february-8/91999/
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Jon Wertheim is saying that Indian Wells, CA, the 5th biggest professional tennis tournament of the calendar year, held annually in March, is soon announcing its cancellation for the 2nd straight year, for 2021. (3 months in advance). Not sure if possibility of later year reschedule or wait until 2022.
They were the first major sporting event cancellation in 2020.
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Jon Wertheim is saying that Indian Wells, CA, the 5th biggest professional tennis tournament of the calendar year, held annually in March, is soon announcing its cancellation for the 2nd straight year, for 2021. (3 months in advance). Not sure if possibility of later year reschedule or wait until 2022.
They were the first major sporting event cancellation in 2020.
This hurts as the junior's Easter Bowl, which is the week before in the same spot, will also be canceled.
This follows on the junior winter nationals getting canceled in Tuscon and Orlando.
If you are a highly rated junior (HS) player looking to get coaches' attention, these cancellations really hurt.
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This hurts as the junior's Easter Bowl, which is the week before in the same spot, will also be canceled.
This follows on the junior winter nationals getting canceled in Tuscon and Orlando.
If you are a highly rated junior (HS) player looking to get coaches' attention, these cancellations really hurt.
Yep. These are big junior events.
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American Sofia Kenin was named 2020 WTA Player of The Year by International Media. She's the 8th American to win it since its first year in 1977. It's the 20th time an American has won if you include repeat winners.
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This hurts as the junior's Easter Bowl, which is the week before in the same spot, will also be canceled.
This follows on the junior winter nationals getting canceled in Tuscon and Orlando.
If you are a highly rated junior (HS) player looking to get coaches' attention, these cancellations really hurt.
Reduced field Orange Bowl is allowing 1 person per player this week in Miami. Some are using their coach, others family etc...but you get one person only.
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If you are going to get some off season work in, you may as well do it with 30 Grand Slam Singles Titles, Sebi Korda:
https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1338176861424156672?s=19
(Their son by the way is a very promising baseball pitcher/3rd Baseman at USC.)
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Reduced field Orange Bowl is allowing 1 person per player this week in Miami. Some are using their coach, others family etc...but you get one person only.
16 year old American Wildcard Ashlyn Krueger wins the girls 18's. She won the 16's last year,...the first player to go back to back since Bianca Andreescu. Nice offensive, game, good size, good fight and temperament. It's the 4th straight American winner. Robin Montgomery won it last year. Krueger hopes to play a junior slam.
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Reduced field Orange Bowl is allowing 1 person per player this week in Miami. Some are using their coach, others family etc...but you get one person only.
Remember these are kids as young as 12. Sometimes only having one parent, or just a coach is tough on them.
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Australian Open Main Draw Singles, and, Top 10 Doubles, get to bring 2 people for 2021. Everyone else gets 1.
This is the way the tour used to be before people such as Martin as Navratilova began using/bringing the team concept.
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Some speculation whether or not Roger Federer would play the 2021 Australian Open. He's training in Dubai, and he is on the entry list.
ATP Calendar:
Delray Beach 250 and Antalya 250 same week.
Aussie Open Qualifying in Doha.
ATP Cup/ATP 250 both in Australia.
Australian Open.
WTA Calendar:
Abu Dhabi 500
Aussie Open Qualifying in Dubai.
Two diff WTA500 events Australia.
Australian Open.
Notable Aussie Open Wildcards, Andy Murray, Astra Sharma (Vandy). Murray also taking a wildcard at Delray Beach. Chris Eubanks (Georgia Tech) is in the AO qualifying tournament.
Season starts Jan 7th. AO begins Feb 8th.
Normal Calendar 2022.
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Some speculation whether or not Roger Federer would play the 2021 Australian Open. He's training in Dubai, and he is on the entry list.
ATP Calendar:
Delray Beach 250 and Antalya 250 same week.
Aussie Open Qualifying in Doha.
ATP Cup/ATP 250 both in Australia.
Australian Open.
WTA Calendar:
Abu Dhabi 500
Aussie Open Qualifying in Dubai.
Two diff WTA500 events Australia.
Australian Open.
Notable Aussie Open Wildcards, Andy Murray, Astra Sharma (Vandy). Murray also taking a wildcard at Delray Beach. Chris Eubanks (Georgia Tech) is in the AO qualifying tournament.
Season starts Jan 7th. AO begins Feb 8th.
Normal Calendar 2022.
And shortly after this, Federer has now decided to withdraw from 2021 Australian Open per Tony Godsick his agent. He’ll return after the Australian Open. His streak of 21 straight Australian Opens, ends.
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Jon Wertheim is saying that Indian Wells, CA, the 5th biggest professional tennis tournament of the calendar year, held annually in March, is soon announcing its cancellation for the 2nd straight year, for 2021. (3 months in advance). Not sure if possibility of later year reschedule or wait until 2022.
They were the first major sporting event cancellation in 2020.
Indian Wells is targeting October, 2021 as a possible reschedule date for its March 2021 event. Nothing definitive yet.
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Tom Perrotta, a kind and generous person, and a really good insightful tennis journalist, died today. He was 44. (He was diagnosed at 40.)
This was one of his final pieces in November:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-a-stay-at-home-pandemic-a-sportswriter-finds-a-silver-lining-11606402801?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/fzTXfQIY9f
https://awfulannouncing.com/tennis/tennis-writer-tom-perrotta-passes-away-at-44.html
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1) Fresh off of a strong finish to 2020, Aryna Sabalenka takes the WTA title in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with wins over Hercog, Tamljanovic, Jabeur, Rybakina, Sakkari, Kudermetova. It was also a strong tourney for Maria Sakkari with comeback wins over Gauff, Kenin and a win over Muguruza. Marta Kostyuk also had a nice tourney.
2) 18 year old American Whitney Osuigwe with the epic comeback down 2-6, 2-5, to win her AO qualifying tourney. Notables, there were also good runs for Genie Bouchard and Caty McNally but they came up short in AO qualifying.
3) 20 year old American Sebi Korda has a chance for his first ATP Title this afternoon in Delray Beach, FL. Really impressive all court play, focus, and composure from Sebi. He spent part of his off season training with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in Las Vegas. With a win he'll improve to 87th in the World. He very much looks like a top 50 player in 2021.
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1) Fresh off of a strong finish to 2020, Aryna Sabalenka takes the WTA title in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with wins over Hercog, Tamljanovic, Jabeur, Rybakina, Sakkari, Kudermetova. It was also a strong tourney for Maria Sakkari with comeback wins over Gauff, Kenin and a win over Muguruza. Marta Kostyuk also had a nice tourney.
2) 18 year old American Whitney Osuigwe with the epic comeback down 2-6, 2-5, to win her AO qualifying tourney. Notables, there were also good runs for Genie Bouchard and Caty McNally but they came up short in AO qualifying.
3) 20 year old American Sebi Korda has a chance for his first ATP Title this afternoon in Delray Beach, FL. Really impressive all court play, focus, and composure from Sebi. He spent part of his off season training with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in Las Vegas. With a win he'll improve to 87th in the World. He very much looks like a top 50 player in 2021.
With the Williams in their career twilight, a number of good American women are coming ... Kenin (who has already arrived with by winning the AO last year and world #3), Gauff, Osuigwe, Anisimova, Li, McNally, Bellis, Di Lorenzo, and Dolehide. One of them can emerge as a rival to Osaka and/or Barty in the years to come.
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With the Williams in their career twilight, a number of good American women are coming ... Kenin (who has already arrived with by winning the AO last year and world #3), Gauff, Osuigwe, Anisimova, Li, McNally, Bellis, Di Lorenzo, and Dolehide. One of them can emerge as a rival to Osaka and/or Barty in the years to come.
Yep, lots of talent and depth on the Women's side. I'd add even more names to your list, Amanda Anisimova, who is already top 30 at age 19. Robin Montgomery, others...etc...
There were 30 top 200 American Women's players this past year. Players in their 20's. such as Jenn Brady, Danielle Collins, etc...have been much improved as well. Don't forget Stephens is only a years removed from a U.S. Open Title, and, when fit and focused, can beat anyone. Keys has also knocked on the door of winning a slam.
So there are still plenty of current players capable of at least winning a slam, Serena, Keys, Stephens, Brady, etc...let alone the younger group led by Kenin, Anisimova, Gauff, etc...
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American Madison Keys tested positive for COVID-19 before flying to Australia and will stay home and miss the tourney. She is a former top 10 player, currently ranked 16th, and a former AO Semifinalist. She'll be back next month.
Andy Murray has also tested positive for COVID-19. He was training in Roehamptom in London, where there has been an outbreak. He has an AO wildcard. He is now doubtful for that.
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While many ATP/WTA players are arriving just fine in Australia for the Australian Open, there have been two flights that have contained COVID-19 positives.
All flights to Australia have been private charter flights. The two separate flights came from Abu Dhabi and LAX.
The LAX flight contained two positives. Of the 79 people on the flight, 24 were players. The Abu Dhabi flight had 64 passengers, 23 were players.
All players.must isolate in their hotel rooms for 14 days, and will not be able to practice or participate in any events. From Abu Dhabi, this list includes Maria Sakkari, Bianca Andreescu, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ons Jabeur, Belinda Bencic, Angelique Kerber, Marta Kostyuk, Paula Badosa. From the L.A. flight, some of these players include Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka, Kei NIshikori.
The two positives on the U.S./L.A. flight were a flight crew person, and a support staff person for a player. They had negative tests, took the flight, and tested positive upon arrival to Australia.
Andreescu's coach tested positive from the Abu Dhabi flight.
COVID-19 positives were transported to the "Health Hotel" (Holiday Inn Melbourne) while the main hotel is the long time popular with player/fan/staff, Grand Hyatt Melbourne. There are roughly 1,240 players, staff etc...
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From a competition standpoint, this is huge! I wonder if they will push back the start a week to let these quarantine payers prepare better. It means a lot of money for them.
And ... it is nice to be a top-five player where you can fly private and not have to worry about this.
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From a competition standpoint, this is huge! I wonder if they will push back the start a week to let these quarantine payers prepare better. It means a lot of money for them.
And ... it is nice to be a top-five player where you can fly private and not have to worry about this.
The Australian Open is paying for all flights for all players and staff. There are 18 flights, from three locations, all at 20% capacity.
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American Amanda Anisimova, will miss the 2021 Australian Open due to COVID-19, joining American Madison Keys. She tested positive in Abu Dhabi, the day before her flight.
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Getting nasty!
Novak Djokovic clarifies his looser quarantine restrictions requests in statement
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Novak_Djokovic/94298/novak-djokovic-clarifies-his-looser-quarantine-restrictions-requests-in-statement/
Kyrgios hits out at 'tool' Djokovic as tense Australian Open buildup continues
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/30736773/tennis-kyrgios-hits-tool-djokovic-tense-australian-open-build-continues
and the players in quarantine in Australia are now testing positive
Australian Open: Two more players 'test positive' amid quarantine row
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55713453
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Getting nasty!
Novak Djokovic clarifies his looser quarantine restrictions requests in statement
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Novak_Djokovic/94298/novak-djokovic-clarifies-his-looser-quarantine-restrictions-requests-in-statement/
Kyrgios hits out at 'tool' Djokovic as tense Australian Open buildup continues
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/30736773/tennis-kyrgios-hits-tool-djokovic-tense-australian-open-build-continues
and the players in quarantine in Australia are now testing positive
Australian Open: Two more players 'test positive' amid quarantine row
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55713453
This has gone on for several years between Djokovic and Kyrgios. Nick doesn't like him. He's not shy about saying so. He believes Djokovic is inauthentic.
Djokovic is one of the smaller group of players that rents a house with a nearby tennis court at majors, for his large support team. He had to limit his team at U.S. Open. But he was allowed to rent a house in the bubble.
Krygios gets into plenty of hot water with his own behavior, but he is more of a team player, not high maintenance. He's also gotten into it with Nadal before as well. Nadal doesn't care for Nick's antics. NK is pretty good friends with Murray and some of the American and Canadian players. He also likes Fed.
Djokovic, Serena, Nadal will be playing a charity exhibition in Adelaide, away from Melbourne before the AO.
Most players have an awareness and respect of the pandemic situation and have posted as such. But there are always going to be a few that don't read the room.
Many players are practicing in their rooms, and making fun videos such as this one from Heather Watson:
https://twitter.com/HeatherWatson92/status/1351825945477353478?s=19
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/1351082397916393475?s=09
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Kyrgios is a clown.
Just my opinion. Others are welcome to love him.
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Kyrgios is a clown.
Just my opinion. Others are welcome to love him.
Kyrgios also has "issues" with Nadal and Rafa hates him.
That said, he might be the most talented player on the tour. When he gets focused (which is not often) he can dominate anyone, including Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.
This is what makes him so frustrating ... the talent/potential is obvious. Just never lives up to it.
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Kyrgios also has "issues" with Nadal and Rafa hates him.
That said, he might be the most talented player on the tour. When he gets focused (which is not often) he can dominate anyone, including Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.
This is what makes him so frustrating ... the talent/potential is obvious. Just never lives up to it.
Results matter. I'll believe he's "the most talented player on the tour" when I see him win a major.
At least Nastase won a couple of times.
I'm sticking with "clown."
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Results matter. I'll believe he's "the most talented player on the tour" when I see him win a major.
At least Nastase won a couple of times.
I'm sticking with "clown."
Lots of tennis experts and professional coaches think Kyrgios has the potential/talent to be among the “big 3.” Only a handful of players worldwide are in the category (Theim, Medvedev, Tsitsipas).
The reason Kyrgios is not ... many of them use your term ... clown.
A waste of talent.
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Good look at the capacity crowd Adelaide, Australia exhibition match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka...prior to the upcoming Australian Open:
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1355028885474168832?s=19
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Lots of tennis experts and professional coaches think Kyrgios has the potential/talent to be among the “big 3.” Only a handful of players worldwide are in the category (Theim, Medvedev, Tsitsipas).
The reason Kyrgios is not ... many of them use your term ... clown.
A waste of talent.
Exactly right. Complete waste of talent. His serve alone should make him a top 5-10 player. He's also a douchebag because he never gets what it means to be a professional athlete.
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89 matches today covering six different events in Melbourne. An extra event was added to get some match play for those who had longer quarantines.
70's and 80's weather stretch. .
Australian Open begins next week.
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Exactly right. Complete waste of talent. His serve alone should make him a top 5-10 player. He's also a douchebag because he never gets what it means to be a professional athlete.
I find Kyrgios so frustrating. He could be such a force but he's such a head case (clown/douche) that it will never happen.
Then you look at a guy like Diego Schwarzmann. 5' 7" and plays WAY beyond his ability. His work ethic and dedication are admirable. The guy tries so hard. The fact that he is a consistent top 10-15 is remarkable.
If Schwarzmann had Kyrgios talent, no one would ever win another major again.
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I find Kyrgios so frustrating. He could be such a force but he's such a head case (clown/douche) that it will never happen.
Then you look at a guy like Diego Schwarzmann. 5' 7" and plays WAY beyond his ability. His work ethic and dedication are admirable. The guy tries so hard. The fact that he is a consistent top 10-15 is remarkable.
If Schwarzmann had Kyrgios talent, no one would ever win another major again.
I’d like to think he’s growing up a bit. He was very thoughtful, charitable, and introspective off the court this year. From pandemic aid to wildfire assistance to just a more admirable approach to life in general, it seems like it might be clicking a bit.
That being said, I’ve always been of the mind that he doesn’t really love tennis. It seems funny to think given how much of a fun leisure activity it is for many, and how many would kill to play a game at the highest level like him, but I think it really is just a job for him. That doesn’t justify a lack of professionalism or his fits of tanking, but it does kind of explain some of the difference in approach compared to others and his mercurial attitude towards competing.
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A security guard at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19. 500-600 players will isolate until returning negative tests.
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As if on effen cue ...
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios smashed his racket and threw it into the empty stands at the Murray River Open — a warmup for the Australian Open — on Friday.
The scene occurred after he lost his serve to go down 4-5 in the second set. He was awarded a point penalty as a result, after receiving an audible obscenity warning earlier in the game.
Kyrgios was complaining of a left knee injury for most of the match and ultimately lost to Borna Coric 6-3, 6-4.
What a freakin' tool.
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As if on effen cue ...
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios smashed his racket and threw it into the empty stands at the Murray River Open — a warmup for the Australian Open — on Friday.
The scene occurred after he lost his serve to go down 4-5 in the second set. He was awarded a point penalty as a result, after receiving an audible obscenity warning earlier in the game.
Kyrgios was complaining of a left knee injury for most of the match and ultimately lost to Borna Coric 6-3, 6-4.
What a freakin' tool.
Come on Mike, He broke a racket and swore, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!! If this is anyone other than Kyrgios, even another top 25 player, it likely doesn’t even mention reporting especially in the quarters of a warm up tourney. I would wager even with his temper, he wouldn’t throw a racket into the stands if there were fans present.
Even the most classy player like Fed has broken plenty of rackets mid match, been fined for swearing on camera, etc...
Non story IMO, but Kyrgios bad boy behavior stories drives the all important clicks!
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Come on Mike, He broke a racket and swore, WONT SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!! If this is anyone other than Kyrgios, even another top 25 player, it likely doesn’t even mention reporting especially in the quarters of a warm up tourney. I would wager even with his temper, he wouldn’t throw a racket into the stands if there were fans present.
Even the most classy player like Fed has broken plenty of rackets mid match, been fined for swearing on camera, etc...
Non story IMO, but Kyrgios bad boy behavior stories drives the all important clicks!
Hmmm ... but it WAS Kyrgios, and it was typical Kyrgios. Over and over and over again. Like Nastase, he cultivates his bad-boy image. Unlike Nastase, he doesn't win anything of note.
And on the relatively rare occasion when those who actually have won something do this kind of thing, it does get mentioned in the articles about the matches. Now, whether a U.S. newspaper chooses to publish such an article, that's a different thing.
Has nothing to do with THE CHILDREN! It has to do with not being a tool.
Just IMHO. Others can (and obviously do) think otherwise.
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Australian Open begins tonight.
WTA pre Australian Open, Ash Barty wins her first event after not playing on tour for 11 months. Defeats Garbi Muguruza who was dominant much of the event. Americans playing well, include, Ann Li, Jenn Brady, Kenin, Serena Williams, Danielle Collins, Shelby Rogers, Whitney Osuigwe. Sloane Stephens has been hitting with Jenn Brady. She looks fit, plays well in Australia, but hasn't played well recently. Pegula and Venus also in the mix for a few rounds. Ann Li playing her best yet here. Coco Gauff has a tough draw, but if her serve holds up, can make a run. Serena has a tough draw as well. Others playing well include Halep, Kvitova, Sakkari, Mertens, Azarenka, Putinseva, Sabalenka, Fernandez, Osaka. Will be interesting to Andreescu.
Djokovic a favorite on the Men's side. It's his favorite event. But there are plenty of other options too.
Daniil Medvedev and Andre Rublev lead Russia to the ATP Cup Title. Medvedev has won 14 straight matches. Ten of them have been vs ATP Top 10:
Schwartzman (3 times)
Zverev (3 times)
Djokovic
Nadal
Thiem
Berretini
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RAFA!
Actually, I know it’s his weakest major. That loss to Fed a few years back especially sucked. Hoping he has one more Aussie win in him.
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I find Kyrgios so frustrating. He could be such a force but he's such a head case (clown/douche) that it will never happen.
Then you look at a guy like Diego Schwarzmann. 5' 7" and plays WAY beyond his ability. His work ethic and dedication are admirable. The guy tries so hard. The fact that he is a consistent top 10-15 is remarkable.
If Schwarzmann had Kyrgios talent, no one would ever win another major again.
Great call on Schwartzmann. That dude is a grinder with tremendous heart. Great wheels and lateral quicks.
Side note....it would be nice if there was an American male capable of winning a GS.
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RAFA!
Actually, I know it’s his weakest major. That loss to Fed a few years back especially sucked. Hoping he has one more Aussie win in him.
Rafa is one of my 5 favorite athletes of all-time. Incredible tenacity and overall consistency. His mastery and domination on clay is without question one of the greatest accomplishments ever in sports. It's not like he's been thumping scrubs the last 15 yrs at Roland Garros.
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Great call on Schwartzmann. That dude is a grinder with tremendous heart. Great wheels and lateral quicks.
Side note....it would be nice if there was an American male capable of winning a GS.
It would.
But this is why we enjoy the strong play and depth of American Women. Kenin, Stephens, Williams all with recent years Slam titles. Keys has come very close a few times. Lots of talent on the Women's side.
Frances Tiafoe gets Novak Djokovjc in round 2. And, the winner of that gets the winner of Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka. So if one of these three better American players wants to make a run, one of them will have to take out Djokovic in Round 2 or 3.
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Rafa is one of my 5 favorite athletes of all-time. Incredible tenacity and overall consistency. His mastery and domination on clay is without question one of the greatest accomplishments ever in sports. It's not like he's been thumping scrubs the last 15 yrs at Roland Garros.
He's so much fun to watch - such an athlete. And, as you say, so tenacious. Plus all his little quirks make him endearing. Put all that together with not just talent but the way he has improved even after he got to 30+ years old, and what a competitor.
If he can win this, he'd not only pass Fed but he'd be the only pro ever with at least 2 titles at each major -- just another incredible accomplishment.
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It would.
But this is why we enjoy the strong play and depth of American Women. Kenin, Stephens, Williams all with recent years Slam titles. Keys has come very close a few times. Lots of talent on the Women's side.
Frances Tiafoe gets Novak Djokovjc in round 2. And, the winner of that gets the winner of Americans Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka. So if one of these three better American players wants to make a run, one of them will have to take out Djokovic in Round 2 or 3.
Kenin is the defending AO champion. American women are becoming a global power in Tennis.
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He's so much fun to watch - such an athlete. And, as you say, so tenacious. Plus all his little quirks make him endearing. Put all that together with not just talent but the way he has improved even after he got to 30+ years old, and what a competitor.
If he can win this, he'd not only pass Fed but he'd be the only pro ever with at least 2 titles at each major -- just another incredible accomplishment.
He's always compelling and fun to watch. The battles the Big 3 have had are riveting, as spectators we are truly blessed. Rafa has always been a total class act and he never cheats himself or the game. He also is a scratch golfer and probably could have played pro soccer. He's a tremendous athlete, insane eye-hand coordination.
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Muggsy, you're right about how lucky tennis fans have been these last 15 years. To have three amazing athletes like these, all at the same time, going at each other ... so much fun. There never has been anything quite like it in the history of sports.
I know that every era has to end, but when these 3 hang it up, it will leave a huge void in men's tennis. Roger already looks close to done (although I've thought that before). Rafa still seems to have a few tricks, but I'd imagine he'll fade at least a couple years before Novak will.
There are some talented players, obviously, but nobody who I look at today and say: "This guy, this guy and this guy ... they have the skill and personality and longevity to carry tennis."
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Muggsy, you're right about how lucky tennis fans have been these last 15 years. To have three amazing athletes like these, all at the same time, going at each other ... so much fun. There never has been anything quite like it in the history of sports.
I know that every era has to end, but when these 3 hang it up, it will leave a huge void in men's tennis. Roger already looks close to done (although I've thought that before). Rafa still seems to have a few tricks, but I'd imagine he'll fade at least a couple years before Novak will.
There are some talented players, obviously, but nobody who I look at today and say: "This guy, this guy and this guy ... they have the skill and personality and longevity to carry tennis."
I'm happy there are several promising Americans in women's tennis, and Serena has been so dominant, but I don't see a lot of compelling matches or rivalries. I'm also a bit concerned with the major elephant in the room down the road with regards to women's tennis. We're talking about the most lucrative sport for women so it would be a real shame if it was ruined.
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I'm happy there are several promising Americans in women's tennis, and Serena has been so dominant, but I don't see a lot of compelling matches or rivalries. I'm also a bit concerned with the major elephant in the room down the road with regards to women's tennis. We're talking about the most lucrative sport for women so it would be a real shame if it was ruined.
You aren't finding compelling matches and rivalries in Women's tennis? Huh?
Elephant in the room?
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You aren't finding compelling matches and rivalries in Women's tennis? Huh?
Elephant in the room?
What soecific match-up and rivalry is compelling to you right now?
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What soecific match-up and rivalry is compelling to you right now?
What is the elephant in the room?
You said you don't see a lot of compelling Women's tennis matches.
What is it that you are seeking in Women's tennis matches and not seeing?
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What is the elephant in the room?
You said you don't see a lot of compelling Women's tennis matches.
What is it that you are seeking in Women's tennis matches and not seeing?
I'm thinking about specific rivalries? I have seen some very good matches here and there, and if Gauff becomes a star that changes everything, but I see a lot of up and down GS performances among the top players. Osaka may be the exception, I'm just hoping Coco takes over.
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I'm thinking about specific rivalries? I have seen some very good matches here and there, and if Gauff becomes a star that changes everything, but I see a lot of up and down GS performances among the top players. Osaka may be the exception, I'm just hoping Coco takes over.
You said you were concerned with the major elephant in the room with regards to Women's tennis? I don't know what that means or to what you are referring? Would you elaborate on what you said and what you mean by that? Thanks.
There is a lot of parity in Women's Tennis. Because of that, you will have a variety of results and types of players. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of good and great players, and compelling play. The same person doesn't have to win all the time.
Serena, Graf, Evert, Navratilova etc...are some of the exceptions over many decades winning enormous amounts of Grand Slams etc.... Tennis did just fine before, after, and in between various players and eras.
As you mentioned it's one of the most lucrative sports for Women. fir example, The ten highest earners in Women's sports last year pre Pandemic, were Women's tennis players.
Naomi Osaka, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 3, and has won 3 Grand Slams in the past couple of years, made over $40 million dollars on 2019. She's a massive International Star, as Tennis is first and foremost a Global Sport.
Bianca Andreescu is the first Canadian Woman to ever win a Grand Slam, and she was the first teenager to win won since Maria Sharapova in 2006.
Ash Barty became the first Australian WTA Player of the year, and rhe first Aboriginal Indigenous Woman to win the French Open since Evonne Goolagong in 1971.
Simona Halep (two Slams in the past couple of years) has finished in the top 10 seven straight years, and has a huge European following.
Petra Kvitova (2 Wimbledon Titles) 8th time in the Top 10, was literally attacked and stabbed by a stranger, surgeries, no feeling in her hand, comes back and secures Fed Cup Title for her country.
Lots and lots of great story lines, and compelling play
Serena is still going for her 24th Slam Title.
Coco Gauff is one of the most talented young Tennis Players. She's going to win a lot, for a long time. Superstar talent and composure.
Poland's Iga Swiatek won the French Open as a teenager last year.
Garbi Muguruza is back with Conchita Martinez, and is seeking her 3rd Grand Slam Title.
As mentioned Americans Stephens, Kenin, have won recent Slam Titles. Keys has come.close. Anisimova, Brady, others are capable of doing so.
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You said you were concerned with the major elephant in the room with regards to Women's tennis? I don't know what that means or to what you are referring? Would you elaborate on what you said and what you mean by that? Thanks.
There is a lot of parity in Women's Tennis. Because of that, you will have a variety of results and types of players. That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of good and great players, and compelling play. The same person doesn't have to win all the time.
Serena, Graf, Evert, Navratilova etc...are some of the exceptions over many decades winning enormous amounts of Grand Slams etc.... Tennis did just fine before, after, and in between various players and eras.
As you mentioned it's one of the most lucrative sports for Women. fir example, The ten highest earners in Women's sports last year pre Pandemic, were Women's tennis players.
Naomi Osaka, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 3, and has won 3 Grand Slams in the past couple of years, made over $40 million dollars on 2019. She's a massive International Star, as Tennis is first and foremost a Global Sport.
Bianca Andreescu is the first Canadian Woman to ever win a Grand Slam, and she was the first teenager to win won since Maria Sharapova in 2006.
Ash Barty became the first Australian WTA Player of the year, and rhe first Aboriginal Indigenous Woman to win the French Open since Evonne Goolagong in 1971.
Simona Halep (two Slams in the past couple of years) has finished in the top 10 seven straight years, and has a huge European following.
Petra Kvitova (2 Wimbledon Titles) 8th time in the Top 10, was literally attacked and stabbed by a stranger, surgeries, no feeling in her hand, comes back and secures Fed Cup Title for her country.
Lots and lots of great story lines, and compelling play
Serena is still going for her 24th Slam Title.
Coco Gauff is one of the most talented young Tennis Players. She's going to win a lot, for a long time. Superstar talent and composure.
Poland's Iga Swiatek won the French Open as a teenager last year.
Garbi Muguruza is back with Conchita Martinez, and is seeking her 3rd Grand Slam Title.
As mentioned Americans Stephens, Kenin, have won recent Slam Titles. Keys has come.close. Anisimova, Brady, others are capable of doing so.
I'm concerned about biological males playing women's tennis in the realitively near future.
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I'm concerned about biological males playing women's tennis in the realitively near future.
I knew that's what you meant. I chose to ignore it.
Be better than this, Muggsy.
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1st Round notables:
Women:
American Jessie Pegula with a big win over Vika Azarenka in straight sets. She has a nice early rounds draw as well. She's been working with David Witt. Nice to see Caty McNally supporting.
Other Americans, Ann Li and Jenn Brady with lopsided wins. madison Brengle and Sofia Kenin also moving forward with wins. Bernie Pera with a huge win over 3 time Grand Slam Champ Angie Kerber. Serena, Venus, Gauff, all moving forward. Nice business like win for Gauff over Teichmann. Gauff gets top 5 seed Elina Svitolina in Round 2. Tough Draw, Big ask, she'll be forced to play longer points. But capable.
Davis, Osuigwe, McHale, Riske, are out.
Men:
American notables:
Opelka, Fritz, Cressy, McDonald, Tiafoe, moving forward, Giron is out.
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Rafa dealing with balky back. So far, mostly seems to be affecting his serve.
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Rafa dealing with balky back. So far, mostly seems to be affecting his serve.
He's not right. Hopefully it's a short-term issue.
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I knew that's what you meant. I chose to ignore it.
Be better than this, Muggsy.
What does this mean?
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What does this mean?
Go troll somebody else, Smuggles.
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1st Round notables:
Women:
American Jessie Pegula with a big win over Vika Azarenka in straight sets. She has a nice early rounds draw as well. She's been working with David Witt. Nice to see Caty McNally supporting.
Other Americans, Ann Li and Jenn Brady with lopsided wins. madison Brengle and Sofia Kenin also moving forward with wins. Bernie Pera with a huge win over 3 time Grand Slam Champ Angie Kerber. Serena, Venus, Gauff, all moving forward. Nice business like win for Gauff over Teichmann. Gauff gets top 5 seed Elina Svitolina in Round 2. Tough Draw, Big ask, she'll be forced to play longer points. But capable.
Davis, Osuigwe, McHale, Riske, are out.
Men:
American notables:
Opelka, Fritz, Cressy, McDonald, Tiafoe, moving forward, Giron is out.
Women 1st round. Sakkari out in a stunner against Mladenovic. Lopsided win for Mertens over Fernandez. Fernandez is a future Canadian star. Mertens playing well again. Badosa is out.
Americans Shelby Rogers and Danielle Collins moving forward comfortably. Tough matchup for Sloane Stephens with Putinseva. She is out in 3 sets. Much of the others were chalk.
Men: Americans, Tommy Paul moving forward, Michael MMoh with a 5 set thriller win. Querrey is out.
Goffin is out.
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He's not right. Hopefully it's a short-term issue.
Rafa labored a little but took care of business.
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Women 1st round. Sakkari out in a stunner against Mladenovic. Lopsided win for Mertens over Fernandez. Fernandez is a future Canadian star. Mertens playing well again. Badosa is out.
Americans Shelby Rogers and Danielle Collins moving forward comfortably. Tough matchup for Sloane Stephens with Putinseva. She is out in 3 sets. Much of the others were chalk.
Men: Americans, Tommy Paul moving forward, Michael MMoh with a 5 set thriller win. Querrey is out.
Goffin is out.
Mayar Sherif becomes the first Egyptian Woman to win a Grand Slam Main Draw Match. Made it through qualifying. She was an All American at Pepperdine.
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Hopefully Tiafoe doesn't get rolled by the Djoker.
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Hsieh Su-wei with a big straight set upset of Bianca Andreescu. Hsieh better known as World #1 Doubles Player and 71st in singles.
Ann Li into the 3rd round with win over Cornet who is a bit tricky to play. Serena comfortably moving on. Sabalenka looms in 4th round.
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I guess I missed the tiebreaker rules for the Aussie Open. First to 10???
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Tiafoe just split sets with Djokovic!!! Awesome!!!
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Atrocious coverage by ESPN showing three screens and matches with Tiafoe and Djoker tied 5-5 in the 2nd. Inexcusable.
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Big Day for Coco Gauff seeking to take out top 5 Elina Svitolina. If she can, there is a very reasonable path all the way to the semis perhaps for one of three American Women, Brady, Kenin, or Gauff, against possibly Barty.
Kvitova is out in 3 sets v Cirstea in a surprise there. Halep survies Tomljanovic 7-5 in the third. Venus is out.
Men:
Frances Tiafoe a few points from taking Djokovjc to a 5th set. Great effort for the recently turned 23 year old. Variety, energy, taking advantage of the faster courts this year, and afternoon heat. But he missed too many 1st serves (54%) and didn't get enough free points, and that can be the difference.
Fritz over Opelka in 5 set marathon.
Wawrinka is out 5th set tie break, had his chances v Fuscovics in one of the matches of the day. Tsitsipas, Dmitrov, quietly dominant thus far.
Rewatchjng Hsieh over Andreescu, just a clinic of spin, pace, finesse, shot variety, getting Andreescu to play her way set one, and then getting Andreescu to press and overplay set 2. Very impressive.
...
Brandon Nakashima became the first American since Frances Tiafoe to win two ATP Challenger events as a teenager.
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So why aren’t they using replay at this tournament?
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So why aren’t they using replay at this tournament?
They are using an electric line calling system for COVID-19 reasons. It automatically shows close call replays on the big screen. It’s a different technology than the long used Hawk-Eye system. They tested it out in about half a dozen tournaments prior to Australian Open.
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They are using an electric line calling system for COVID-19 reasons. It automatically shows close call replays on the big screen. It’s a different technology than the long used Hawk-Eye system. They tested it out in about half a dozen tournaments prior to Australian Open.
Hmmm. It didn't work on an obviously long shot right near the end of the Djokovic-Tiafoe match.
It wouldn't have mattered in the result, but the ball was well out - several inches - and Tiafoe was already pissed off because he had a first serve taken away due to time and because the umpire let Djokovic take his time changing a racket. So that just made him more upset.
Seems silly, because the old system worked well, and I don't know how COVID-19 makes this any better or worse.
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Hmmm. It didn't work on an obviously long shot right near the end of the Djokovic-Tiafoe match.
It wouldn't have mattered in the result, but the ball was well out - several inches - and Tiafoe was already pissed off because he had a first serve taken away due to time and because the umpire let Djokovic take his time changing a racket. So that just made him more upset.
Seems silly, because the old system worked well, and I don't know how COVID-19 makes this any better or worse.
The new system means less line judges and people on and near the court during the Pandemic. That is why they are using it this event.
Hawk-Eye Technology (The previous replay system that is more widely used) has been around roughly 15 years. More recently (2019) it has developed a "Live" version the past couple of years. Australian Open is using a "Live" version. (Australian Open was first Grand Slam to use Hawk-Eye technology in 2007)
The U.S. Open 2020 used it and the numbers apparently showed 14 incorrect calls out of 225,000.
It still needs some tweaking. But it is more accurate than human error from a numbers stand point.
(The French Open needs to at minimum use the original Hawk-Eye replay technology instead of clay ball marks.)
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The new system means less line judges and people on and near the court during the Pandemic. That is why they are using it this event.
Hawk-Eye Technology (The previous replay system that is more widely used) has been around roughly 15 years. More recently (2019) it has developed a "Live" version the past couple of years. Australian Open is using a "Live" version. (Australian Open was first Grand Slam to use Hawk-Eye technology in 2007)
The U.S. Open 2020 used it and the numbers apparently showed 14 incorrect calls out of 225,000.
It still needs some tweaking. But it is more accurate than human error from a numbers stand point.
(The French Open needs to at minimum use the original Hawk-Eye replay technology instead of clay ball marks.)
Interesting, thanks.
Unrelated: After listening to Novak talk about it being the hardest surface ever, I don’t feel great about Rafa’s chances.
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Interesting, thanks.
Unrelated: After listening to Novak talk about it being the hardest surface ever, I don’t feel great about Rafa’s chances.
Yep. 👍
Courts are playing super fast this year, much faster than usual. That helps someone like Djokovic who has the best defense on tour.
Djokovic also doesn't like playing in super hot weather, and it's been upper 88's, 90, and sunny the last few days through tomorrow. (Kvitova doesn't like it either and she already lost.)
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The Fountain of Youth has been found Down Under.
After 35 year old Hsieh Su-wei knocks out top 8 seed, 2019 U.Sm Open Champ Bianca Andreescu...
39 year old Feliciano Lopez is in to round 3 with a five set win over 31 seed Lorenzo Sonego...
and, 35 year old Kaia Kanepi takes out defending Australian Open Champ Sofia Kenin in convincing fashion.
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Been a while since Sweden has made some tennis noise Swedish/Ethiopian qualifier Mikael Ymer is into the 3rd Round with a four set win over Spanish teen star Carlos Alacaraz.
'Merica...Shelby Rogers abd Jenn Brady are moving forward. Danielle Collins is out after falling to 6 seed Karlina Pliskova. (Serve let her down today)
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If the court is that fast Rafa may have his work cut out for him. It should help Serena however. Hopefully I can stay up for the Coco match.
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Jessica Pegula is in to the 3rd Round.
Tough loss for Coco Gauff. But it was more of the smothering complete play of World Top 5 (for 5 straight years) Elina Svitolina. Known for her speed, footwork, defense, stamina, and, as one of the best WTA players to not yet win a major, Svitolina served lights out, winning 80% of her first serves, and a strong down the line forehand, were a little bit too much forr Gauff.
Coco played very well, at times as well as I've seen her play. She cleaned up her serve (especially 2nd serve mechanics and acceleration) in the off season, as there were just a few chances for both players either way. Svitolina converted a few more to win. Both players were extremely impressive. The draw for Svitolina is very favorable too if she can back up the win. She will go far if she keeps up that level. Gauff will continue un doubles with Caty McNally.
Tsitsipas taken the distance by Kokkinakis but takes moves forward.
UCLA's Mackie Mcdonald takes out 22 seed Bora Coric in 4 sets.
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A plethora of good matches on the docket tonight.
Ann Li's AO stay has ended after a nice run for the American 20 year old. Few players if any have played as well as Aryna Sabalenka since last year. Next uo for 7 seed Sabalenka? Serena Williams looms in a possible Round of 16 matchup.
Serena prep for her round 3 match tonight v Potapova:
https://twitter.com/pmouratoglou/status/1359915428315881483?s=19
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A plethora of good matches on the docket tonight.
Ann Li's AO stay has ended after a nice run for the American 20 year old. Few players if any have played as well as Aryna Sabalenka since last year. Next uo for 7 seed Sabalenka? Serena Williams looms in a possible Round of 16 matchup.
Serena prep for her round 3 match tonight v Potapova:
https://twitter.com/pmouratoglou/status/1359915428315881483?s=19
How is Brady playing?
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How is Brady playing?
Here's the story ... of a lovely lady ... who was bringing up three very lovely girls ...
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Here's the story ... of a lovely lady ... who was bringing up three very lovely girls ...
Ha!! She has some serious game. Osaka seems like the favorite for the gals. Coco will take over the sport in about 2 yrs. If an American can't win I'll root for Svitolina.
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Here's the story ... of a lovely lady ... who was bringing up three very lovely girls ...
While she appreciates your lack of originality, Brady is too busy steamrolling opponents to have time for that. Possible Vekic in round of 16, possible Svitolina in quarters, possible Barty in semis. She will be favored until the quarterfinals. One match at a time.
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Will Potapova last an hour?
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WTH? Did Potapova read my comment?
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I have been watching tennis for more decades than I choose to admit.
I have NEVER seen a pro - man or woman - serve as poorly as Potapova.
She’s double-faulting by 6-7 FEET.
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I have been watching tennis for more decades than I choose to admit.
I have NEVER seen a pro - man or woman - serve as poorly as Potapova.
She’s double-faulting by 6-7 FEET.
Yes. That was crazy!!
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Chokova
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Chokova
Hopefully Serena finds her game after this match. Way too many unforced errors.
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Hopefully Serena finds her game after this match. Way too many unforced errors.
There were times she looked spent. There was one time - with Potopova serving for the set - that Serena didn’t even try for a ball about 4 feet away from her.
But she was energized in the tiebreak and then destroyed Chokova.
We’ll see if Serena has the energy to do what’s necessary for 2 weeks.
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Breaking News: Kyrgios had another meltdown and blew a match up two sets. This with a home crowd and a surface at a perfect speed for his huge serve and power game. Props to Theim. It seems to me Zverrev has a good chance of breaking through here.
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Breaking News: Kyrgios had another meltdown and blew a match up two sets. This with a home crowd and a surface at a perfect speed for his huge serve and power game. Props to Theim. It seems to me Zverrev has a good chance of breaking through here.
Huh?
I will make an exception responding here, after your previously ridiculous, discriminatory Women's tennis comments.
I think you forgot the part where his opponent is the defending U.S. Open Champion. Thiem has made 4 Grand Slam Finals in the past few years. He's ranked 3rd in the world and has been ranked in the top 10 for 4.5 years. You can like who you like. But no objective person has had anything but praise for Kyrgios' play and effort last night. 5 sets, a match that can go either way against one of the world's best.
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Serena advances to 4th round v Sabalenka. Two of the games biggest hitters, pace, depth. I like the matchup for Serena.
Anastasia Potapova is a former World Junior number one, has won Jr Wimbledon etc...and she had a very serious ankle injury and surgery last year. She moved better than I thought she would. She took out a seeded player before falling to Serena. Neither player at their best, but when you have to win 7 times in a row, surviving and advancing is always going to happen at some point. 90 degree mid day heat too.
Osaka v Muguruza pits two of the games best in Round 4. Popcorn match there. When will Muguruza win even more Slams vs Osaka trying to win outside of U.S. Open. Surface favorable to Osaka, but Garbi has come close there before. Both playing great. (Jabeur has such an attractive style of play and variety but didn't have a chance v Osaka.)
Felix Auger Aliassime with strong straight set win over Shapovalov. Felix spent some off season time at Nadal's Academy in Majorca, Spain. Looks good. Like his 4th round matchup too.
American Taylor Fritz takes Novak Djokovic the 5 set distance but comes up short. That's two strong efforts from young American Men v Djokovic. Lots to like, things to work on.
8 seed Schwartzmann goes out quietly. Speaking of quietly, Grigir Dmitrov is quietly crushing opponents and rolling.
Halep and Swiatek are rolling and are on a rematch collision course from last year's French Open.
The nice story of Hsieh Su-wei continues into the Round of 16. One of the tour's most popular players 7-5 in the third.
And, McCoco Fever is alive and well Down Under. Caty McNally and Coco Gauff crush the 6th seed and two of the World's Best doubles players to advance again in doubles:
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/status/1360083758708387840?s=19
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By the way, Australia announced a 5 day lockdown. No fans for at least 5 days, and likely the rest of the event. This will certainly come into play for those that thrive on big crowds and those who don't. Probably a negative for Serena etc...
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Novak guts out an incredible win over Fritz. He was obviously in serious pain, but it looked like the pain-killers must have kicked in because he was moving much better in the 5th set.
As soon as Fritz blinked - as soon as he couldn't ride only his serve to point after point - he was done for.
Fritz is the typical big hitter whose overall game is inferior to the best pros. If the serve is on and he doesn't make too many unforced errors, he has a chance. If his serve isn't close to perfect (and/or if his opponent isn't injured), he isn't good enough.
After the match, Djokovic said his injury was "a tear," which if true could keep him from winning. With Rafa also hurting some, this is shaping up as another wide-open major.
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Novak guts out an incredible win over Fritz. He was obviously in serious pain, but it looked like the pain-killers must have kicked in because he was moving much better in the 5th set.
As soon as Fritz blinked - as soon as he couldn't ride only his serve to point after point - he was done for.
Fritz is the typical big hitter whose overall game is inferior to the best pros. If the serve is on and he doesn't make too many unforced errors, he has a chance. If his serve isn't close to perfect (and/or if his opponent isn't injured), he isn't good enough.
After the match, Djokovic said his injury was "a tear," which if true could keep him from winning. With Rafa also hurting some, this is shaping up as another wide-open major.
I think your assessment if Fritz is a bit too dismissive and short sighted. Fritz' game is a bit different from some of the Big Man tennis players like an Isner etc.... He has better cross court groundstrokes, variety, top spin lob etc...much better movement than some in that category. He also isn't at the level yet of a Medvedev, Zverev and a few others closer to his size. His game is a bit different. He's in the middle.
He's made the Top 32 in all of his past four Slams, coming very close to Shapovalov at the U.S. Open, Djokovic here etc...5 setters. He's been very consistently steadily progressing and is a player that is sitting just outside the top 20 in the World that is working towards taking the next step.
Winning Slams isn't an easy thing to do. Djokovjc for example, didn't start his run of winning Slams until he was Fritz' age and after.
Fritz recently turned 23, and he has made some good choices with coaches in Nainkin and Annacone. He's also divorced with a small child at a young age. He's had a lot going on.
Fritz has been working off the court on some physical things that can help him take the next step in his game, to be a 2nd weekend Slam player, snd beyond, to be able to grind the distance.
He doesn't have to be Federer or Nadal or Djokovic. There's a big World of Tennis out there outside of three players.
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I think your assessment if Fritz is a bit too dismissive and short sighted. Fritz' game is a bit different from some of the Big Man tennis players like an Isner etc.... He has better cross court groundstrokes, variety, top spin lob etc...much better movement than some in that category. He also isn't at the level yet of a Medvedev, Zverev and a few others closer to his size. His game is a bit different. He's in the middle.
He's made the Top 32 in all of his past four Slams, coming very close to Shapovalov at the U.S. Open, Djokovic here etc...5 setters. He's been very consistently steadily progressing and is a player that is sitting just outside the top 20 in the World that is working towards taking the next step.
Winning Slams isn't an easy thing to do. Djokovjc for example, didn't start his run of winning Slams until he was Fritz' age and after.
Fritz recently turned 23, and he has made some good choices with coaches in Nainkin and Annacone. He's also divorced with a small child at a young age. He's had a lot going on.
Fritz has been working off the court on some physical things that can help him take the next step in his game, to be a 2nd weekend Slam player, snd beyond, to be able to grind the distance.
He doesn't have to be Federer or Nadal or Djokovic. There's a big World of Tennis out there outside of three players.
I will defer to your knowledge of Fritz. I've seen him only a few times, and every time if he was serving superbly he was dominating and if he wasn't he was flailing.
I'd love to see a few of the younger guys actually make a stand. Maybe he'll be one of them.
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I will defer to your knowledge of Fritz. I've seen him only a few times, and every time if he was serving superbly he was dominating and if he wasn't he was flailing.
I'd love to see a few of the younger guys actually make a stand. Maybe he'll be one of them.
Taylor is former World Junior #1 player. So he’s been around the block a time or two at the highest levels.
I think there is a bit more variety of games with some of the bigger players.
Fun fact: For a long time, many of the Grand Slam winners were roughly 6’1 or so in height. Fed, Sampras, Nadal, Djokovic is maybe 6’2 and so on. It’s as if it has been a sweet spot of height for some of the best players. Just under and just over 6 feet.
Sure you have had some outliers, Del Potro is 6’6 with one of the gamea best forehands. And of course you have had past grass court players and other exceptions. Edberg, Becker, etc...
Medvedev and Zverev are a newer type of player, big guys that can move and sit out there all day with groundstrokes.
Fritz is about 6’4. In hoops he would be someone that is food at different things, but is trying to complete his game and handles.
He’s not going to be Zverev or Medvedev. And that’s okay. But he has more long term potential and ability than some Big Man, Isner type of players. He does need to serve well to be successful. But he can return serve, he has some of the shot variety that I mentioned. He is still putting it all together. And I believe physically and mentally off the court are recent points of emphasis with him.
Isner for example, is what he is. He is a big man tennis player that is limited probably mostly by his return of serve. Interestingly enough he has had some
success on clay getting more time to return.
Now Fritz may or may not turn the corner, etc..but if you watch him play or practice, you can see the progression. He isn’t there yet, but I believe he can be a more consistent 2nd weekend player, and make a run once in a while. And that’s pretty good.
Your favorite Jenn Brady, didn’t turn a corner until after she was 25 years old. Then she started winning titles, making Slam Semis and looks pretty good so far in Melbourne.
We’ll see.
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Huh?
I will make an exception responding here, after your previously ridiculous, discriminatory Women's tennis comments.
I think you forgot the part where his opponent is the defending U.S. Open Champion. Thiem has made 4 Grand Slam Finals in the past few years. He's ranked 3rd in the world and has been ranked in the top 10 for 4.5 years. You can like who you like. But no objective person has had anything but praise for Kyrgios' play and effort last night. 5 sets, a match that can go either way against one of the world's best.
So I'm prejudiced against women because I wrote that I find women's tennis not as compelling as men's tennis? And I'm also prejudiced because I raised concerns about biological males eventually infiltrating their sport? That's your take?
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Taylor is former World Junior #1 player. So he’s been around the block a time or two at the highest levels.
I think there is a bit more variety of games with some of the bigger players.
Fun fact: For a long time, many of the Grand Slam winners were roughly 6’1 or so in height. Fed, Sampras, Nadal, Djokovic is maybe 6’2 and so on. It’s as if it has been a sweet spot of height for some of the best players. Just under and just over 6 feet.
Sure you have had some outliers, Del Potro is 6’6 with one of the gamea best forehands. And of course you have had past grass court players and other exceptions. Edberg, Becker, etc...
Medvedev and Zverev are a newer type of player, big guys that can move and sit out there all day with groundstrokes.
Fritz is about 6’4. In hoops he would be someone that is food at different things, but is trying to complete his game and handles.
He’s not going to be Zverev or Medvedev. And that’s okay. But he has more long term potential and ability than some Big Man, Isner type of players. He does need to serve well to be successful. But he can return serve, he has some of the shot variety that I mentioned. He is still putting it all together. And I believe physically and mentally off the court are recent points of emphasis with him.
Isner for example, is what he is. He is a big man tennis player that is limited probably mostly by his return of serve. Interestingly enough he has had some
success on clay getting more time to return.
Now Fritz may or may not turn the corner, etc..but if you watch him play or practice, you can see the progression. He isn’t there yet, but I believe he can be a more consistent 2nd weekend player, and make a run once in a while. And that’s pretty good.
Your favorite Jenn Brady, didn’t turn a corner until after she was 25 years old. Then she started winning titles, making Slam Semis and looks pretty good so far in Melbourne.
We’ll see.
Thanks for all that on Fritz. You are Mr. Tennis.
I can pretty safely say that I will never watch Fritz or any other athlete practice - and I'm talking about tennis, golf, basketball, badminton, curling, Jarts, you name it. I guess I'm the fan version of Allen Iverson - "Practice? You talkin' 'bout practice?"
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Thanks for all that on Fritz. You are Mr. Tennis.
I can pretty safely say that I will never watch Fritz or any other athlete practice - and I'm talking about tennis, golf, basketball, badminton, curling, Jarts, you name it. I guess I'm the fan version of Allen Iverson - "Practice? You talkin' 'bout practice?"
Thanks, but I just think less people post about tennis. I like, play, coach, watch, a variety of sports. It's a good sport.
Not all practices are created equal, but, when done well, it's where the magic happens.
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It's starts with 128, but, the 2021 Australian Open reached the Round of 16.
25% of the Women's Round of 16 is American. (5 if you count Osaka)
Ash Barty vs Shelby Rogers
Elise Mertens vs Karolina Muchova
Donna Vekic vs Jennifer Brady
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina
Hsieh Su-wei vs Marketa Vondrousova
Garbi Muguruza vs Naomi Osaka
Aryna Sabalenka vs Serena Williams
Iga Swiatek vs Simona Halep
Favored players don't always win which is how we got here and why it's fun.
Barty is favored
Mertens is favored
Vekic v Brady toss up
Svitolna favored
Vondrousova favored
Muguruza v Osaka is a toss up
Sabalenka v Serena is a toss up
Halep is favored/toss up
Men's Round of 16
Djokovic v Raonic
Lajovic v Zverev
Thiem v Dmitrov
Auger-Aliassime v Karatsev
Rublev v Ruud
McDonald v Medvedev
Tsitsipas v Berretini
Fognini v Nadal
Djokovic will be favored
Zverev favored
Thiem favored
FAA favored
Rublev favored
Medvedev favored
Toss Up
Nadal favored
You See Elle Aye has two Americans in the Round of 16 w/Jenn Brady and Mackie McDonald.
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I'm feeling a little better about Rafa's chances today. He looked superb against Norrie, a good player who tested him. Rafa moved easily, hit a lot of blistering shots from both sides (especially forehand), served well. He even seemed to benefit from the court being hard - but of course Norrie is not a big hitter.
Next comes Fognini. He has beaten Rafa before ... but not this time!
Wonder what the latest is on Djokovic. Hope he's doing better.
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I'm feeling a little better about Rafa's chances today. He looked superb against Norrie, a good player who tested him. Rafa moved easily, hit a lot of blistering shots from both sides (especially forehand), served well. He even seemed to benefit from the court being hard - but of course Norrie is not a big hitter.
Next comes Fognini. He has beaten Rafa before ... but not this time!
Wonder what the latest is on Djokovic. Hope he's doing better.
Is he thwacking his serve big enough and unloading bombs from both sides? Or is it more consistency and slowly bludgeoning his opponents? Djoker looks injured but there are some big hitters that can overpower Rafa on a good day. Zverev looks dangerous to me. I think he's improved his serve.
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I'm feeling a little better about Rafa's chances today. He looked superb against Norrie, a good player who tested him. Rafa moved easily, hit a lot of blistering shots from both sides (especially forehand), served well. He even seemed to benefit from the court being hard - but of course Norrie is not a big hitter.
Next comes Fognini. He has beaten Rafa before ... but not this time!
Wonder what the latest is on Djokovic. Hope he's doing better.
Nadal vs Fognini is a bit of an unexpected outside of the box matchup. If the current AO Fognini of patience and precision shows up, he will perhaps force Nadal to grind a bit. If it isn't that Fognini version, he will be out quickly.
Djokovic gets Raonic, who will be more of a Big Man tennis player to some extent which will mean shorter points, which is helpful for him. A bad matchup would have been being forced to move a lot, playing extra balls etc...but Raonic is very capable.
Jennifer Brady is into the Women's Round of 16 having lost only 11 games. We are trying to confirm but I believe if you read her lips post match, she appears to say "Stick it MU82" ...
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100% agree about Fogini. If he focuses and grinds, which he can do, and has done, he can give Nadal a lot of trouble.
If, on the other hand, he goes "full Italian" constantly bitching and complaining and wildly hitting the ball, it will be a short evening of work for Nadal.
I guess it depends on what Fogini's betting paymasters want of him (yes, this has long been rumored about him. Betting on Tennis is HUGE in Asia and the Middle East and match-fixing is a big problem).
Joker is supposedly hurt and might not continue.
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100% agree about Fogini. If he focuses and grinds, which he can do, and has done, he can give Nadal a lot of trouble.
If, on the other hand, he goes "full Italian" constantly bitching and complaining and wildly hitting the ball, it will be a short evening of work for Nadal.
I guess it depends on what Fogini's betting paymasters want of him (yes, this has long been rumored about him. Betting on Tennis is HUGE in Asia and the Middle East and match-fixing is a big problem).
Joker is supposedly hurt and might not continue.
Wow ... in one short post you managed to spell Fognini's name wrong repeatedly, make some kind of anti-Italian slur, and accuse him of being on the take.
Hat trick! Congrats!
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Wow ... in one short post you managed to spell Fognini's name wrong repeatedly, make some kind of anti-Italian slur, and accuse him of being on the take.
Hat trick! Congrats!
Feign outrage.
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Tennis_Stories/31043/matchfixing-controversy-37-suspicious-matches-possible-involvement-of-two-top20-players-/
But it does not end here. Fabio Fognini has been cited by Sole 24 Ore Newspaper, for allegedly fixing his match against Simone Vagnozzi in the 2011 Barcelona Open. The Italian newspaper says that Bracciali and Bruni wanted to bet on the match, because Bracciali knew that Fognini was not physically fit, but he was not contacted.
There are no real proofs however. Also though too many bets were placed on Fognini on an unspecified betting site, while on Betfair, much money was placed on Vagnozzi. The match fixing allegations for this match came up because an anonymous person revealed on Betfair that with Fognini leading 6-2 2-1 (and eventually retiring while the score was 6-2 2-4), 60,000 euros were placed on the victory of his opponent.
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There are no real proofs however.
Feign charge by you.
And an anti-Italian slur.
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Whoa... Osaka down 5-3 in the 3rd set.
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Whoa... Osaka down 5-3 in the 3rd set.
My god what a finish. Down 5-3, then 2 set points against her down 15-40....then she storms back and blasts her way to 4 straight games to take the third 7-5
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My god what a finish. Down 5-3, then 2 set points against her down 15-40....then she storms back and blasts her way to 4 straight games to take the third 7-5
That's impressive.
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As expected, Garbi Muguruza and Naomi Osaka was a popcorn Grand Slam Final Matchup in the Round of 16, that could go either way.
Somehow Osaka survives 2 match points and comes back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Big hitting, both sides, strong serving from both, strong returning. Quiet easy power, angles, movement. Both had been dominant prior. Muguruza with 2 Grand Slam Titles, Osaka with 3. Muguruza is a different player when working with Conchita Martinez. But she will think about that one slipping away for a little while. Osaka rose to the occasion to take it late 3rd set.
Really enjoyable.
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Back to Back Popcorn matches on the same court. Serena Williams advances with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 popcorn match win over Aryna Sabalenka. Easily could have been a final. improved movement a difference maker for SW so far this year. Big hitting and serving from both players.
Hard to believe Muguruza and Sabalenka are out at rhe Round of 16 when both easily could have won the tourney.
Osaka advances to face Hsieh Su-wei, the oldest first time Grand Slam Quarter Finalist at 35. She'll see lots of finesse, variety, creativity, and someone great at the net.
Serena will face the winner of Swiatek and Halep, another Grand Slam winner matchup.
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Theim in huge trouble vs Dimitrov. Down 2 sets and not sharp at all.
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It's starts with 128, but, the 2021 Australian Open reached the Round of 16.
25% of the Women's Round of 16 is American. (5 if you count Osaka)
Ash Barty vs Shelby Rogers
Elise Mertens vs Karolina Muchova
Donna Vekic vs Jennifer Brady
Jessica Pegula vs Elina Svitolina
Hsieh Su-Wei vs Marketa Vondrousova
Garbi Muguruza vs Naomi Osaka
Aryna Sabalenka vs Serena Williams
Iga Swiatek vs Simona Halep
Favored players don't always win which is how we got here and why it's fun.
Barty is favored
Mertens is favored
Vekic v Brady toss up
Svitolna favored
Vondrousova favored
Muguruza v Osaka is a toss up
Sabalenka v Serena is a toss up
Halep is favored/toss up
Men's Round of 16
Djokovic v Raonic
Lajovic v Zverev
Thiem v Dmitrov
Auger-Aliassime v Karatsev
Rublev v Ruud
McDonald v Medvedev
Tsitsipas v Berretini
Fognini v Nadal
Djokovic will be favored
Zverev favored
Thiem favored
FAA favored
Rublev favored
Medvedev favored
Toss Up
Nadal favored
You See Elle Aye has two Americans in the Round of 16 w/Jenn Brady and Mackie McDonald.
Half of the Australian Open Quarterfinals are booked:
Women:
Hsieh Su-Wei v Naomi Osaka
Serena Williams v Simona Halep.
Men:
Novak Djokovic v Alexander Zverev
Grigor Dmitrov v Aslan Karatsev
Su-Wei, a quarterfinalist for the first time at 35. Osaka seeking her fourth Grand Slam Singles Title.
Serena Williams seeking her 24 Grand Slam Singles Title. Simona Halep is seeking her 3rd Grand Slam Singles Title.
Halep comes back from down a set to take out French Open Champ Iga Swiatek. Changing tactics, variety, and experience the difference.
Grigor Dmitrov has quietly dominated his AO matches thus far taking out U.S. Open Champ Dominic Thiem decidedly in straight sets. Thiem was coming off 6-4 in 5th over Kyrgios.
27 year old Russian Qualifier Aslan Karatsev comes back from down two sets to eliminate Felix Auger Aliassime.
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Looking forward to Nadal-Fognini and Djokovic-Zverev.
Definitely looking forward to the likely Serena-Naomi semifinal.
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Looking forward to Nadal-Fognini and Djokovic-Zverev.
Definitely looking forward to the likely Serena-Naomi semifinal.
Osaka will be a heavy favorite in her Quarterfinal. Hsieh Su-Wei one kf the funniest and most likable players on tour deadpanned that Osaka will probably crush her but she will go play anyway. She's cagey and she has a very unique game that won't be the power game Osaka would prefer to see.
Serena v Halep is a toss up on paper. Halep has won two Slams, has been a top 10 player seven straight years. And she has the type of game that could keep Serena on court for a few hours because of her defense, variety, and fitness. Serena will have to serve well, and keep up her strong movement and she'd be in good position to advance.
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This Karatsev guy is #251 in the rankings? Amazing.
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Assuming the answer is no, but does McDonald have any shot vs. Medvedev tonight?
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Assuming the answer is no, but does McDonald have any shot vs. Medvedev tonight?
I’ve never seen old McDonald play ... but he has a shot ... E-I-E-I-O.
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Assuming the answer is no, but does McDonald have any shot vs. Medvedev tonight?
I’d be shocked if McDonald even snatches a set. But Medvedev did just have a 5 setter, so we’ll see
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Assuming the answer is no, but does McDonald have any shot vs. Medvedev tonight?
The short answer is yes, Mackie has a chance.
The longer answer is it will be a big challenge. It's a difficult matchup for him because Medvedev excels at many things, and, he ultimately forces opponents to defeat themselves. That's how he wins a lot of the time.
Mackie's game is as an aggressive baseliner, taking the ball early, great movement and footwork making shots on the move from both sides, and, he has good hands at the net. Very roughly speaking, a Kei Nishikori style of play in some ways. Very clean, strong, winner to unforced error ratio. He will have to serve well enough on both his 1st and 2nd serves, his best, to have a chance. (Mackie a former NCAA Singles Champ is one of three former UCLA Bruins playing in the event.)
Mackie had a very serious hamstring injury two years ago, that required surgery and a very long recovery rehab in small steps. It's been a long road back.
Daniil Medvedev is 6'6 vs Mackie's 5'10. But he doesn't play Big Man tennis. He is one of the game's best and most unorthodox tactical players. He has good lateral movement defend with footwork and length. He can stand inside the baseline and hit low flat backhands that are not easy to return. He doesn't really have a big weakness to his game, and, he is often a few steps ahead with strategy. Perhaps his weakness is not having a knockout punch at times but that would be it. Players at Medvedev's level with that knockout punch are the few that give him trouble.
He is unafraid to change tactics during a match, and, thus opponents don't know what's coming next. He can be a human backboard, ike Drago in Rocky IV before drawing blood, making him uncomfortable, and, inevitably temperamental.
Mackie's movement and shot making will help him against a Medvedev, but he has to get some free serve points here and there too. I'd make Medvdev come in, even though he is much improved at the net. I wouldn't get into long center of baseline rallies with him.
Medvedev has won 17 straight matches, most against top 10 players.
As long as you step out on court and throw the ball up, there's always a chance. But it will take a best level effort from Mackie, and a few things to go his way.
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American Jessica Pegula is in to her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over 5 seed Elina Svitolna in the blazing mid day heat.
Nice balance and mix of controlled aggression, comfortably coming in to finish off points. She was the more aggressive player.
Really improving since working with David Witt. She has overcome several injuries including hip surgery a few years ago.
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Brady is rolling Vekic.
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American teenagers Coco Gauff and Caty McNally are into the Australian Open Women's Doubles Quarterfinals, with another straight set win over a seeded team. They have wins over the 6 and 9 seeded teams in their last two matches. Playing well, and playing better as a team.
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Assuming the answer is no, but does McDonald have any shot vs. Medvedev tonight?
Stick with your fifth word.
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Rafa time! Looking forward to this one.
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American Jessica Pegula is in to her first Grand Slam Quarterfinal with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over 5 seed Elina Svitolna in the blazing mid day heat.
Nice balance and mix of controlled aggression, comfortably coming in to finish off points. She was the more aggressive player.
Really improving since working with David Witt. She has overcome several injuries including hip surgery a few years ago.
Jessie Pegula will play good friend and fellow American Jen Brady in the Australian Open Women's Quarterfinals. Brady with a win over a resurgent Donna Vekic.
Brady's deceptive power is often an adjustment for those not used to playing her in recent memory. Slow start and too many unforced errors from Vekic, playing with some knee discomfort. Great effort in the 2nd set, which was much more of the match expectation of back and forth big hitting and movement.
Shelby Rogers will try to make 4 of 8 American Women in the Australian Open Singles Quarterfinals.
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The short answer is yes, Mackie has a chance.
The longer answer is it will be a big challenge. It's a difficult matchup for him because Medvedev excels at many things, and, he ultimately forces opponents to defeat themselves. That's how he wins a lot of the time.
Mackie's game is as an aggressive baseliner, taking the ball early, great movement and footwork making shots on the move from both sides, and, he has good hands at the net. Very roughly speaking, a Kei Nishikori style of play in some ways. Very clean, strong, winner to unforced error ratio. He will have to serve well enough on both his 1st and 2nd serves, his best, to have a chance. (Mackie a former NCAA Singles Champ is one of three former UCLA Bruins playing in the event.)
Mackie had a very serious hamstring injury two years ago, that required surgery and a very long recovery rehab in small steps. It's been a long road back.
Daniil Medvedev is 6'6 vs Mackie's 5'10. But he doesn't play Big Man tennis. He is one of the game's best and most unorthodox tactical players. He has good lateral movement defend with footwork and length. He can stand inside the baseline and hit low flat backhands that are not easy to return. He doesn't really have a big weakness to his game, and, he is often a few steps ahead with strategy. Perhaps his weakness is not having a knockout punch at times but that would be it. Players at Medvedev's level with that knockout punch are the few that give him trouble.
He is unafraid to change tactics during a match, and, thus opponents don't know what's coming next. He can be a human backboard, ike Drago in Rocky IV before drawing blood, making him uncomfortable, and, inevitably temperamental.
Mackie's movement and shot making will help him against a Medvedev, but he has to get some free serve points here and there too. I'd make Medvdev come in, even though he is much improved at the net. I wouldn't get into long center of baseline rallies with him.
Medvedev has won 17 straight matches, most against top 10 players.
As long as you step out on court and throw the ball up, there's always a chance. But it will take a best level effort from Mackie, and a few things to go his way.
It wasn't a best level type of performance for Mackie, and things didn't go his way He struggled with his serve, was inefficient in his play vs Medvedev who had twice as many winners to unforced errors. Great experience and run for McDonald. Medvedev has a lot of recent experience in those matches and it was business like for him in the hot Australian sun. 18 straight wins for Daniil.
Medvedev will possibly get childhood friend, 7 seed and fellow Russian Andre Rublev in the Quarterfinals. That would be a toss up match/Medvedev a slight favorite. But first Rublev has to get past capable young Norwegian Casper Ruud.
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Fognini takes the ball early. Reminds me a little of Agassi.
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With an assist from some Fognini mistakes, Rafa goes Full Houdini to pull out the second set.
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With an assist from some Fognini mistakes, Rafa goes Full Houdini to pull out the second set.
Hasn't been a great match but I think Rafa will be pleased to get through in straight sets. I think he may have to flatten his shots out a bit moving forward. The heavy top spin will sit up for the heavy hitters. I think I would take Zverev right now as the slightest of favorites. Especially if Djoker isn't right.
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With an assist from some Fognini mistakes, Rafa goes Full Houdini to pull out the second set.
That was insanity. I flipped away when Rafa went down love-40 down 4-3 after he had responded to losing his serve by breaking right back. Figured Fognini would take it and serve the set out and I’d be back in 15 min to the 3rd at 1 set a piece. Flipped back to see 6-4 to Rafa in the second and actually chuckled out loud. Just wild.
McDonald is a promising American for me because he has some diversity to his game. He’s not standard mega bomber like Isner, Opelka, or some of the close but far American as of late. Fritz is inconsistent as hell but he’s still young, so there is hope. Really hope Tiafoe puts it together cause he has giant killer potential and is pure fun to watch when he’s on. And then there is Korda who could be a star. Regardless, it’s a great era for American women’s tennis, would be nice to have another male contender again. It’s been a long time
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That was insanity. I flipped away when Rafa went down love-40 down 4-3 after he had responded to losing his serve by breaking right back. Figured Fognini would take it and serve the set out and I’d be back in 15 min to the 3rd at 1 set a piece. Flipped back to see 6-4 to Rafa in the second and actually chuckled out loud. Just wild.
Fognini made 3 or 4 really bad decisions and also hit a few bad shots. And Rafa ... he just grinds, even when he goes through stretches where he's not hitting the ball the way he'd like. In the first two sets, he had 4-5 chances to put away games and missed shots he makes 90% of the time. He makes those, and he probably wins 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Then, in the 3rd, Rafa found his mojo again and Fognini folded like Origami. Maybe Smuggles is right, and Fognini was on the take!
Hasn't been a great match but I think Rafa will be pleased to get through in straight sets. I think he may have to flatten his shots out a bit moving forward. The heavy top spin will sit up for the heavy hitters. I think I would take Zverev right now as the slightest of favorites. Especially if Djoker isn't right.
Rafa definitely was happy to get through. Even though Fognini wasn't very good on this day, he is a quality pro who has beaten Rafa 4x.
I think Rafa needs to serve a lot better. He had been serving great the last couple of years - best of his career - and as Djokovic said, you need a good serve to win in Melbourne. Rafa is about to run into some players with big serves, guys who are gonna win a good number of points and games on their serve alone. Rafa needs to be representative in that area.
I'll believe Djokovic will lose as soon as I see him lose. Zverev obviously has the talent to beat him ... but we've been saying that whenever a younger, talented player goes against one of the Big 3 for at least 5 years now. I'll believe some of these "future of tennis" guys are the future of tennis as soon as they start knocking off the guys who know how to win slams.
These matches that start in the 11 to 11:30 ET slot are killing me! I can't help but watch them live, so that meant not getting to bed till almost 2. Thank goodness for straight sets, though if Rafa had lost the second, I might have just gone to bed and watched the replay this morning.
The ones that start in the 4 a.m. hour are easier - I'm not even gonna try to watch them live and will just see them the next day.
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One thing that jumps out right away with this year's Australian Open American Women singles results, is age.
Shelby Rogers is 28, and backs up a U.S. Open Quarterfinal with an Australian Open Rd of 16.
Jessica Pegula is turning 27 this month. Her best results have been the past couple of years as well.
Jennifer Brady turns 26 this Spring, and backs up her U.S. Open Semifinal with her run in Australia.
All three are friends, and have overcome injuries and other things to play their best tennis now.
(Coco Vandeweghe is out with injury but has had her best success after turning 25, four deep Grand Slam runs. Sloane Stephens' best play has been in her mid 20's. Madison Keys is 26 and perhaps has her best tennis ahead of her.
And of course there are Venus and Serena, others. Alison Riske is a top 25 player who has played her best tennis at 29 and 30 etc...
The teenagers (Gauff, McNally, Anisimova etc.)..look promising, as do those just entering their early 20's Kenin, Li, etc...
Different players achieve various levels of success at various ages.
Even with the Men, John Isner's best success has come later than 25, and much of it in his 30's. Stevie Johnson has had his success in his mid to later 20's as well.
Tiafoe (just turned 23) Korda 20, etc...have plenty of time to keep improving their games.
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How good is Korda? It's pretty disappointing that we have not had a US men's champion since 2003. Tiafoe has a lot of talent and pop in his game. He gave Djoker a run for his money but I still think he has a ways to go.
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It wasn't the patience and precision version of Fognini, better known as a clay court player that can make a run on hard courts once in a while. Didn't serve well. He is capable of moving better than he did. Nadal gave him some opportunity and chances to make it a longer hot afternoon. But Fabio didn't take advantage.
Ash Barty quietly just keeps winning. She',s made the Rd of 16 or better in her last for Grand Slams, seeking her 2nd overall, and first on her home country. She has one of the more aesethically pleasing games out there.
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Australian Open Draw.
Quarterfinals, Men:
Karatsev v Dmitrov
Djokovic v Zverev
Medvedev v Rublev
Tsitsipas v Nadal
Quarterfinals Women:
Osaka v Hsieh
S. Williams v Halep
Brady v Pegula
Barty v Muchova
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Trivia time. No cheating. Honor System.
64 of the past 65 Men's Grand Slam Singles Winners have been Europeans. Name the one who wasn't from Europe.
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Trivia time. No cheating. Honor System.
64 of the past 65 Men's Grand Slam Singles Winners have been Europeans. Name the one who wasn't from Europe.
Del Potro. But in fairness I heard them say this on the broadcast last night.
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The very popular Juan Martin Del Potro is the only.one in 65 tries.
Who is the only player to reach at least the Quarterfinals in all Grand Slams played since the Pandemic began?
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American WTA Player Nicole Gibbs announced her retirement today. She will turn 28 in March. (Fellow American and friend Jamie Hampton retired due to injuries last year.)
She has battled multiple injuries and cancer, as a player.
She was a superstar at Stanford, and became only the third player in history to win the NCAA Title in Singles and Doubles. (Also won the team title at Stanford)
She finished her remaining year at Stanford during the Pandemic, and she is applying to Law Schools.
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The very popular Juan Martin Del Potro is the only.one in 65 tries.
Who is the only player to reach at least the Quarterfinals in all Grand Slams played since the Pandemic began?
Rublev, yea?
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Rublev, yea?
Andrey Rublev is the one. 👍
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Naomi Osaka over Hsieh Su-Wei.
She's 31-2 Hardcourt Grand Slam Record since 2018.
She's yet ever lose in a Grand Slam Quarterfinal, Semifinal, or Final.
Tough loss for McCoco in doubles Quarterfinals. They didn't bounce back after lbeing deflated losing a close first set tiebreaker. Decision making not quite as good as through the tourney. Credit to 4 seed Melichsr and Schuurs. They really used their experience and played well with no let downs. Served well, hit well, and they really understand the subtleties of doubles. Great experience for Gauff and McNally.
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American WTA Player Nicole Gibbs announced her retirement today. She will turn 28 in March. (Fellow American and friend Jamie Hampton retired due to injuries last year.)
She has battled multiple injuries and cancer, as a player.
She was a superstar at Stanford, and became only the third player in history to win the NCAA Title in Singles and Doubles. (Also won the team title at Stanford)
She finished her remaining year at Stanford during the Pandemic, and she is applying to Law Schools.
One of the great college players of all-time. Ranks with Laura Granville and Danielle Collins.
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Dimitrov appears to be in control vs Karatsev.
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Perhaps I wrote too soon. Karatsev takes the 2nd set.
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This is bizarre. Dimitrov looked totally fine,. Now he appears to be injured or checked-out.
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Djokovic just went crazy! Smashed and shattered his racket in the 3rd set. I can't figure out why he is so pissed. Anyway Zverev up a break in the 3rd after splitting sets. Maybe he's just mad because he's not 100%? This could go the distance.
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Zverev really blew a great chance. Up 4-1 and 0-30 on Djoker's serve he proceeds to dump 5 straight games. Djokovic's mental toughness is incredible. The guy is tough as nails and a prime-time competitor.
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Djoker gets it done 7-6 (8-6) in the 4th. Another brutal loss for Zverev, had plenty of chances.
Good news that fans will be allowed back at Rod Laver Stadium Thurs-Sun.
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Serena Williams advances to her 40th (Navratilova 52, Evert 44) Grand Slam semifinal with a very convincing 6-3, 6-3 win over multiple Grand Slam winner and number 2 seed Simona Halep.
Big time hitting, movement, footwork, defense. And she has room to improve her serving which was just so so for her. A night match after some recent hot sun mod day matches for her.
3-3 2nd set, Halep serving, Serena wins a 20 point rally. She immediately backs it up by winning a 12 point rally for the break. Serena won the short points, medium points, and long rallies.
This has been the most relaxed, fit, fun having Serena has been in a while. But another round, another big time opponent.
She will face Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.
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As I said, I'll believe one of these next-gen stars will beat Djokovic or Nadal on the big stage when I see it happen, preferably more than once. Every big point, Novak came up huge.
Djokovic really served well at the end, and that's one advantage he has over Rafa. It's nice to be able to get a couple of quick points in a row; Rafa so often has to grind out point after point after point. He was serving really well before the coronavirus, so hopefully he'll find that again.
Also, as predicted - not that it was that difficult a prediction - we have Serena vs. Osaka coming up. I really like Osaka's game and her consistency, but I have to say I was extremely impressed with what I saw of Serena against Halep. Looked in prime form. I'll go with Naomi in a classic.
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As I said, I'll believe one of these next-gen stars will beat Djokovic or Nadal on the big stage when I see it happen, preferably more than once. Every big point, Novak came up huge.
Djokovic really served well at the end, and that's one advantage he has over Rafa. It's nice to be able to get a couple of quick points in a row; Rafa so often has to grind out point after point after point. He was serving really well before the coronavirus, so hopefully he'll find that again.
Also, as predicted - not that it was that difficult a prediction - we have Serena vs. Osaka coming up. I really like Osaka's game and her consistency, but I have to say I was extremely impressed with what I saw of Serena against Halep. Looked in prime form. I'll go with Naomi in a classic.
That's exactly right. And Zverev had him 4-1, 0-30 (on Djoker's serve) in the 3rd and was up a break in the 4th as well. They played high quality tennis in the 3rd and 4th but at critical junctures Zverev made errors and tactical mistakes while Novak came up with the goods.
That stab crosscourt backhand winner from the baseline was absolutely sick. Djoker is the best returner in history with his ability to cover the box. And make no mistake about it: this dude is crazy tough mentally. As strong as Rafa and stronger than Roger.
The man has won 8 Aussie Opens for a reason. It's tough to bet against him now when he's playing a qualifier in the SF. The road for the other 4 players is pretty grueling. I will be rooting strongly for Rafa but he's going to have to serve big and find a way to get more free points. I just think the speed of this court makes it really tough for Nadal...although at night there the court may be slower?
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That's exactly right. And Zverev had him 4-1, 0-30 (on Djoker's serve) in the 3rd and was up a break in the 4th as well. They played high quality tennis in the 3rd and 4th but at critical junctures Zverev made errors and tactical mistakes while Novak came up with the goods.
That stab crosscourt backhand winner from the baseline was absolutely sick. Djoker is the best returner in history with his ability to cover the box. And make no mistake about it: this dude is crazy tough mentally. As strong as Rafa and stronger than Roger.
The man has won 8 Aussie Opens for a reason. It's tough to bet against him now when he's playing a qualifier in the SF. The road for the other 4 players is pretty grueling. I will be rooting strongly for Rafa but he's going to have to serve big and find a way to get more free points. I just think the speed of this court makes it really tough for Nadal...although at night there the court may be slower?
I'll be pulling for Rafa, and I of course think he has a chance. But if I had to place a bet, I'd join you in wagering on Djokovic. So tough Down Under.
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The man has won 8 Aussie Opens for a reason. It's tough to bet against him now when he's playing a qualifier in the SF. The road for the other 4 players is pretty grueling. I will be rooting strongly for Rafa but he's going to have to serve big and find a way to get more free points. I just think the speed of this court makes it really tough for Nadal...although at night there the court may be slower?
You are correct it is hard to bet against Novak playing a qualifier in the SF, and I would not.
However, a quick word about the qualifier ... 27-year old Aslan Karatsev from Russia.
As a junior he was a very good player, regularly beating Thiem and Medvedev. In 2011 he was named the best junior in Russia.
So he has the skill set to play at this level, and when he was a junior he played at this level. He has been grinding for years at the lower levels and it seems the "lightbulb went on." He is now in the top 50 (after starting at 114) and should be an automatic qualifier for the rest of the majors this year.
And his resume this AO has been very impressive. In the last week he has beaten:
[8] Diego Schwartzman
[20] Félix Auger-Aliassime
[18] Grigor Dimitrov
He did not get a lucky draw to make it this far.
Don't sleep on him and if he beats Novak it is an upset, but maybe not as big as one might think.
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As I said, I'll believe one of these next-gen stars will beat Djokovic or Nadal on the big stage when I see it happen, preferably more than once. Every big point, Novak came up huge.
Djokovic really served well at the end, and that's one advantage he has over Rafa. It's nice to be able to get a couple of quick points in a row; Rafa so often has to grind out point after point after point. He was serving really well before the coronavirus, so hopefully he'll find that again.
Also, as predicted - not that it was that difficult a prediction - we have Serena vs. Osaka coming up. I really like Osaka's game and her consistency, but I have to say I was extremely impressed with what I saw of Serena against Halep. Looked in prime form. I'll go with Naomi in a classic.
Osaka v Muguruza was a toss uo, and Osaka had to survive match points to advance. She was expected to win over Hsieh Su-Wei.
Serena v Sabalenka and Serena v Halep were toss uo match ups. Serena won both. Against Halep, most of their recent Hard Court matchups had been 3 set matches. And Halep of course won over Serena at Wimbledon.
If either played Barty it would be a toss up. Both would be a slight favorite over Brady and Pegula. But both are capable, especially Brady. Muchova would be a similar level to Brady.
Rublev, Medvedev, and Tsitsipas are all capable of winning the Australian Open. Longer shot for Karatsev who is having a dream run, but he's playing very well.
Djokovic and Nadal will be tough to beat but they will need to play well to win.
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You are correct it is hard to bet against Novak playing a qualifier in the SF, and I would not.
However, a quick word about the qualifier ... 27-year old Aslan Karatsev from Russia.
As a junior he was a very good player, regularly beating Thiem and Medvedev. In 2011 he was named the best junior in Russia.
So he has the skill set to play at this level, and when he was a junior he played at this level. He has been grinding for years at the lower levels and it seems the "lightbulb went on." He is now in the top 50 (after starting at 114) and should be an automatic qualifier for the rest of the majors this year.
And his resume this AO has been very impressive. In the last week he has beaten:
[8] Diego Schwartzman
[20] Félix Auger-Aliassime
[18] Grigor Dimitrov
He did not get a lucky draw to make it this far.
Don't sleep on him and if he beats Novak it is an upset, but maybe not as big as one might think.
Interesting player and I agree he wasn't lucky. I am confused if he was #250 or #114 before the tournament because I believe I heard #250. Regardless it's an amazing story and he has a punchers chance. He generates a lot of pace on his shots but they are flat with less topspin. If he can dictate play against Djoker and limit his errors ua never know. I just think Novalk is too consistent.
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I mostly agree with Smuggles, shoot and Muggsy about all of the above.
However ...
If a qualifier beats the No. 1 seed and 8-time Australian Open champion, it will be one of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history. Period.
One guy is some qualifier nobody but serious tennis followers has every heard of. The other guy is the best tennis player in the world, and one of the 5 greatest in history. Please.
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I mostly agree with Smuggles, shoot and Muggsy about all of the above.
However ...
If a qualifier beats the No. 1 seed and 8-time Australian Open champion, it will be one of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history. Period.
One guy is some qualifier nobody but serious tennis followers has every heard of. The other guy is the best tennis player in the world, and one of the 5 greatest in history. Please.
No doubt. But Karatsev blew my guy Diego Schwartzman off the court. DS is 5'6 on a good day. :)
If Rafa can pull this off, with the speed of the court and the land mines awaiting, it would just solidify his greatness. The GOAT conversation is still fluid and Djoker is the youngest.
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Karolina Muchova takes out World Number One Ash Barty in three sets in a strange match.
At one point Barty was up a set and a break. Muchova had 18 unforced errors and one winner. Then Muchova takes a long injury timeout (she wasn't injured, just trying to change momentum) and the match changed dramatically.
Barty's level dropped, out of rythm, plethora if unforced errors, poor 2nd serve and poor 2nd serve return. Muchova played much better. But stunning from Barty.
Muchova had a big comeback against Mertens and Pliskova as well.
This now means Jen Brady is the only player left in the Women's Singles Draw to not have lost a set. This also means it is guaranteed that there will ve a first time Finalist on that side of thr bracket.
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Holy crap what a 3rd set from Brady. Granted Pegula totally collapsed mentally after the opening break, but Brady was beyond steady and just hit strong crisp shots and put all the pressure and stress on Pegula.
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Jen Brady advances to her 2nd straight Hard Court Grand Slam Semifinal with a 3 set win over Jessie Pegula.
Standing inside the baseline, taking the ball early, using some of her doubles experience, all helped Pegula take the first set. Brady sprayed lots of unforced errors with little margin. But she made the adjustments, added more spin, angle, and margin to push Pegula back and to the corners, while improving her serve. Pegula started to fatigue later in the blazing mid day sun.
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Holy crap what a 3rd set from Brady. Granted Pegula totally collapsed mentally after the opening break, but Brady was beyond steady and just hit strong crisp shots and put all the pressure and stress on Pegula.
Who ya got between the Russians?
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Who ya got between the Russians?
I promise this isn’t revisionist, but I would have said Medvedev hands down. He seems so locked in and his game is so crafty and smooth. Rublev has been very good in majors recently, but I thought Med would just have his number
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Ughhh. Rafa dumps the 3rd set with a loose breaker. Three unforced errors??? I guess he is human. Anyhow things just got a lot more difficult. And yes, Medvedev is looking sharp. Vamos Rafa!! Time to get it together.
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Tsitsipas has really elevated his game. Rafa in serious danger. This looks like it's going 5.
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Tsitsipas outplayed Nadal. He deserves a heck of a lot of credit. Rafa made some uncharacteristic mistakes and looked gassed physically, but the better player won. Unbelievable serving and power ground strokes. Tough, tough, loss for Rafa. He was 223-1 after leading two sets to none in g-slams.
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22 year old Stef Tsitsipas over Nadal in 5 sets.
Tsitsipas improved his serve mechanics and service landing in the middle of the match. He was dominant when moving forward, not getting pushed back off of the baseline. And he came up with big forehands and cross court backhands. He started winning the longer rallies too forcing Nadal to press for shorter points. And he played a thinking person's game. Not a lot of break point opportunities either way.
Very strong, mentally, emotionally, physically, building on his improvement at Moratoglou. He's been putting it all together for a while, and, he still has room for improvement (backhand up the line etc)
Nadal loses in a Slam for just the 2nd time when uo two sets (Fognini U.S. Open) and for just the 3rd time. However, in five set matches, Nadal won 15 of his first 18 five set matches. Since, he has won just 7 of 16 five set matches.
Nadal has made the Quarterfinals or better at the AO 13 times, but has just the one title. (Winning Grand Slams are not easy)
Tsitsipas also defeated Federer in the 2019 Rd of 16 in Australia.
He will get Medvedev next, who continues his strong play over Rublev.
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American Rajeev Ram into the semis in both doubles and mixed doubles. Went to high school in Carmel, Indiana and then went to University of Illinois.
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Bummed about Rafa's loss. Literally gave away 3 points in the tiebreaker, plus 2 others he probably should have won. Didn't seem fatal at the time, of course, but when you open the door, sometimes your opponent will step through.
Energized, Tsitsipas started really serving well, and his forehand was devastating. And I agree with Muggsy and shoot about Nadal seeming tired. That's a very rare look for a guy who has made a career out of wearing out the opposition, but he's not a kid any more.
This was always going to be a difficult event for Rafa to win. His least-favorite major on his least-favorite surface, coming off a layoff, with his back a little balky (at least at the start). But this still was a tough way to lose.
I still say this is no sign of any kind of "changing of the guard," and it won't be even if Djokovic loses (which he probably won't). Let's see Tsitsipas do that to Rafa on clay or to Djokovic on grass/hardcourt. Let's see any of them do it.
When we see somebody other than the big 3 winning the majority of majors, I'll believe it.
As much as I love watching Rafa, Djokovic and Roger, it would be nice to see another player or two emerge as dominant. Maybe it'll happen. We'll see!
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Bummed about Rafa's loss. Literally gave away 3 points in the tiebreaker, plus 2 others he probably should have won. Didn't seem fatal at the time, of course, but when you open the door, sometimes your opponent will step through.
Energized, Tsitsipas started really serving well, and his forehand was devastating. And I agree with Muggsy and shoot about Nadal seeming tired. That's a very rare look for a guy who has made a career out of wearing out the opposition, but he's not a kid any more.
This was always going to be a difficult event for Rafa to win. His least-favorite major on his least-favorite surface, coming off a layoff, with his back a little balky (at least at the start). But this still was a tough way to lose.
I still say this is no sign of any kind of "changing of the guard," and it won't be even if Djokovic loses (which he probably won't). Let's see Tsitsipas do that to Rafa on clay or to Djokovic on grass/hardcourt. Let's see any of them do it.
When we see somebody other than the big 3 winning the majority of majors, I'll believe it.
As much as I love watching Rafa, Djokovic and Roger, it would be nice to see another player or two emerge as dominant. Maybe it'll happen. We'll see!
Yes. Was a real bummer. Tsitsipas dictated play after the breaker. He was winning most of the longer rallies. Rafa didn't get to practice much before the tournament but that's no excuse. Tsitsipas took it to him his wide serves and some wicked backhands up the line. He also moves incredibly well for a big man. That should be a dandy semi. I suppose I'm now rooting for the Greek kid. I could go for some grilled octopus or lavraki.
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American Rajeev Ram into the semis in both doubles and mixed doubles. Went to high school in Carmel, Indiana and then went to University of Illinois.
Rajeev, long time elite American Doubles player, playing with a variety of partners. He finally turned the Slam corner in 2019 adding Grand Slam titles too. Seeking 20th Doubles title.
Previous AO Doubles Champ w/Joe Salisbury, didn't face a break point, and lost just six points on serve. He also has won Mixed title at the AO with current partner Barbara Krejcikova.
Played briefly at U of Illinois winning both Doubles and Team National Title. He's also a volunteer assistant coach at Cal Berkeley. Partnered with Venus Williams once for Olympic Silver.
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Sofia Kenin had her appendix removed Monday in Australia and is doing fine.
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Yes. Was a real bummer. Tsitsipas dictated play after the breaker. He was winning most of the longer rallies. Rafa didn't get to practice much before the tournament but that's no excuse. Tsitsipas took it to him his wide serves and some wicked backhands up the line. He also moves incredibly well for a big man. That should be a dandy semi. I suppose I'm now rooting for the Greek kid. I could go for some grilled octopus or lavraki.
I guess the "bonus" for me is that I will spend less time watching the tournament now. I'm first and foremost a Rafa fan, so when he gets eliminated from a major, it becomes less interesting to me. I've always been the same way with the NCAA tourney after MU gets eliminated (a problem we wish we'd have this season). At least at first, anyway. After a day or two, I'll settle into being just a fan of good tennis.
I am looking forward to Osaka-Williams tonight, and it's even supposed to start at a reasonable time. Probably won't watch every second of it, but I'll be checking in frequently.
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I guess the "bonus" for me is that I will spend less time watching the tournament now. I'm first and foremost a Rafa fan, so when he gets eliminated from a major, it becomes less interesting to me. I've always been the same way with the NCAA tourney after MU gets eliminated (a problem we wish we'd have this season). At least at first, anyway. After a day or two, I'll settle into being just a fan of good tennis.
I am looking forward to Osaka-Williams tonight, and it's even supposed to start at a reasonable time. Probably won't watch every second of it, but I'll be checking in frequently.
I hear ya. I'll still watch but it sucks without Rafa. I'm an insomniac so the late matches don't bother me that much. Hopefully Rafa will be in form for the French. Serena seems to be moving as well as she did 4-5 yrs ago. That should be an entertaining match.
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I have to admit that I'll be pulling against Djokovic because I want Rafa to be the all-time winner of grand slams and Novak is only 3 behind.
But I do admire Novak's immense talent, so I won't be rooting that hard against him. I mostly marvel at the shots he comes up with over and over again.
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I have to admit that I'll be pulling against Djokovic because I want Rafa to be the all-time winner of grand slams and Novak is only 3 behind.
But I do admire Novak's immense talent, so I won't be rooting that hard against him. I mostly marvel at the shots he comes up with over and over again.
I think you’re gonna be white knuckling that one. Even though they aren’t that much different in age, it feels like Rafa is slowing just a bit off of clay, at least in the majors. Only 2 non-French GS titles in the last 5 years (obviously US Open and Wimbledon last year are an asterisk but he’s not made a Wimbledon final in a decade) and then another 2 F appearances Down Under. Novak has 5 plus a French runner up. Forseeably he’s going to be a hard court/grass heavy contender in 3 majors a year while Nadal adds a French Open title each year. If he wins this week, and then continues his dominance on grass, he’ll be breathing down Nadal’s neck even if he likely repeats at Roland Garros. And he’s so freakish with health and fitness, it’s not crazy to think of him having another 4-5 years of this
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I have to admit that I'll be pulling against Djokovic because I want Rafa to be the all-time winner of grand slams and Novak is only 3 behind.
But I do admire Novak's immense talent, so I won't be rooting that hard against him. I mostly marvel at the shots he comes up with over and over again.
Agreed.
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Congratulations to Belgian Joachim Gerard for winning the Australian Open Men's Singles Wheelchair Division, his first and Belgium's first. He's come super close before.
Diede De Groot wins the Women's Wheelchair Singles Division. It's her 3rd AO Grand Slam Singles Title, and 8th overall.
Local Dylan Alcott has now won the AO Singles and Doubles Quad Division for a 5th straight year. He has won 7 straight AO Men's Singles Quad Division. (12 overall)
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Hard to predict Serena/Naomi. Who ya got?
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I think you’re gonna be white knuckling that one. Even though they aren’t that much different in age, it feels like Rafa is slowing just a bit off of clay, at least in the majors. Only 2 non-French GS titles in the last 5 years (obviously US Open and Wimbledon last year are an asterisk but he’s not made a Wimbledon final in a decade) and then another 2 F appearances Down Under. Novak has 5 plus a French runner up. Forseeably he’s going to be a hard court/grass heavy contender in 3 majors a year while Nadal adds a French Open title each year. If he wins this week, and then continues his dominance on grass, he’ll be breathing down Nadal’s neck even if he likely repeats at Roland Garros. And he’s so freakish with health and fitness, it’s not crazy to think of him having another 4-5 years of this
Agree with all of this ... except I really won't be doing too much white-knuckling because I so admire and enjoy Novak's game, too.
If Novak ends up with, say, 23 and Rafa ends up with 21, I'm not gonna think any less of Rafa. His tennis has entertained me for nearly two decades.
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Serena is getting blown off the court. Didn't expect this at all.
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Serena battles back to make it 4-4 in the 2nd set and serves to take the lead.
4 times, she couldn't get her first serve in. 3 times, Naomi punished Serena's second serve with amazing shots; the other time Serena double-faulted.
Then, Naomi served. Got all 4 in - 1 ace, 2 winners, and the last which set up the winning 3-shot rally.
Very impressive. Can't see her losing. If she stays motivated, she can dominate women's tennis for years. Watching her postgame interview was a pleasure - she seems to get great joy from tennis and from competing.
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Serena battles back to make it 4-4 in the 2nd set and serves to take the lead.
4 times, she couldn't get her first serve in. 3 times, Naomi punished Serena's second serve with amazing shots; the other time Serena double-faulted.
Then, Naomi served. Got all 4 in - 1 ace, 2 winners, and the last which set up the winning 3-shot rally.
Very impressive. Can't see her losing. If she stays motivated, she can dominate women's tennis for years. Watching her postgame interview was a pleasure - she seems to get great joy from tennis and from competing.
Osaka isn't losing. I'm not sure Serena will get 24.
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Osaka over Serena.
Missed early opportunities for Serena to go up 3-0 early, and to break after that as well. Need to stomp there and take advantage. Let Naomi off the hook until Naomi raised her level.
Serena stopped moving well after that. A step slow. 1st serve wasn't good enough, (missed or short) and neither was 2nd serve return after strong start. Took a while to center Naomi's top spin kick serve. And, she moved back too far in rallies. Naomi pace, depth, forward, disguise, dictate move the ball all three sections of the court from center baseline. Lots of angle and precision.
Shaky start for Naomi early, but then a ground stroke clinic from the center of the baseline.
Serena found the angles early and got away from them for a while. Stayed back way too far. Too many short balls, too easy for Naomi.
Naomi improved her serve a while, until 4-3 in the 2nd set, then level dropped again. Serena just not getting enough from her serve and Naomi too good from backcourt, often inside the baseline with balance and leverage moving forward.
Two elite games to close out the match.
It doesn't take a lot to change the course of a match.
Neither served well but Osaka won 65% 2nd serve.
It's the best SW has played tournament-wise in a while. This level, including some big wins in a tougher draw, will keep her in the GS hunt for thr forseeable future.
20 straight for Osaka. A possible rematch with Brady in the final. Their U.S. 2020 Open was a thriller. (Muchova capable.)
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For me, it seemed like Serena broke a bit mentally earlier on. Big screams and emotional outpours on fairly normal points. Like she needed to jumpstart/motivate herself, maybe try to shake Osaka. Just didn’t work. Credit to her for breaking back late in the 2nd when Osaka was on cruise control, but Osaka is just too good. It’s such an interesting contrast. Both powerful strikers who can overpower and take control of the match, but Osaka is just so level and consistent emotionally, compared to how much Serena vacillates, good and bad.
Will be interesting to see what Brady has left, Muchova has to be kicking herself for the multiple unforced errors in that final game. She was ALL OVER Brady’s shaky second serve, but just kept faltering on break points. Credit to Brady, she had all the makings of a melt letting that final game get to deuce, but she is a bulldog.
I feel like Osaka may roll her, 6-3 6-3 ish. Brady has seemed unsteady since late in the second set against Vekic, but we shall see.
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Serena is fine. 2nd straight Grand Slam semifinal. Big ask to go back to back to back over Sabalenka, Halep, then Osaka.
Osaka was down match points in the Round of 16. She lost in the 3rd Round to Gauff last year. Tennis changes from time to time.
Little things have to go one's way, sometimes to close out a Slam title. Draws don't hurt either, match time etc...
As for the Final, Brady needs to play a better first set than her last two matches which had not enough margin, and too many unforced errors. She is certainly capable. She will need more spin and margin. Brady adds a bit more slice and variety, and movement. She can absorb the Osaka power. Brady is a very mentally strong player.
Brady, often a candid interview subject, mentioned that it took her some time, too much time to settle her nerves, And she added that when that happens, your feet and legs can get heavy. You may think you are moving well, but you aren't. This happened to Serena a bit after missing early chances while playing well.
There will be some temptation to not want to hit long with Osaka, but a little more topspin margin is more likely to bother Osaka a little bit. And Brady is good at playing angles in order to move Osaka a little bit. You have to move Osaka around to have a chance.
Nerves are a part of sport. Emotion is a part of sport. Different players play different ways. Serena historically is a player that needs to let it all out from time to time while playing. That's actually fine for her personality and temperament.
Serena knew she missed a big opportunity to take the first set. Her next big chance came 4-4 in the 2nd, and, right after a strong game to pull even, Osaka elevated her level the final two games. Credit to Naomi.
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If things play out right today, there is a chance Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram will be teammates in the Men's Doubles Final, and opponents in the Mixed Doubles Final.
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Djokovic, of course.
Karatsev acquitted himself well, I suppose, but it was still straight sets, including a 6-2 final. Djokovic is just too good and was never, ever, ever running a risk of not winning the match. It was a good sweat for him, a really heavy practice session. It would have been a monumental upset - one of the biggest in tennis in years - had Karatsev won.
I really liked the way Tsitsipas played against Rafa and I like his chances against Medvedev if he can play that way again. Either Tsitsipas or Medvedev could give Novak a nice run in the finals.
Brady needs to learn how to control her emotions. She's gonna get herself in trouble, the way Djokovic did at the U.S. Open - slapping the ball in frustration and hitting somebody. It's childish. She's not a kid.
Like Wags, I can't really see her beating Osaka. I'm also thinking straight sets.
I liked Muchova; I'm not sure I'd ever seen her play before. She had a lot of fight and took it right to Brady. She just wasn't good enough.
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Brady and Osaka played a few months ago at 2020 U.S. Open. Close 3 sets. The difference was a tie breaker.
In that match, Osaka had 35 winners to just 17 unforced errors. And she served extremely well. 43/51 service points. And it was still that close.
Against Muguruza in the AO Rd of 16, Osaka was down 5-3 in the third and saved multiple match points. She needed 40 winners to overcome some unforced errors and the play of Garbi. And, she had to serve 92% to take a close set.
Osaka plays her best in the biggest moments. Down early v Serena as well as at 4-4 in the third. Down 5-3 to Muguruza. Tiebreaker v Brady.
Both players will have to play well to have a chance to win. Either one can win it and it wouldn't be a big surprise. It's a preferred surface for both.
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If things play out right today, there is a chance Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram will be teammates in the Men's Doubles Final, and opponents in the Mixed Doubles Final.
Rajeev will in fact play in both the Men's Doubles Final, and the Mixed Doubles Final.
Two very strong Women's singles players have won the AO Women's Doubles Title. Two seeds, Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka.
Medvedev over Tsitsipas to face Djokovic in the Men's Singles Finals. 20 in a row for Medvedev. It's a big ask to back up a 5 set Nadal win. Great showing at AO for Tsitsipas. If he can keep improving his service return and backhand, he will keep turning that corner.
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Medvedev's court coverage is extraordinary. Tsitsipas could not find his backhand early but Medvedev was lights out at far as his serve and overall consistency. It's impossible not to pick Novak but I'm hoping Medvedev plays his A game. He's an extremely likable player.
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Medvedev is one funky tennis player. Style unlike anybody else. He could give Novak trouble ... but I expect the best in the world to do what he does, and what he has to.
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Both Medvedev and Djokovic will be rested and ready to go. (Draws matter who you play, when, etc...)
The surface is playing faster than it has in 15 years. This is also a neutral as both like hard courts but prefer the previous slower AO Hard Courts as opposer to the U.S. Open.
Medvedev has defeated every top 10 player (except Federer who's injured) since November, and, some multiple times. He's won 20 in a row and, if he wins, he will be the first player not named Federer, Nadal, Djokovic to be ranked #2 in the World, in 16 years.
Djokovjc is seeking his 18th Men's Singles Grand Slam Title, and 9th Australian Open Men's Singles Title.
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Both Medvedev and Djokovic will be rested and ready to go. (Draws matter who you play, when, etc...)
The surface is playing faster than it has in 15 years. This is also a neutral as both like hard courts but prefer the previous slower AO Hard Courts as opposer to the U.S. Open.
Medvedev has defeated every top 10 player (except Federer who's injured) since November, and, some multiple times. He's won 20 in a row and, if he wins, he will be the first player not named Federer, Nadal, Djokovic to be ranked #2 in the World, in 16 years.
Djokovic is seeking his 18th Men's Singles Grand Slam Title, and 9th Australian Open Men's Singles Title.
Of those 20 straight matches that Medvedev has won, it includes an insane 11 wins over top 10 players. One of them was Djokovic in the Paris Tours final three months ago.
Medvedev has won four straight tournaments, going for 5 tomorrow.
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Of those 20 straight matches that Medvedev has won, it includes an insane 11 wins over top 10 players. One of them was Djokovic in the Paris Tours final three months ago.
Medvedev has won four straight tournaments, going for 5 tomorrow.
But can he beat the Djoker on this stage? I certainly hope so.
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Women's Tennis Player Barbora Strycova once gave Naomi Osaka the nickname Shinkasen, (Japanese Bullet Train), and the fastest one is called Nozomi.
4th Grand Slam Title Singles Title for Osaka. (all Hard Court) Neither she nor Brady played a great first.set, but jt was solid and super close...slightly too many errors for Jen and not quite good enough serving the difference. She had several opportunities. Came close.
Super close 1st set, 4-5 40-15 on serve, Brady misses a backhand, then double faults. Osaka gets a defensive backhand stab off of her frame to land on the line. Amazing. Then good serve from Brady, easy put aeay at the net and misses it. Osaka was just slightly better w/serves, returns, similar errors. Brady was cruising serving well that game. Little things. Luck helps too.
Each player with one poor service game each first set. Score tied 4-4 Osaka serving down 0-30, 2nd serve, and she spins one off of the back of the line that Brady returns long. Pretty good next serve but not good enough return floats long. Brady then plays a terrific point touch lob winner after great return on great wide serve.(Needed more variety like this) Osaka misses a cross court forehand heavy ball the nicks the line to get back to deuce. Then long rally and Brady hits tape inside out forehand. Backhand winner just wide on Osaka approach.
One big key to Osaka's play is her team, in particular her coach, Belgian Wim Fissette, one of the better coaches on tour. It matters, and it makes a difference. They will now seek to improve Clay and Grass Results.
A U.S. Open Semifinal, and an Australian Open Final in her last two Grand Slam Singles Tourneys for Jen Brady. Osaka becomes the 4th active Women's player with 4 Grand Slam Singles Titles. (Clijsters, Venus, Serena)
Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram win the Mixed Doubles Title. It is the 5th Grand Slam Doubles Title for Krejcikova, her 3rd Mixed, all three in Australia, and two of those with Rajeev Ram. It is the 3rd Grand Slam Doubles Title for Rajeev, 2nd Mixed.
At one point in the photo, this was the Round of 16 score for Osaka. It's a game of inches sometimes.
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Osaka punished just about every second serve Brady made -- and Brady had to make a lot of them. Conversely, Brady did not do a very good job attacking Osaka's second serves.
When Osaka had to make a soft second, and then Brady just hit an easy one back, Osaka quickly took command of the point. Happened quite often.
Osaka won the match at 4-4 in the first set. Brady had a great chance to break her but couldn't. And then, as shoot said, Brady was up 40-15 the next game but Osaka used a combination of great skill and a little luck to win the set. Didn't help that Brady put an easy backhand right into the net at set point.
Osaka is now a 4-time champ and knows how to calm herself enough when the pressure's on. Hopefully for Brady, this was a learning experience she can build off of. I think she needs to work on controlling her emotions a little. It's a fine line because you want to ride the wave when momentum is in your favor. But she gets too frustrated too easily IMHO and it detracts from her play.
As for the men ...
I like to think Medvedev will be ready, willing and able to give Djokovic a heck of a battle ... but the field had its opportunity against him early, when he was hurting, and now he's a shark smelling chum in the water. I'm thinking Novak in 4 sets.
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But can he beat the Djoker on this stage? I certainly hope so.
I agree that Joker might be on a different level than everyone else.
But, right now, the next guy in that order might not be Federer or Nadal but Medvedev.
Restated, right now the guy with the best chance to knock off Novak in a major final is Medvedev, more so than Nadal.
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If both play their A game the Djoker is still better. But if Medvy serves big and Novak is a little off he absolutely can take the Serbian out. The problem is I expect Djokovic to be ready and in the "this is my house zone". I hope I'm wrong. Perhaps you can give Gale Boetticher a call and see if he can run a chem lab in Djoker's hotel basement?
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I agree that Joker might be on a different level than everyone else.
But, right now, the next guy in that order might not be Federer or Nadal but Medvedev.
Restated, right now the guy with the best chance to knock off Novak in a major final is Medvedev, more so than Nadal.
Mostly a reasonable hypothesis. Medvedev probably is a better matchup in a major final for Djokovic right now ... except on clay.
At the French, until proven otherwise, Nadal is a tougher task for Djokovic or any other human walking the face of the earth.
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Mostly a reasonable hypothesis. Medvedev probably is a better matchup in a major final for Djokovic right now ... except on clay.
At the French, until proven otherwise, Nadal is a tougher task for Djokovic or any other human walking the face of the earth.
I believe Robin Soderling is the only guy who has beaten Rafa at Roland G when Nadal has been close to healthy.
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It's worth noting and re-visiring...
72 players had to have an extra challenging, not leave the hotel room, 14 day lockdown prior to the Australian Open. Exactly one of the singles players out of that group made the 2nd weekend/Round of 16. That was Jen Brady.
(She is a different player since she started working with Michael Geserer in 2019, and began practicing regularly with the game's best,.most elite players.)
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Women's Tennis Player Barbora Strycova once gave Naomi Osaka the nickname Shinkasen, (Japanese Bullet Train), and the fastest one is called Nozomi.
4th Grand Slam Title Singles Title for Osaka. (all Hard Court) Neither she nor Brady played a great first.set, but jt was solid and super close...slightly too many errors for Jen and not quite good enough serving the difference. She had several opportunities. Came close.
Super close 1st set, 4-5 40-15 on serve, Brady misses a backhand, then double faults. Osaka gets a defensive backhand stab off of her frame to land on the line. Amazing. Then good serve from Brady, easy put aeay at the net and misses it. Osaka was just slightly better w/serves, returns, similar errors. Brady was cruising serving well that game. Little things. Luck helps too.
Each player with one poor service game each first set. Score tied 4-4 Osaka serving down 0-30, 2nd serve, and she spins one off of the back of the line that Brady returns long. Pretty good next serve but not good enough return floats long. Brady then plays a terrific point touch lob winner after great return on great wide serve.(Needed more variety like this) Osaka misses a cross court forehand heavy ball the nicks the line to get back to deuce. Then long rally and Brady hits tape inside out forehand. Backhand winner just wide on Osaka approach.
One big key to Osaka's play is her team, in particular her coach, Belgian Wim Fissette, one of the better coaches on tour. It matters, and it makes a difference. They will now seek to improve Clay and Grass Results.
A U.S. Open Semifinal, and an Australian Open Final in her last two Grand Slam Singles Tourneys for Jen Brady. Osaka becomes the 4th active Women's player with 4 Grand Slam Singles Titles. (Clijsters, Venus, Serena)
Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram win the Mixed Doubles Title. It is the 5th Grand Slam Doubles Title for Krejcikova, her 3rd Mixed, all three in Australia, and two of those with Rajeev Ram. It is the 3rd Grand Slam Doubles Title for Rajeev, 2nd Mixed.
At one point in the photo, this was the Round of 16 score for Osaka. It's a game of inches sometimes.
Player Results while being coached by Wim Fissette:
Six Grand Slam Titles, plus three other Grand Slam Finals. He did this with six different players.
While working with Wim:
Grand Slam Titles:
Kim Clijsters 3
Naomi Osaka 2
Angie Kerber 1
Grand Slam Finals:
Sabine Lisicki 1
Simona Halep 1
Vika Azarenka 1
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The Djoker is just too good but I did not expect a bludgeoning. Medvy just didn't have it mentally today.
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Djoker's serve was lights out as well. Dominating performance.
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Apparently the Australian tennis fans aren't thrilled with the Victorian govt. The 5 day suspension is a little odd if you think about it. I guess they couldn't afford to lose that much cash?
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It's worth repeating how incredible Fed, Rafa, and Djoker really are. It's an absolute privilege to watch them.
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Well, so much for Medvedev being a great challenge for Djokovic. Novak is just too good. He didn't even look like he was sweating; there aren't too many better-conditioned athletes in the entire world.
Every important (or even semi-important) point, Djokovic won. As John McEnroe said, Djokovic had an obvious game plan while Medvedev did not seem to. And when Medvedev started breaking rackets ... ugh.
I don't think Rafa could have beaten Novak, either ... but I'll still do a little "what might have been" thinking. If Rafa had won the 3rd set against Tsitsipas rather than absolutely giving away the tiebreaker, he would have been nice and rested for Medvedev in the semis ... and we'll never know what would have happened. But Rafa DID blow that tiebreak, and the rest was history. Well deserved championship for the Down Under Wonder. Rafa gets to be the King of Clay soon enough.
I second Muggsy about the privilege we've all had to watch the three greatest tennis players ever, all in their prime in the same era of the sport's history. I doubt we'll ever see anything like this again.
I will believe that the Medvedevs, Thiems, Zverevs, etc, are ready for the passing of the torch as soon as any of them can take away the torch for more than one major in a row.
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Novak Djokovic wins his 18th Grand Slam Major Singles Title over Daniil Medvedev.
High level serving all tournament for Djokovic, never losing more than 30% of his first serve points in any match. There is often discussion of his defense, and, that of Medvedev, (deservedly so) but both were able to win and stay fresh throughout the event by winning many short points quickly. And defense doesn't necessarily mean service return. Djokovic is a great returner of serve and he can turn it into offense. Medvedev eases into points to dictate rallies. But he wasn't able to often because Djokovjc served well. Snd, Medvedev stood back too far on 2nd serves taking pressure off it for Djokovic.
Timely slice and timely bringing Medvedev forward where he is less comfortable.
Medvedev served well enough in the first set to stay in it. But he missed his two first serves at 5-6 on serve, and, he couldn't push Djokovic off of the baseline. Medvedev then served and volleyed but clipped the tape on a backhand, and an easy ND pass. DM then came back with a few strong serves but ND floated a backhand return deep causing a rushed DM error and first set. One thing elite players have in common is how they play the big moments in close matches.
After getting a 2nd set break, DM went for a little extra on a few serves snd ND returned them right in front of DM's shoe strings inside the baseline. He also did this often in the third set too.
DM had a willingness to play long rallies on ND's serve. But he was too impatient on his own serve, looking for quick easy points, and, when sometimes that didn't happen, he made errors, didn't move as well, didn't prepare as well.
Part of DM's game is methodically dictating longer rallies, chasing everything down. When he isn't doing that as much or as well, he can be exposed by elite players.
Very business like for Djokovic, with good strategy tactics, and strong service games.
9th AO Grand Slam Singles Title. 18th overall.
Preferred surface, preferred time of year, preferred conditions, preferred atmosphere for ND.
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Well, so much for Medvedev being a great challenge for Djokovic. Novak is just too good. He didn't even look like he was sweating; there aren't too many better-conditioned athletes in the entire world.
Every important (or even semi-important) point, Djokovic won. As John McEnroe said, Djokovic had an obvious game plan while Medvedev did not seem to. And when Medvedev started breaking rackets ... ugh.
I don't think Rafa could have beaten Novak, either ... but I'll still do a little "what might have been" thinking. If Rafa had won the 3rd set against Tsitsipas rather than absolutely giving away the tiebreaker, he would have been nice and rested for Medvedev in the semis ... and we'll never know what would have happened. But Rafa DID blow that tiebreak, and the rest was history. Well deserved championship for the Down Under Wonder. Rafa gets to be the King of Clay soon enough.
I second Muggsy about the privilege we've all had to watch the three greatest tennis players ever, all in their prime in the same era of the sport's history. I doubt we'll ever see anything like this again.
I will believe that the Medvedevs, Thiems, Zverevs, etc, are ready for the passing of the torch as soon as any of them can take away the torch for more than one major in a row.
Ok, after many times of the same post, I have to politely interject here. I believe you are confusing your distaste for emotion, emotional outbursts even mild in some cases, for that being an automatic detriment to someone's play.
Here is Djokovjc destroying a racket mid match at this year's AO. He then goes on to turn that set around by winning the next five games:
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1361646864513175552?s=19
Federer was well known for emotional outbursts, racket stuff when he was younger. Some players do it, some don't, it happens.
Nadal even used to do it as a younger player until Uncle Tony said no more.
Emotional outbursts can also be beneficial for certain types of players.
It is utter nonsense that if someone has an emotional outburst they are automatically not going to do well after that. There are double standards of course with se players vs others.
Some players are quiet players, some are not. (some even during the points as a tactic) It's quite a variety.
I also believe your repeated Brady commentary is misplaced, as, that really isn't a big thing in her game compared to even the average tour player.
It would appear that you prefer players to contort themselves in a certain manner. And there is nothjng wrong with that. But as in any other sport or walk of life, there are a wide variety of different personalities, different temperaments. And there is not one way to be successful from that standpoint.
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Djoker's best on that court is too good for Rafa. When he can get free points on his serve and dictate play he's totally unbeatable. His pace and depth on his shots is like being attacked by an unstoppable rebel force. The other thing he does is cover the hammer and wide serve better than anyone. He's more flexible than Rafa.
When they move over to the clay Rafa is of course like a maestro in a medieval battle, using wizardry and weaponry that can't be dealt with under any circumstances. Also, Fed could come back and be okay for Wimbledon.
It pains me (Rafa is my guy) but Djoker seems to be in the driver's seat to catch both of them and hold the most GS titles. And the one thing you can't deny is how tough he is mentally and physically. He never beats himself. As for Zverev, Medvy, Thiem, and others? I'll believe they can take out the Big 3 in a GS when I see it.
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As an inside in my opinion the speed of the hard courts in Melbourne and New York should be completely different. There are much slower hard courts. The final 8 tournament at the end of the season is usually a fairly slow surface. I'm not sure if it's the court itself or the balls being different but doesn't it make some sense to make a contrast between the Laver and Ashe courts? Because to me they both have seemed inordinately fast in recent years.
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Who would be your top 5 men and top 5 women of all time? Right now I would say:
Men:
Nadal
Fed
Djoker
Borg
Laver
Women:
S. Williams
Graf
Navratilova
Evert
Seles
It's a terrible shame Seles was stabbed.
Court's record is very misleading
I actually think Graf is the most complete player of all time but Serena's serve is other worldly.
Borg's back to back French Open/Wimbledon runs is still absolutely phenomenal. And no one has done that in this era.
Laver I believe didn't play in the Grand Slams for 4 years?
On grass it's tough...Sampras or Fed? Fed beat Pete when he was 19 there.
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Ok, after many times of the same post, I have to politely interject here. I believe you are confusing your distaste for emotion, emotional outbursts even mild in some cases, for that being an automatic detriment to someone's play.
Here is Djokovjc destroying a racket mid match at this year's AO. He then goes on to turn that set around by winning the next five games:
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1361646864513175552?s=19
Federer was well known for emotional outbursts, racket stuff when he was younger. Some players do it, some don't, it happens.
Nadal even used to do it as a younger player until Uncle Tony said no more.
Emotional outbursts can also be beneficial for certain types of players.
It is utter nonsense that if someone has an emotional outburst they are automatically not going to do well after that. There are double standards of course with se players vs others.
Some players are quiet players, some are not. (some even during the points as a tactic) It's quite a variety.
I also believe your repeated Brady commentary is misplaced, as, that really isn't a big thing in her game compared to even the average tour player.
It would appear that you prefer players to contort themselves in a certain manner. And there is nothjng wrong with that. But as in any other sport or walk of life, there are a wide variety of different personalities, different temperaments. And there is not one way to be successful from that standpoint.
It's a results business.
We saw Brady falling apart, and getting demonstrably worse as a tennis player after doing so. We saw Medvedev go even further south after he smashed his racket. As for Novak ... we all saw him cost himself a potential U.S. Open title because he couldn't resist slapping at the ball in frustration; it was a "fluke," but it wouldn't have happened if he didn't do it. And Kyrgios ... he's just a punk who has won nothing.
Obviously, I don't really know what was going through Brady's mind. But I do have eyes, and I saw that her expressing her frustrations so often did not help her.
Watching players get upset with themselves, and even others, can be fun sometimes. But the ultimate test is does it help them or detract from what they are trying to do?
Maybe it's not a coincidence that Rafa became one of the all-time greats after Uncle Tony reined him in, you know?
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It's a results business.
We saw Brady falling apart, and getting demonstrably worse as a tennis player after doing so. We saw Medvedev go even further south after he smashed his racket. As for Novak ... we all saw him cost himself a potential U.S. Open title because he couldn't resist slapping at the ball in frustration; it was a "fluke," but it wouldn't have happened if he didn't do it. And Kyrgios ... he's just a punk who has won nothing.
Obviously, I don't really know what was going through Brady's mind. But I do have eyes, and I saw that her expressing her frustrations so often did not help her.
Watching players get upset with themselves, and even others, can be fun sometimes. But the ultimate test is does it help them or detract from what they are trying to do?
Maybe it's not a coincidence that Rafa became one of the all-time greats after Uncle Tony reined him in, you know?
Results business.
Plenty of players with elite results have been more emotional players, or more outspoken players while they play, or were a little more temperamental, or players that show their frustration often during a match. Just to name a few:
Maria Sharapova
Vika Azarenka
Serena Williams
Li Na
Justine Henin
Jennifer Capriati
Flavia Penetta
Jelena Ostapenko
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Monica Seles
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
Novak Djokovic
Andy Roddick
Thomas Muster
Boris Becker
Marat Safin
Lleyton Hewitt
Yannick Noah
Andre Agassi
I limited the list to just some of the Grand Slam Singles Champions since the 1980's. Fed was well known for it for years. And those listed are every match/frequent ones. We could find examples of Nadal being frustrated and temperamental in matches too. If we used ever or from time to time, every Men and Women's player would make the list. And of course one does not need to be a Grand Slam winner to be an all time great player.
There are many different personalities and temperaments in sports. And not surprisingly, there are many varieties of success of these different types.
You are confusing your preference with what does or doesn't work. Clearly there is more than one way to be successful at the highest levels.
Your Brady example is pretty bizarre because she isn't isn't exactly known for behavioral issues. And your sample size is tiny, end of Grand Slam Tourneys where she had, wait for it, great success. She didn't lose because of temperament or emotion etc...she lost a close match to the only active current player with at least four Grand Slam Singles titles besides Serena, Venus, Clijsters. That's it. That's the list.
One might say some players (or teams) would win even more if they had a different approach. But in the same breath, one can very comfortably say some of the things mentioned above allowed and helped them to win and get there in the first place. Many ways to do it.
Having a preference for this or that is something altogether different.
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shoot, I don’t dispute what you say.
What I’m saying is that it looked TO ME like Brady got unhinged because her emotions got the best of her.
You apparently disagree, as is your right.
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No one was going to be Djokovic today. He is so good he beat Taylor Fritz with an injury that would have made most people withdraw.
I thought Medvedev played well. Anyone else would have been beaten worse.
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No one was going to be Djokovic today. He is so good he beat Taylor Fritz with an injury that would have made most people withdraw.
I thought Medvedev played well. Anyone else would have been beaten worse.
No doubt. Although I thought Medvedev had a chance early in the 2nd and his play slipped in that set. Regardless, Djoker wasn't losing that match to anyone.
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No doubt. Although I thought Medvedev had a chance early in the 2nd and his play slipped in that set. Regardless, Djoker wasn't losing that match to anyone.
When Djokovic is playing like this, the only person that can beat him is Djokovic.
(on hardcourts)
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Miami Open will take place as scheduled in late March. (indian Wells canceled 2nd straight year)
Miami Open will have a 59% drop in pay out. Much of that is a big drop for the winner's check. 20% fans allowed. Bubble hotel. No AO version of quarantine.
Adelaide has a nice WTA tourney going on now with a strong draw. American Shelby Rogers continues her strong play into the quarters there. Americans Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins hope to join ger there tonight.
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Miami Open will take place as scheduled in late March. (indian Wells canceled 2nd straight year)
Miami Open will have a 59% drop in pay out. Much of that is a big drop for the winner's check. 20% fans allowed. Bubble hotel. No AO version of quarantine.
Adelaide has a nice WTA tourney going on now with a strong draw. American Shelby Rogers continues her strong play into the quarters there. Americans Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins hope to join ger there tonight.
Coco Gauff into the quarterfinals with a 3 set win over World Top 20 Petra Martic. She will face Shelby Rogers. Danielle Collins advances to the Quarterfinals with a straight set win over World Number 1 Ash Barty. She will face defending French Open Champ Iga Swiatek.
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Coco Gauff into the quarterfinals with a 3 set win over World Top 20 Petra Martic. She will face Shelby Rogers. Danielle Collins advances to the Quarterfinals with a straight set win over World Number 1 Ash Barty. She will face defending French Open Champ Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek over Collins
Teichmann over Sevastova
Gauff over Rogers
Bencic over Sanders
Gauff finds a way in 3 sets over Rogers:
https://twitter.com/NickMcCarvel/status/1364814308266270725?s=19
Gauff moves to #38 in the World, jist 16 years old. When asked how her parents deal with her stressful matches, she had this to say:
https://twitter.com/AdelaideTennis/status/1364818000919076867?s=19
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The entire top 77 ranked ATP Men's Players are entered for the upcoming March Miami Open.
75 of the top 78 WTA Women's Players are entered. (missing #29 Donna Vekic, #30 Dayana Yastremska, #66 Alison Van Uytvanck)
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For the first time in 18 years, there are eleven American Women in the WTA top 50.
Mackie McDonald won the Kazakhstan Challenger (his 3rd Challenger win) to get closer to top 100 ATP.
Roger Federer has withdrawn from Miami. (We'll see if he plays Doha and Dubai, two places where he spends more time)
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Spectacular performance from Petra Kvitova winning the Doha, Qatar title over one of the WTA's best players, Garbi Muguruza.
It's her 28th title. Also defeated Jess Pegula in a close semis and Kontaveit in the Quarters. Muguruza had been dismantling people in 2021, and came in with wins over Sabalenka and Sakkari in Doha.
Danish teen superstar Clara Tauson is in the Lyon, France Finao seeking her first WTA title. (She has 8 ITF Titles)
Andrey Rublev over Tsitsipas in Rotterdam Semifinals. Earlier he had opened the event with a win over Andy Murray. Rublev is seeking his 8th ATP Singles Title.
Roger Federer will play Doha and Dubai, playing for the first time since Jan. 2020.
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Another tourney and two more wins over top 25 players for 16 year old American Coco Gauff. She's into the 3rd round in Dubai, after wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova and a spirited, chippy win over Marketa Vondrousova. Just 16 years old.
Strong draw in Dubai.
Good opportunity for Amanda Anisimova to get some quality match play after a COVID-19 pause, falling to Garbi Muguruza in the 2nd round..The same can be said for Madison Keys who also fell in the 2nd round.
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Jessie Pegula has won 13 of her last 15 matches including 3 top 10 wins. (She's played 11 matches in 13 days) This includes two wins in a week over former World Number 1 and current World number 6 Karolina Pliskova, losing only six total games in two matches. She is into the Dubai quarters v E. Mertens.
Coco Gauff is also into the quarterfinals.
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2nd straight top 15 win for 23 year old American Taylor Fritz in Doha. After defeating recent France ATP title winner David Goffin, he finally gets his win over Denis Shapovalov, coming back after down a set. He's into the semifinals. He usually plays Mexico instead of the Middle East trip, but the change is paying off for him.
Roger Federer also playing Doha gets a thrilling 3 set win iver Dan Evans in a good match in his return to the tour.
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Coco Gauff falls in the quarters to Teichmann. Gauff turns 17 this weekend and she will be ranked 35th in the World Monday. The next best ranking of a player under 18 is 352.
Garbi Muguruza has the most wins, (16) the most finals, (2, seeking her 3rd) and the 2nd toughest schedule in 2021.
Fed is out in 3 sets in Doha.
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Roger Federer is withdrawing from Dubai after losing in Doha. While relaxed, happy, and playing well at times, Federer believes more training would be better until grass court season. His footwork looked slow at times in his two 3 set matches.
Andy Murray is taking some time off as his wife gave birth to their 4th child. He has a Miami Wildcard (He has lived and trained there over the years).
Wimbledon will have COVID-19 protocols which means a secure player hotel. Wimbledon is popular with many players for staying at private residences in Southwest London for five figures. Federer rents two houses, Murray stays at home, Djokovic, Nadal, many other Men and Women stay in private residences. Not this year. There will be a player hotel requirement, in Central London, likely a large chain in Waterloo.
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Heading into Miami Open...Canadian Teen Leylah Fernandez won her first WTA Title in Monterrey. Muguruza won Dubai. Kvitova won Doha.
Miami Open, the following all lost in qualifying tourney:
Caty McNally
Kristie Ahn
Bethany Mattek-Sands
Coco Vandeweghe
Whitney Osuigwe
Liu
Arconada
Dolehide
American Teen Robin Montgomery lost in 3 sets in first round singles.
Hailey Baptiste won her qualifying tourney.
1st Round Singles notables:
Won:
Shelby Rogers
Badosa (Teichmann retires injured during match, left thigh)
Lost:
McHale
Scott
Davis
Brengle
Venus Williams to Brengle
Serena Williams withdrawn, Oral Surgery.
Men:
Mackie McDonald won his qualifying tourney. Fratangelo, Nava, Escobedo also won their tourneys.
Lost in qualifying:
Eubanks
Kodat
Kwiatkowski
Cressy
Blanch
Krueger
Nakashima
Brooksby
Withdrawn:
Federer
Nadal
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Miami:
There's been a Sloane Stephens sighting. First win since last year. 3 sets over Oceane Dodin. Hustle, footwork, opening up on forehands. Flashes of old. Gotta string it together, long way to go. (Also playing dubs with Sofia Kenin) SHhe's been training with Darian King and Diego Moyano.
Also winning strong, Danielle Collins. Tough tight 3 set loss for 19 year old American Hailey Baptiste. Great run the qualies and first round.
ATP Men:
Spirited win for Mackie McDonald over Vasek Pospisil. Another win for American Neto Escobedo after winning qualies. Losing were Sam Querrey, Stevie Johnson, Tommy Paul.
Tiafoe still to play.
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Miami 1000, 3rd largest U.S. Tourney.
Notables, winners moving forward:
Women:
Kvitova, Sabalenka, Barty, Kerber, Swiatek, Ostapenko, Svitolina, Bencic.
Tough day for American Women as Rogers and Gauff lose tough 3 setters after leading. Collins and Keys are also out.
Men:
Winners moving forward:
Fratangelo, Kudla, Sandgren. Sebi Korda won.
Out: MMoh, Anderson.
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Miami winners:
Muguruza, Mertens, Pegula, Osaka, Anisimova, Sakkari, Jabeur, Andreescu, Kenin, Pliskova.
End of road:
Brady, Putintseva, Stephens, Bertens, Badosa.
Miami winners:
Tiafoe, FAA, Fritz, Medvedev, Isner
End of road:
Evans, Zverev, Dmitrov, Goffin, Escobedo, Opelka, Mcdonald
Doubles Round of 16:
Gauff and McNally, Mattek Sands and Swiatek.
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Miami.
23 year old Croatian, Ana Konjuh, is one of the stories in Miami. First top 20 win and takes out both Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Barty, Svitolina, Azarenka, Sabalenka,Vondrousova, Kvitova (crushing people) all moving forward. Simona Halep had to withdraw with shoulder injury.
Big win for Sebi Korda over 10 seed Fognini. Rublev, Tsitispas, Nishikori, Raonic, Schwartman, Shapooalov, some moving forward.
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Miami Masters 1000.
WTA Women, notables:
American Jessie Pegula has defeated former World Number 1 and current top ten Karolina Pliskova for the 4th time, and for the 3rd time this year.
Sakkari, Mertens, Muguruza, Jabeur, Andreescu moving forward.
Thrilling close 3 set wins for Jabeur over Sofia Kenin, and for Andreescu over Amanda Anisimova.
4th round, Sevastova, Osaka, Sabalenka, Barty, Svitolina moving forward. Barty with the close 3 setter over Azarenka, and Svitolina with the dame over Kvitova.
Doubles, Gauff and McNally take out the 2 seeds and are into the Quarterfinals, as are Pegula/Muhammed, Mattek Sands/Swiatek.
ATP Men:
Schwartzmann, Tiafoe, Rublev, Hurkacz, Cilic, Raonic moving forward. Shapo and Musetti are out. Korda is into the Rd 16's
Isner, Fritz, Tiafoe moving forward for the Americans. Isner over FAA. Medvedev survives Popyrin. Also still in dubs.
Doubles still alive: Fritz/Isner, Korda/ MMoh, Ram/Salisbury
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According to Novak's dad he's clearly the best ever and only loses when "he beats himself".
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Miami.
20 year old American Sebi Korda has back to back to back wins over the #17, #27, #9 ranked players, and into the Miami Quarterfinals. Really, really good. He gets Rublev or Cilic.
https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1377063430306340864?s=19
Fritz, Tiafoe, Isner, Raonic are out.
WTA Women:
Bianca Andreescu over the tour's best player thus far this season, Garbi Muguruza, in 3.
Maria Sakkari saves six match points and takes out Jesse Pegula in 3.
Barty over Sabalenka in 3 and i to the semis vs Svitolina.
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As Patrick Mouratoglou announces an additional Academy location in Costa Navarino, Greece, an additional look at the former Miami Open location in Crandon Park, in Key Biscayne...
https://twitter.com/pmouratoglou/status/1377275060147339265?s=19
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Saisbury/Ram are into the Men's Doubles Semis in Miami with a win over Korda/Mmoh.
19 year old Italian, Jannik Sinner is into the Singles Semis.
Greece' Maria Sakkari, has, in strong fashion, ended Naomi Osaka's 23 match win streak, 6-0, 6-4. 6th top 5 win for Sakkari. And with that she into the Miami Singles Semis.
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Saisbury/Ram are into the Men's Doubles Semis in Miami with a win over Korda/Mmoh.
19 year old Italian, Jannik Sinner is into the Singles Semis.
Greece' Maria Sakkari, has, in strong fashion, ended Naomi Osaka's 23 match win streak, 6-0, 6-4. 6th top 5 win for Sakkari. And with that she into the Miami Singles Semis.
I like Sakkari’s game, and as seemingly as tough minded as they come.
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As Patrick Mouratoglou announces an additional Academy location in Costa Navarino, Greece, an additional look at the former Miami Open location in Crandon Park, in Key Biscayne...
https://twitter.com/pmouratoglou/status/1377275060147339265?s=19
One of my kids was a high nationally ranked junior (top 20 in the nation at one point) that had the fortune of playing at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice France the week it opened in 2016. Incredible facility. (She now plays for a high D1 college program)
One day she was playing on a court and two courts over was Serena hitting with Djokvic. She also hit with Alize Cornet.
Because of that experience when she returned to Chicago she was invited to be a practice partner of Sloane Stephens at XS in Chicago when her coach was Kamau Murray. (she was one of many partners) That was 2017 up until a month before Sloane won the US Open.
Ok, name dropping/bragging over.
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I like Sakkari’s game, and as seemingly as tough minded as they come.
She's a really good player that has beem a bit stuck at the round of 16 level of slams to this point, or, she would be discussed even more. She has five straight top 5 wins.
Miami is playing slow, windy, gritty. Sakkari is doing well crafting points. Pegula lost six match points against her, but much of that was Sakkari upping her level when it counted.
She's been working with her coach Tom Smith, improving her serve, being more aggressive, but with margin, wearing down opponents with a physical, heavy, ball. Being from Greece, she had to go to Spain to train..Many Spaniards play a defensive style. Smith has her being more proactive, winning some quicker cheap points but also playing with more margin. She's also using her legs more. She's clearly a gym a rat.
She'll get Andreescu in the semifinals in Miami. If she can play the same way, she will have a chance to wear.down Andreescu in 3, as Bianca has had several long, physical matches already. No reason Sakkari can 't move from top 20 to top 10 moving forward.
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One of my kids was a high nationally ranked junior (top 20 in the nation at one point) that had the fortune of playing at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice France the week it opened in 2016. Incredible facility. (She now plays for a high D1 college program)
One day she was playing on a court and two courts over was Serena hitting with Djokvic. She also hit with Alize Cornet.
Because of that experience when she returned to Chicago she was invited to be a practice partner of Sloane Stephens at XS in Chicago when her coach was Kamau Murray. (she was one of many partners) That was 2017 up until a month before Sloane won the US Open.
Ok, name dropping/bragging over.
Mouratoglou is best known for coaching Serena Williams, as well as his staff working with Coco Gauff sometimes, and coaching Stef Tsitsipas. His France Academy moved to more friendly weather from Paris to Nice. Mouratoglou (and Tsitsipas) is of course Greek, and, there has been a lot of development in that West Coast Region of Greece. He has also partned with some other places in Dubai, in etc...and, he's tour friendly with a lot of players. Greece of course has never had strong tennis facilities or development. Mouratoglou goes back a ways with Cyprus' Marco Baghdatis as well.
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End of the road, and a great run for 20 year old Sebi Korda,.falling 7-5, 7-6 (9-7) to Andrey Rublev in Miami Quarters. Rublev leads the tour in wins (21) so far this year.
Hurkacz over Titsipas on 3.
The other semis will feature Jannik Sinner vs Roberto Batista Agut, who dismantled Daniil Medvedev in straight set clinical fashion. Really strong effort, footwork in the corners,.flat power and precision.
Ash Barty unchallenged by Svitolina.
Sakkari vs Andreescu late night.
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In a rain delayed match that ended at 1:35am Eastern, one of the matches of the year...
Andreescu over Sakkari:
7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) coming back from down a break twice in the 3rd set.
It will be Andreescu vs Barty in the Miami Final.
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Jannik Sinner over Roberto Bautista Agut in 3 tough sets.
He is the first teenager into the ATP Miami Open Final since.............
Novak Djokovic 2007
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#1 Ash Barty wins the Miami Open 6-3, 4-0 over #8 Bianca Andreescu in clinical fashion. No WTA player has a more complete, aesthetically pleasing game than Barty. From top sin forehands, to backhand slices, playing in wind, various conditions, serving placement. Handles pace.
Andreescu had 4 straight physical 3 setters with winsniver Anisimova, Muguruza, Sakkari, etc..
Late 2nd set ankle roll by Andreescu didn’t affect the outcome.
Barty wins her 10th WTA Title, and back to back Miami Open Titles. She is the 6th player to win Miami back to back: Graf, Seles, Sanchez-Vicario, Venus, Serena.
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24 year old Hubert Hurkacz is the first player from Poland to ever win an ATP Masters 1000 event, the Miami Ooen Men's Singles Title. 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 over Italian teen Jannik Sinner.
Hurkacz defeated Tsitsipas, Rublev, Shapovalov, Raonic, Sinner along the way to his title.
..........
20 year old American Sebi Korda will improve his ranking to 64.
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The French Open could be delayed this year. Damn.
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FoxTenn Electronic Line Calling is being used in Charleston, SC Volvo Car Open. It's the first WTA event to use the technology.
And it came up big late first set for American teen Caty McNally, as she correctly challenged a call. Later takes the set and match over #10 Elena Rybakina. Really nice shot variety and execution from McNally. Big dub for her.
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11 American Women in action in Charleston today.
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11 American Women in action in Charleston today.
Sad that tournament moved from Sea Pines in Hilton Head.
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20 year old Quebec City ATP Player Felix Auger Aliassime, has a new coach, Toni Nadal. FAA has made several trips to Mallorca, Spain including this off season to train. Uncle Toni will be with FAA indefinitely this season, Spring, Summer. (Toni will work with current FAA coaches including Frederic Fontang)
Rafa Nadal Academy is making progress with its new addition, indoor clay facility.
https://twitter.com/rnadalacademy/status/1379719788268765185?s=19
Darian King continues to work with long time friend since Juniors, Sloane Stephens, and Sloane continues to win. (Darian is supposed to play a Challenger next week). Stephens is into Round of 16 Charleston with a straight set win over Madison Keys.
19 year old American Caty McNally gets another top 50 win into the Round of 16 as did her 17 year old American doubles partner Coco Gauff. Together they advanced to the Doubles Quarters with a straight set win Bethany Mattek Sands and Sofia Kenin.
Putinsteva, Muguruza, Barty, Kvitova, Jabeur, Badosa moving forward. 19 year old American Amanda Anisimova falls in 3 sets after an unfortunate hamstring injury up 6-1 4-1 on Shelby Rogers.
A few top International first timers in Charleston on the faster, harder, inconsistent bounces of the green clay.
The French Open is moving back a week, leaving just two weeks between it snd Wimbledon aa it was years ago. There will be night sessions, but only Men playing the night sessions. And, as has been the case in the past at The French Open, the treatment of WTA players vs ATP isn't the same.
Former WTA World Top 50 singles and #3 Doubles player, American Vania King retired. 15 Doubles Titles, 2 Grand Slams, 1 Singles.
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The French Open could be delayed this year. Damn.
Delayed by one week. Now starting May 30, the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. (Memorial Day for us; not sure if French celebrate it.)
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Despite many big names in the event, 38th ranked Russian Veronika Kudermetova didn't drop a set to win Charleston over 71st Danka Kovinic. Kovinic is the first and only WTA professional Women's tennis player from Montenegro. it was a 500 event. This week there is an additional 250 event.
$50 million renovations are ongoing on site to keep growing the long term event, which may include a joint event with ATP or an additional separate event with ATP in the future.
The ATP begins the European Red Clay swing in Monte Carlo.
The ATP has also been trying to reschedule Indian Wells for later fall.
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#2 ranked Daniil Medvedev has tested positive for COVID-19 in Monte Carlo. (He practiced yesterday with Rafa Nadal.)
........,......
After two years playing without a racquet sponsor, #8 Andrey Rublev signs with Head Tennis.
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Cleveland has a new WTA 250 event just before the U.S. Open in the former New Haven, CT calendar spot.
https://www.usopenseries.com/news/the_cleveland_championships_a_new_wta_250_event_joins_the_2021_us_open_series/
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Cleveland has a new WTA 250 event just before the U.S. Open in the former New Haven, CT calendar spot.
https://www.usopenseries.com/news/the_cleveland_championships_a_new_wta_250_event_joins_the_2021_us_open_series/
I miss my New Haven event. It was always an end of summer event on my calendar.
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I miss my New Haven event. It was always an end of summer event on my calendar.
The New Haven event has had a lot of history. Pilot Pen 1998-2018.
Davenport, Venus, Capriati, Wozniacki, Kvitova, Halep, Graf, Henin, Seles, Sabelenka, Kuznetsova, Radwanska, Conchita Martinez Muguruza’s coach won there etc...
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For just the 5th time since 2004, Rafa Nadal will not be winning Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 1000.
#8 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 over Nadal. This follows Novak Djokovic losing to Dan Evans yesterday. Match play matters.
Too many short cross court backhands, poor 2nd serving slow start, high , heavy, short. Better 2nd, with many long deuce games. But too much Andrey Rublev power from both sides.
..........
Indian Wells, CA (5th largest event on tour) ATP/WTA seeking October reschedule, close to an announcement.
WTA 250 Charleston this week.
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Former Vanderbilt NCAA National Champion, Astra Sharma is into the Charleston Singles Final vs Tunisia's Ons Jabeur. (Big day for North Africa, Arabs, Asian tennis)
American Teens Hailey Baptiste and Caty McNally are into the doubles final.
.....
Steph Tsitsipas will face Andrey Rublev in the Monte Carlo Final. (6th meeting, 3-2 Rublev)
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Title Sunday:
Stefano Tistsipas defeats Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-3 to win his first Masters 1000 Event, in Monte Carlo, and first ever for a Greek player. Clinical fashion. Did everything well. Top quality. Tatispas’ mom won Monte Carlo singles in 1981 when it was a Women’s Event.
https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1383825414854889475?s=21
Vandy’s Astra Sharma wins WTA Charleston over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in 3 sets. First College Graduate Title winner this year.
https://twitter.com/wta/status/1383874872464482308?s=21
American Teens Hailey Baptiste and Cart McNally win Charleston Doubles Title. (They also won the 2018 Easter Bowl Juniors Doubles Title together)
https://twitter.com/usta/status/1383851706908246016?s=21
Baylor U.’s J.T. Brooksby won the Orlando ATP Challenger.
https://twitter.com/atpchallenger/status/1383819054876483599?s=21
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Would anyone know how the speed of surfaces were different back in the day vs now? My uncle insists Borg is in the discussion as the GOAT because the Grass was faster and the clay was slower. It's amazing he retired at 26.
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WTA Barty wins Stuggart Porsche Gran Prix. (yes besides money, ranking points, she gets a Porsche) 3rd recent singles title. She also won the doubles title with Jen Brady.
Current WTA 2021 Points Race:
Barty
Osaka
Muguruza
Brady
Sabalenka
Mertens
Kudermetova
Svitolina
Pegula
Serena
ATP Barcelona Final. Rafa Nadal fights off a match point and comes back to edge Stefano Tsitsipas in a very close final, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, his 12th. (3 hrs 38 minutes, longest 3 set final in 30 years) Tsitsipas had won Monte Carlo the week before.
Berretini over Karatsev in Belgrade Final. Karatsev had defeated Djokovjc in the semis. Karatsev has had one of the best mid career run/improvement in modern tennis history.
ATP 2021 Points Race:
Tsitsipas
Rublev
Djokovic
Medvedev
Karatsev
Hurkacz
Sinner
Nadal
Bautista Agut
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28 players have defeated all 3 of Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. Only 3 have defeated all 3 on clay, hard court, and grass. Alex Zverev became the 3rs this week with a straight set win over Nadal in Madrid. (The other two players are Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem)
The good news for American John Isner is he defeated one of the World's beat players Andrey Rublev in 3 sets, and, he lost a close 3 setter to another one of the world's best players Dom Thiem. The bad news, is he has fallen out of the World Top 30 for the first time in over a decade. And, it is the first time since 1973 that no American male is ranked in the World top 30. (i think Sebi Korda can be a top 10 player) Isner lnows his strengths and weaknesses. 10 plus years is a long time to be consistently good. Tsitsipas won Monte Carlo, Nadal won Barcelona, neither will win Madrid.
Ash Barty won WTA Stuttgart against Aryna Sabalenka, and they will play again in the Madrid final today.
Rome draw is loaded as last big event before French Open.
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Aryna Sabalenka, one of the World’s best few players defeated Ash Barty for the Madrid title. Sabalenka is ranked 4th in the world, and 3rd in the 2021 points race.
She finally loses a match, in Rome, in the Round of 16, to.....17 year old American Coco Gauff, 7-5, 6-3. Gauff had just defeated 19th ranked Maria Sakkari (13th 2021 points) in 3 sets. (She also had a win over a good Yulia Putinseva as well.
Gauff has reached her 4th quarterfinal already this year. She will improve her world ranking of 35. (28 in points race). For perspective, the next best ranked 17 year old is 353. There are only 3 other 18 year olds ranked in the world top 250, and none better than 70. And there is only one 19 year old ranked better than Gauff, and just one 20 year old.
17 years old, remarkable.
Fast forward someone ten years older.
27 year old American Jessie Pegula gets a big straight set win over World number 2, (also 2 in points) Naomi Osaka. She backs it up with a win over Ekaterina Alexandrova. Pegula is world #31, 10 in 2021 points race. It’s her best ever rankings.
Simona Halep tore her left calf muscle and is out indefinitely. Tough one there.
Jennifer Brady had to withdraw in Rome due to a left foot injury.
Garbi Muguruza has returned from her injury.
Ash Barty continues to dominate.
Serena Williams playing her first event since Australia, lost to Nadia Podoroska, a good clay court player and French Open finalist last year. Good match play there. Amazing how well she can play without much match play at age 39. Serve let her down, one of her strengths. She will play singles in Parma with Venus for some pre French Open match play.
Sofia Kenin has parted ways with her dad as her coach. It’s the only coach she’s ever had, but, it’s time.
Men.
Gael Monfils has returned to playing after his recent engagement to long time girlfriend and world top 5 player Elina Svitolina.
Alex Zverev won his 15th title in Madrid. That means Rafa Nadal lost in Monte Carlo, won Barcelona, lost in Madrid.
Nadal lost to Rublev in Monte Carlo. He won Barcelona, saving match points vs Tsitsipas. He saved multiple match points against him to take out Shapovalov in 3.5 hours in Rome to advance to the quarterfinals. When asked about the younger players, Nadal, said, “We’re getting older and they are getting better. But let’s see if they can do it in a few weeks.” meaning the big one, The French Open. Nadal has been meaving a few too many balls short, hasn’t been able to get the ball deep into opponent’s backhand at times, and hasn’t been serving consistently well for his level. He’s still the favorite in Paris.
Rublev, Berrettini, Karatsev, Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Sinner, Carreno Busta, Norrie, all playing well. Isner and Opelka have been solid mid round players on clay as well. Fritz. Canada’s FAA and Shapovalov have been up and down with flashes.
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So the geniuses at the French Open put Fed, Nadal, and Djoker all in the same half of the draw? WTF?
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Before getting to this weekend’s French Open, many things have been going on in the tennis world first.
Indian Wells, CA will take place as hoped rescheduled from usual March spot, in October. (World’s 5th largest tournament)
Cincinnati will take place, full capacity fans in August. (3rd biggest U.S. based event.
17 year old American Coco Gauff won both singles and doubles (Caty McNally) titles in Parma, Italy. She is the youngest player to win both on WTA Tour since Maria Sharapova in 2004. She is now ranked 25th in the World, and 11th in the 2021 points race. She is also 41st ranked doubles. (McNally is ranked 36) 17 years old, remarkable. She continues to improve all facets of her game. And she is seeded in Paris. Iga Swiatek turns 20 Monday. Then Gauff will be the highest ranked teen in the World. Swiatek and Andreescu are the only 20 year olds ranked better than Gauff, both 3 years older.
Bryan Shelton became the first D-1 College Tennis Coach to lead both a Women’s and Men’s team to a National Title. Georgia Tech Women, and now Florida Men. (Their first) And, his son clinched the National Title at number 5 singles over Baylor. Texas won the Women’s National Title over Pepperdine. Lake Nona continues to produce a fun and electric atmosphere for the Championships.
As far as French Open seeding goes, several ranked players were rewarded for their overall ranking vs 2021 points race stats or how they play on clay.
With the Women, some of the favorites and contenders include: Barty, Sabalenka, Swiatek. There are several others in the next tier. Kvitova playing well. Badosa, Kudermetova etc That would include Gauff. But she would potentially face Barty in round of 16 if she made it that far. Stephens, Li could win a few. Brady, Rogers, Pegula, have under the radar expectations. Anisimova vs Kudermetova is possibly the best first round match on paper. Kudermetova is a sleeper pick to go far.
Men’s Draw:
Djokovic would get Federer in Quarters. But I would be surprised if Fed made it that far. FAA with a chance here. Fitz in this group and Musetti. Bottom half, Nadal would have Rublev, Karatsev.
Djokovic vs Nadal semis with those others in the mix. Berretini in Djokovic side and a dangerous player. Sinner also playing well in Nadal’s half.
Other side, Zverev is in form, Khachanov. Nishikori hasn’t played a lot, but he is the type of player that can have some success without it. Ruud, Evans, Bautista Agut, Hurkacz. Thiem isn’t in form but dangerous. That’s a tough section. Bottom half of that side, Tsitsipas is playing as well as anyone, and, he woukd be a big favorite to the semis. Tough 2nd round for Sebi Korda vs Tsitsipas. Otherwise Sebi could have made a run. That’s a tough draw there. There are 7 Americans all bunched together on that side/section. Isner, Opelka, Tiafoe could win a few.
Sebi Korda has improved his ranking to 63, 35 in points race. And he has a chance at the Parma ATP Title this weekend.
French Open as usual runs its tourney poorly, communicates poorly. That hasn’t changed. But it’s still a major. Night tennis a thing to watch for as well.
Much has been mademof Naomi Osaka’s comments of not doing Press Conferences for French Open. This is complex.
1) Mental Health is a legit thing. I am all for more attention and cooperation with it. Perhaps there could be better timing with press obligations. There is nothing less informative than the pre-match interview for example.
2) Timing is curious because Naomi is not expected to do well in Paris. She is still learning how to play on red clay, and, she is not close to be considered a favorite. Pre-emptive strike if you will. She has potential to win on clay and grass in the next few to several years. But for now she is one of the game’s best hard court players on any type of hard court surface.
3) A few to some Int’l journalists do ask poor questions to an extreme. It’s a global sport and there are some cultural differences. But there are also some people bad at their job.
4) This is definitely someone who made $50 million plus last year alone, that would rather pay the fine. Many players can’t afford the fine for no press. It’s about a wealthy star athlete or performer controlling the media narrative. That bothers journalists more than others, fans, etc.. I’ve always been someone that watches sporting events without watching pregame post game or half time. (Sometimes with sound sometimes without depending on broadcasters). So it doesn’t interest me a lot. But I do understand the point a journalist might make saying media and journalists help athletes market their brand and sell their products.
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Caty McNally (injured calf in French Open qualifying) had to withdraw from doubles with Coco Gauff. Gauff will now play French Open Doubles with Venus Williams. Tough break for McNally who has been playing well. Pretty good backup plan for Gauff as the Williams sisters are why Gauff started playing tennis at a young age. 17 year old pairs up with the 40 year old.
Osaka moving forward with two close sets. (Again, one of the most favorable draws in the event). Kvitova, moving forward.
American Danielle Collins is back and pain free after treating endometriosis.
Spaniard Paula Badosa is now quietly 14-2 on clay. Kvitova moving forward.Angie Kerber is out. Big matches coming up for Anisimova and Keys.
Evans is out for the Men in a surprise.
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Osaka withdrew from the French O. I guess because of anxiety? I'm wondering why she played at all if she is dealing with mental health issues? Strange story.
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Osaka withdrew from the French O. I guess because of anxiety? I'm wondering why she played at all if she is dealing with mental health issues? Strange story.
Agreed. Something's there for certain. I hope things work out for her.
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Osaka withdrew from the French O. I guess because of anxiety? I'm wondering why she played at all if she is dealing with mental health issues? Strange story.
Could be the typical "just give it a go" mentality pressure from handlers, sponsors, Roland Garros officials, and/or colleagues.
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Let's begin and lead with sympathy and empathy instead of suspicion and conspiracy theory.
Why would she try to play? Because that is her job/career. That's what she does. It's one of the four biggest tournaments in her sport. There's nothing "strange" about Mental Health or a story about Mental Health. Lots and lots of professional athletes play every day with Mental Health challenges. They aren't immune from every day life.
Osaka said she wasn't doing press conferences at French Open. The response was all four majors threatening her with fines and disqualification of she doesn't.
Tennis has 3 types of journalists, 1) week to week journalists that know players pretty well and vice versa. 2) Grand Slam journalists that show up for big events. 3) Super Bowl types, tabloid types etc...The French Open is well known for having a lot of bad actor admin and journos at its event.
Osaka is currently one of the world's best hard court players, multiple types of hard courts. She is less experienced and less adept on clay and grass in Europe. While she had one of the most favorable draws of the tourney, she was not considered a favorite. This clay court season and practice have been a struggle. She has practiced at times with some of the world's best clay court players leading up to the French Open. But she does not have the match play. You have to have that too in order to be successful.
Osaka is a big huge International star now, and closely scrutinized. She gets asked a lot of non tennis related questions.
Longer term she will need to commit to clay and grass separately, where she will lose more often than she is used to losing. Eventually it will pay off. It's a lot of work and struggle.
Federer had Interesting self analytical comments today after his match about his path. He said seeing Dan Evans defeat Djokovic during clay court season gave him some confidence that he didn't have. Federer had defeated Evans in a long close grind this year. Federer then said he is aware that doesn't mean he would defeat Djokovic, and, added he would probably lose to him in straight sets today. But then he added that he is not that far away from competing. He knows he isn't winning The French. He's playing to hopefully compete again at the higher and highest levels. He very much understands where he's at.
Not everyone has the same childhood experiences, environmental factors, or support systems in life. Osaka was the bread winning ticket for her struggling nomadic family. Every situation is different.
With regards to pressers, journos, nothing is less productive than the prematch interview. And, post match interviews would be much more productive and valuable a day later. It would be good to weed out some of the very bad journalists out there, and, to hold them to a higher standard. It doesn't get addressed. Obviously athletes benefit from coverage, media, sponsors too. Any questions about your game or match are fair game.
When Garbi Muguruza lost a tough match today, immediately off court she is asked about Osaka instead of her own match.
French Open issues a statement of "support" for Osaka and says it won't take questions. Lots of irony there.
2021, Mental Health still isn't treated the same as physical health. Sad, pathetic, a shame.
Osaka is far from the first athlete or tennis player to suffer from anxiety issues. Some have been well documented over the years, Mardy Fish, Jennifer Capriati, etc...many others have suffered in silence.
Hopefully it's an opportunity to improve the media portion of professional tennis. And it's an opportunity to highlight Mental Health as equal to physical health. In the end the athletes are the talent. And, they hold the power.
Osaka is coached by Wim Fissette, who is known as both one of the game's better coaches, and, definitely an empatheitc/sympathetic type of person. Osaka was visibly upset during practice leading up to the tourney.
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It's an interesting situation -- by far the most interesting thing that has happened (and that probably will happen) at the French Open.
I'm not sure how you define "conspiracy theory" in this case, shoot, but it is normal for folks to ask questions and to try to understand what's going on with Osaka.
And she certainly isn't going to read anything any of us write and become even more anxious, depressed, etc.
I haven't seen anything in this thread so far that has been disrespectful -- same is true of the many statements I've seen from her fellow athletes.
The topic is interesting. It would be surprising if tennis fans (and others) didn't discuss it.
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The first person who posted about it said they guessed it was anxiety, and, that it was a strange story? This implies that anxiety and mental health is a strange story.
Osaka's social anxiety and depression is well known in tennis, and even on video from tourneys going back years at pressers.
Obviously many casual observers, non tennis media, celebrity etc...will jump in with opinions without doing a little homework first.
Her struggles on clay exacerbate her anxiety. And no event organizers and media are more disliked in tennis than French Open. Their lack of supportive response is not surprising.
When you become a big International star, you become a big target. Professional tennis players are routinely targeted and verbally abused by International gambling circuits. Madison Keys started a successful Kindness charitable organization in part because of it. As I mentioned in previous post, tennis part of the solution is embracing the losing struggle on clay and incremental improvement. It's okay to lose and not be successful. Not every kid is loved unconditionally for example. I also briefly .mentioned a less talked about aspect of her youth
I would expect her to surround herself with the best support and treatment she can get, and, hopefully return for grass or hard court season. Otherwise, next year.
At minimum I believe post match pressers will change and become optional.
Vulnerability deserves to be rewarded instead of shamed.
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Only four top 20 players left in bottom half of Women’s Draw heading to the 2nd round. Top heavy draw. And points race is better indicator of in form players. (Sabalenka, Serena, Bencic, Azarenka). It already was a good opportunity for Serena, based on draw, and based on style of play matchups. Sabalenka the favorite to advance out of entire bottom half of draw. Serena does have a recent slam win over her though.
Kvitova, playing well on clay is out after her win due to a fall and injury at her press conference.
Big opportunity for Spain’s Paula Badosa to make a big run. ...also for teens Fernandez and Tauson, whichever one can advance early.
In the top half of the Women’s draw, Swiatek will be a big favorite in the bottom section to advance far. Opportunity for Kenin or Pegula as well. The top half of the top half is loaded.
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In the end she needs to take care of herself so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. She stated she has suffered from anxiety and depression since winning the 2018 USOpen which if you recall was an awful and unfair experience for her.
I just think the timing is a bit strange and her statement before the tournament about not doing press after her matches connotes that she wasn't mentally ready to play. It could be that her timing was chosen to move the needle on mandatory press conferences? We're talking about the highest paid female athlete in the world and doing press comes with the territory. There is no way she entered the French Open and thought it was conceivable she could avoid press conferences without penalties.
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The first person who posted about it said they guessed it was anxiety, and, that it was a strange story? This implies that anxiety and mental health is a strange story.
IMHO, you are reading too much into it.
Otherwise, I agree with the rest of your post.
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IMHO, you are reading too much into it.
Otherwise, I agree with the rest of your post.
He’s now posted twice doubling down calling it strange and questioning the timing.
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Rublev is out in Nadal’s section. That leaves Sinner and Karatsev as the two likely in form challenges there.
Berrettini remains as biggest in form challenge on that side top half for Djokovic.
On the other side, Tsitsipas on the bottom half and Zverev on the top half.
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In the end she needs to take care of herself so hopefully this is a step in the right direction. She stated she has suffered from anxiety and depression since winning the 2018 USOpen which if you recall was an awful and unfair experience for her.
I just think the timing is a bit strange and her statement before the tournament about not doing press after her matches connotes that she wasn't mentally ready to play. It could be that her timing was chosen to move the needle on mandatory press conferences? We're talking about the highest paid female athlete in the world and doing press comes with the territory. There is no way she entered the French Open and thought it was conceivable she could avoid press conferences without penalties.
Completely get what you’re saying, and perhaps she is trying to change the “comes with the territory” part. Whether it be her mental health or even her decision to try and change the status quo, I applaud her for the decision to withdraw. Would I like to hear from her, absolutely. I admire her for using her platform. Would I like to see her continually fined and disqualified, absolutely not.
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He’s now posted twice doubling down calling it strange and questioning the timing.
Ok. You are allowed to be outraged at whatever you want.
Go Rafa!
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Ok. You are allowed to be outraged at whatever you want.
Go Rafa!
No one is outraged. What I said is that Mental Health and or anxiety issues aren't strange. It's no different than not playing because of a calf injury. Clearly she tried to play and she chose not to continue after the first round.
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Good call. Those press conferences appear to be dangerous.
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Former World number 6, and one of the tour’s most popular players, Carla Suarez Navarro played her first match since finishing treatments last month for Hodgkins Lymphoma. She fell in 3 close sets to Sloane Stephens.
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It seems like “media access” is a relic of a bygone age. The fact that tournaments and teams mandate it seems odd. Why put them on stage to simply give rehearsed quotes with little insight?
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Bencic is out and now zero top 20 ranked players left in that part of the draw. (I’ve been a proponent to seed based on points race vs ranking.)
Life at Roland Garros. One of the following will reach the Women’s Semifinal:
Kasatkina
Cirstea
Trevisan
Zidansek
Siniakova
Kudermetova
Hercog
Garcia
Tan
Vondrousova
Badosa
Kovinic
Bogdan
(Like the way Badosa and Kovinic are playing this Spring.)
With Caty McNally resting her recent injury for grass season, Coco Gauff’s dad gave Venus Williams a last minute call to fill as Coco’s doubles partner. And they are giving it a go. 40 and 17 years old. (They train part of the time at the same place)
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It seems like “media access” is a relic of a bygone age. The fact that tournaments and teams mandate it seems odd. Why put them on stage to simply give rehearsed quotes with little insight?
Actual question asked of American teen Coco Gauff this week:
“You are often compared to the Williams sisters. Maybe it’s because you’re Black. But I guess it’s because you’re talented, and, maybe American too...”
One of the more respected long time American tennis journalists asked Serena Williams about her shoes following her match (She wrote in French different words and sayings on her shoes) not understanding French and misinterpreting what was said. He’s a terrible interviewer.
Similar to broadcasting, the journalists that are respected, respect the game and talk about the game. Break down the game. They are the ones who are there week to week on tour and know how to build relationships with individual players.
Some journalists will say that they can gain insight at pressers that can better explain something. Someone referenced Justin Thomas in golf recently explaining the grain of the grass that caused him to miss a big shot etc....
Almost Nothing worthwhile comes during pre game pre match interviews. Nothing. I have rarely seen it.
Sideline reporting is often more effective off camera getting the info and relaying it back to the booth. Not much there on camera.
Half time. Coach what do you need to do better in the 2nd half? We need to score more points than the other team. Thanks coach.
Post game. This is often more trying to find a buzz worthy quote in joy, anger, sadness etc...as opposed to more time separation, more thought, more in depth analysis etc...It’s more of a heat of the moment which is often not a complete description of anything.
Casual fans and casual observers are often the target audience of these short and often shallow exchanges in the moment. They want to see and hear from the star or talent. Even broadcasters such as in game analyst Dick Vitale, who, we all know is better served as a PR pitchman for basketball as opposed to being an analyst, have followings as entertainers.
Flexibility, balance etc vs mandatory is a place. There are good bad and indifferent journalists as is the case in any profession.
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Bencic is out and now zero top 20 ranked players left in that part of the draw. (I’ve been a proponent to seed based on points race vs ranking.)
Life at Roland Garros. One of the following will reach the Women’s Semifinal:
Kasatkina
Cirstea
Trevisan
Zidansek
Siniakova
Kudermetova
Hercog
Garcia
Tan
Vondrousova
Badosa
Kovinic
Bogdan
I'm not Mr. Tennis like you are, but I do like to watch the big events ... and I literally have never heard of any of these players. (Or if I did hear of any of them briefly, I've already forgotten.)
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I'm not Mr. Tennis like you are, but I do like to watch the big events ... and I literally have never heard of any of these players. (Or if I did hear of any of them briefly, I've already forgotten.)
1) That is part of the point. The French Open is often known for its upsets, throw out the brackets etc...minus Nadal. It can cater to both those who enjoy that, as well as those who like chalk and big names. Room for everyone. I also have previously mentioned that I believe seeding would be better using the current year’s points race vs overall ranking. It’s a better indicator how someone is playing at that time.
2) If you want a name to watch for that section of the draw, Paula Bedosa, Spain. (Now she will likely lose her next match since I said that.)
3) Tennis is a Global Sport, 3 of the 4 Majors are played outside the U.S. There are roughly 4 big tour events in the U.S. annually, and 1 in Canada. This is different as opposed to golf which has 3 of 4 Majors in the U.S. and, it’s own domestic tour. The growth in tennis has been Asia in recent memory. It is known as the Asian Swing. It takes place after the U.S. Open annually. It’s lucrative. (There are other places as well.)
4) You say and have said that you like big events, and big names. Well, how do you think those people become big names playing in big events. Not many people knew who Coco Gauff was before she made the Final 16 at Wimbledon and Australia when she was 15. The buzz and excitement was created. And when big bame and big event viewers such as yourself leave for a while, that’s when the fun begins. The grind, the incremental improvement, the technique, the movement, the decision making, the point construction, the strategy, the strength and fitness, the repetition, the practice, the moments where some things click when few are watching, the essence of sport. You see there different types of fans and viewers. All are welcome and all have a market to be covered. In tennis, baseball, basketball, soccer, football, hockey, Olympic Sports, I am all about the process, and, the big events and moments, as opposed to just one.
This really extends to level of sport as well. I am happy to break down the recent Women’s Softball Regionals or discuss the NCAA Baseball Bracket. Did you enjoy the Men and Women’s NCAA Soccer Championships in North Carolina this year? And so on. Bryan Shelton taking two different schools to NCAA Titles, Men and Women’s Tennis. That’s big time. Almost all of the top 20 highest paid NHL players are out of the playoffs already.
You like the big events and big names. That’s great. The idea is to recognize and market to all types of consumers in all geographies in the sport.
If you are looking for big names, and possible names that you may not know, to make a run...
Men,
Nadal, Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Zverev. Keep your eye on Casper Ruud from Norway. And, half a dozen Americans in Medvedev’s section with a chance to take him out. Musetti, Berretini, Karatsev, Sinner all in form. Big names? Federer, Monfils, Nishikori.
Women?
Big names and those in form. Barty is playing with a tricky hip issue. Swiatek rolling. (Serena possibly if she wins) playing two time NCAA Champ Danielle Collins. Collins is coming off of painful endemeotris, and surgery. Azarenka vs Keys. Sabalenka. Jabeur, Gauff, Brady, Svitolina, Kenin, Pegula, .....
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Actual question asked of American teen Coco Gauff this week:
“You are often compared to the Williams sisters. Maybe it’s because you’re Black. But I guess it’s because you’re talented, and, maybe American too...”
One of the more respected long time American tennis journalists asked Serena Williams about her shoes following her match (She wrote in French different words and sayings on her shoes) not understanding French and misinterpreting what was said. He’s a terrible interviewer.
Similar to broadcasting, the journalists that are respected, respect the game and talk about the game. Break down the game. They are the ones who are there week to week on tour and know how to build relationships with individual players.
Some journalists will say that they can gain insight at pressers that can better explain something. Someone referenced Justin Thomas in golf recently explaining the grain of the grass that caused him to miss a big shot etc....
Almost Nothing worthwhile comes during pre game pre match interviews. Nothing. I have rarely seen it.
Sideline reporting is often more effective off camera getting the info and relaying it back to the booth. Not much there on camera.
Half time. Coach what do you need to do better in the 2nd half? We need to score more points than the other team. Thanks coach.
Post game. This is often more trying to find a buzz worthy quote in joy, anger, sadness etc...as opposed to more time separation, more thought, more in depth analysis etc...It’s more of a heat of the moment which is often not a complete description of anything.
Casual fans and casual observers are often the target audience of these short and often shallow exchanges in the moment. They want to see and hear from the star or talent. Even broadcasters such as in game analyst Dick Vitale, who, we all know is better served as a PR pitchman for basketball as opposed to being an analyst, have followings as entertainers.
Flexibility, balance etc vs mandatory is a place. There are good bad and indifferent journalists as is the case in any profession.
I just don't see anyone who things these post game pressers are a good idea....except for reporters who get to fill a couple of paragraphs with quotes that don't say anything.
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Osaka went out of her way to say that the tennis media “has always been kind to me."
Her situation wasn't "about" the media. It was about anxiety. It would have surfaced - and it did surface - irrespective of the media.
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Osaka went out of her way to say that the tennis media “has always been kind to me."
Her situation wasn't "about" the media. It was about anxiety. It would have surfaced - and it did surface - irrespective of the media.
Right. It's not "the media." It's the anxiety apparently caused (or enhanced) by the required media events following the matches.
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Right. It's not "the media." It's the anxiety apparently caused (or enhanced) by the required media events following the matches.
You do see the difference, right?
And we are learning that Osaka was anxious about more than just appearing before the media, too.
It's a mental health issue. I hope she can find peace.
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You do see the difference, right?
And we are learning that Osaka was anxious about more than just appearing before the media, too.
It's a mental health issue. I hope she can find peace.
Of course I see the difference. I believe that if it makes her less anxious, then the media sessions should be able to be skipped without retribution. They have very little benefit when compared to the costs in this case.
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You do see the difference, right?
And we are learning that Osaka was anxious about more than just appearing before the media, too.
It's a mental health issue. I hope she can find peace.
It’s multiple things. It isn’t an either or media or Mental Health.
And of course the cast majority of athletes hide any challenges they have with regards to anxiety and Mental Health. This isn’t an Osaka specific issue. And it isn’t specific to athletes. Many people hide it in any other profession as well.
Every situation, and every person, athlete or media is an individual and each situation is examined as such.
Optional vs mandatory media is a place to start to make some progress.
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Of course I see the difference. I believe that if it makes her less anxious, then the media sessions should be able to be skipped without retribution. They have very little benefit when compared to the costs in this case.
We agree.
It’s multiple things. It isn’t an either or media or Mental Health.
And of course the cast majority of athletes hide any challenges they have with regards to anxiety and Mental Health. This isn’t an Osaka specific issue. And it isn’t specific to athletes. Many people hide it in any other profession as well.
Every situation, and every person, athlete or media is an individual and each situation is examined as such.
Optional vs mandatory media is a place to start to make some progress.
We agree, too.
It should be noted that many tennis players, including Billie Jean King, at first reacted by saying the tennis media helped make the sport what it is today and helped make the players rich, and she said Osaka had an obligation.
But once the details of her situation became more known, King changed her stance.
Also, if you've read what some of the legitimate media have said, they almost universally have been extremely sympathetic to Osaka's situation.
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World #1 and French Open favorite Ash Barty had to withdraw from her 2nd round match due to her ongoing hip injury. Tough one. She was leading 6-1, 2-2.
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World #1 and French Open favorite Ash Barty had to withdraw from her 2nd round match due to her ongoing hip injury. Tough one. She was leading 6-1, 2-2.
I think she lost the first set 1-6. Tough to have to withdraw to be sure.
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I think she lost the first set 1-6. Tough to have to withdraw to be sure.
Yep. My bad there. She was down 6-1, 2-2. She said she felt fine before the tourney. Acute hip injury. She has also had some hamstring issues during the clay season. She has played a lot, winning a lot on both hard courts and clay after sitting out a long time time during the pandemic. She also had been playing a lot of doubles with Jen Brady. (won a title)
It leaves Swiatek and Sabalenka as tourney favorites.
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Lots of ‘Merica action this weekend.
Six Americans facing off against one another, in the Round of 32
Serena vs Collins
Kenin vs Pegula
Gauff vs Brady
Also, Keys vs Azarenka, Stephens vs Muchova.
Both the Men’s and Women’s draws had several Americans in similar sections, especially the Men. There are so many good American Women’s players, it was also a bit of inevitability.
Great tourney run from 19 year old Hailey Baptiste, into Round of 64, from winning her qualifying tourney. She won a doubles clay title this Spring with Caty McNally as well. Also solid results again from 20 year old Ann Li.
Vandy’s Astra Sharma making it to the round of 64.
Men:
Taylor Fritz had to be wheeled off of the court after his four set loss today. It didn’t look good. Possible knee injury. Hopefully not too serious.
Giron, Johnson, Isner, Opelka all in action tomorrow. Opelka vs Medvedev is an interesting matchup.
Federer turns back the clock today. (And barking frequently at the chair umpire throughout.)
Karatsev is out.
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On his 35th birthday, Rafa Nadal celebrates by defeating Richard Gasquet for the 17th straight time without a loss. For the first time in The Open Era no French Man or Woman will reach the 3rd Round of the French Open.
End of an era. Gasquet is 35. Tsonga is 36. Simon is 37. Monfils is 35.
Men
3-15 Rd1
0-3 Rd 2
Women
4-7 Rd 1
0-4 Rd 2
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On his 35th birthday, Rafa Nadal celebrates by defeating Richard Gasquet for the 17th straight time without a loss. For the first time in The Open Era no French Man or Woman will reach the 3rd Round of the French Open.
End of an era. Gasquet is 35. Tsonga is 36. Simon is 37. Monfils is 35.
Men
3-15 Rd1
0-3 Rd 2
Women
4-7 Rd 1
0-4 Rd 2
Way to go, Rafa!
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Way to go, Rafa!
Was his form solid for the 2nd rd? A little concerning he lost 7 games.
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Lots of ‘Merica action this weekend.
Six Americans facing off against one another, in the Round of 32
Serena vs Collins
Kenin vs Pegula
Gauff vs Brady
Also, Keys vs Azarenka, Stephens vs Muchova.
Both the Men’s and Women’s draws had several Americans in similar sections, especially the Men. There are so many good American Women’s players, it was also a bit of inevitability.
Great tourney run from 19 year old Hailey Baptiste, into Round of 64, from winning her qualifying tourney. She won a doubles clay title this Spring with Caty McNally as well. Also solid results again from 20 year old Ann Li.
Vandy’s Astra Sharma making it to the round of 64.
Men:
Taylor Fritz had to be wheeled off of the court after his four set loss today. It didn’t look good. Possible knee injury. Hopefully not too serious.
Giron, Johnson, Isner, Opelka all in action tomorrow. Opelka vs Medvedev is an interesting matchup.
Federer turns back the clock today. (And barking frequently at the chair umpire throughout.)
Karatsev is out.
Meniscus tear for Taylor Fritz. Hopeful to be back for Wimbledon.
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Was his form solid for the 2nd rd? A little concerning he lost 7 games.
I haven't watched one second of the French Open yet. I don't get the channels it's been on. I was just responding to Rafa advancing.
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I haven't watched one second of the French Open yet. I don't get the channels it's been on. I was just responding to Rafa advancing.
Tennis Channel has a distribution problem. Best place to watch is DirecTV or AT&T TV, some cable, and, Tennis Channel Plus. Tennis Channel is owned by Sinclair which also has a distribution problem with Regional Sports Networks. Their direct to consumer app won't be available until at least 2022. And they are not likely to make any deals until then.
As to Nadal, he is playing fine, in form. He won two of the four bigger clay court events prior to the French Open. He lost to Rublev in Monte Carlo. He won Barcelona. He lost to Zverev in Madrid. He won Rome over Djokovic. He almost lost to Shapovalov but survived match points. He needed match play and he has gotten in it. He is as much of a contender and favorite as ever. There are some challengers but he is the favorite.
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Tennis Channel has a distribution problem. Best place to watch is DirecTV or AT&T TV, some cable, and, Tennis Channel Plus. Tennis Channel is owned by Sinclair which also has a distribution problem with Regional Sports Networks. Their direct to consumer app won't be available until at least 2022. And they are not likely to make any deals until then.
As to Nadal, he is playing fine, in form. He won two of the four bigger clay court events prior to the French Open. He lost to Rublev in Monte Carlo. He won Barcelona. He lost to Zverev in Madrid. He won Rome over Djokovic. He almost lost to Shapovalov but survived match points. He needed match play and he has gotten in it. He is as much of a contender and favorite as ever. There are some challengers but he is the favorite.
Thanks for the update. I don't get any of those channels, and while I like the French Open, I'm not a big enough fan or around enough to watch enough to make it worth my while. The big matches will be on NBC next week, and I'll enjoy those when I can.
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Thanks for the update. I don't get any of those channels, and while I like the French Open, I'm not a big enough fan or around enough to watch enough to make it worth my while. The big matches will be on NBC next week, and I'll enjoy those when I can.
It’s about much more than just tennis. It’s MLB, NHL, NBA as well. Sinclair owns many of the local regional sports stations for these sports, in addition to Tennis Channel. Example: A local MLB team will play about 152 out of 162 of its local team games a season on Sinclair’s Regional Sports Channel. That same local market will have about 72 out of 82 of its local team’s regular season NHL games on that same channel. Ten or less are televised Nationally per season. Same for NBA etc...
Many people across the country have to make a decision regarding the Regional Sports Channels owned by Sinclair. Distribution is limited. Not watch or, switch to something that has those games in those sports.
Many teams in the NHL, NBA, MLB, televise their daily local teams’ games via Regional Sports Networks owned by Sinclair. Almost all of a local team’s games are on these channels, and in many instances, multiple local sports teams are on these same channels. So if you choose not to have a Sinclair carrier, you would be missing most of your local teams games in multiple sports.
These channels are only on some cable, DirecTV, AT&T TV and that’s pretty much it.
NBC has done a terrible job covering tennis and the French Open. Thankfully their contract is up in a few years. Seems like forever.
ESPN has decided to cut back and only do big events such as the four majors. However, they televise first ball to last ball, all of the matches.
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RG Women’s Singles Round of 16:
Jabeur
Gauff
Stephens
Krejcicova
Kenin
Sakkari
Kostyuk
Swiatek
Serena
Rybakina
Azarenka
Pavlyuchenkova
Zidanstek
Cirstea
Vondrousova
Badosa
The United States Women’s Olympic Singles players are almost set. Right now, they would be Kenin, Serena, Brady, Gauff. They are chosen based on their WTA World Ranking. This would change if Stephens won the tourney. Next on the list would be Jessie Pegula. Alison Riske then Madison Keys would be next after that. Riske can get back in it if she wins title at Nottingham. Still room for possible change. And not everyone who qualifies will choose to go. Two more for the Doubles team would be chosen and may or may not be based on doubles rankings.
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Kenin fired her long time coach, her dad, this Spring after struggling all season, and she is playing on her own in Paris. So far so good.
Stephens has been working with two of Rafa Nadal’s long time coaches during the clay season, Francis Roig and Joedi Vilaro. It’s working. Darian King, whom she has known since they played Juniors together, has also been working with Stephens this Spring. She had missed her previous last seven chances for a major round of 16.
It’s Kenin’s 4th Round of 16 in a major. She made the French Final last year. She’s 22.
Stephens enters the Roland Garros Round of 16 for the 7th time, and, it’s her 14th Round of 16 in her career at majors.
This is 17 year old Gauff’s 3rd time in a Round of 16 in a major. She’s done it in 3 different majors on 3 different surfaces. She’s also made the Round of 32 in the 4th major.
Serena enters the Round of 16 at the French Open for the 13th time. She has 3 French Open Titles. It is the 63rd time in her career she has reached the Round of 16 in a major.
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It’s about much more than just tennis. It’s MLB, NHL, NBA as well. Sinclair owns many of the local regional sports stations for these sports, in addition to Tennis Channel. Example: A local MLB team will play about 152 out of 162 of its local team games a season on Sinclair’s Regional Sports Channel. That same local market will have about 72 out of 82 of its local team’s regular season NHL games on that same channel. Ten or less are televised Nationally per season. Same for NBA etc...
Many people across the country have to make a decision regarding the Regional Sports Channels owned by Sinclair. Distribution is limited. Not watch or, switch to something that has those games in those sports.
Many teams in the NHL, NBA, MLB, televise their daily local teams’ games via Regional Sports Networks owned by Sinclair. Almost all of a local team’s games are on these channels, and in many instances, multiple local sports teams are on these same channels. So if you choose not to have a Sinclair carrier, you would be missing most of your local teams games in multiple sports.
These channels are only on some cable, DirecTV, AT&T TV and that’s pretty much it.
NBC has done a terrible job covering tennis and the French Open. Thankfully their contract is up in a few years. Seems like forever.
ESPN has decided to cut back and only do big events such as the four majors. However, they televise first ball to last ball, all of the matches.
Sinclair is regarded as one of the worst media outlets ever.
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After Midnight in Paris...heavy, slow difficult conditions...empty stadium that departed for curfew...39 years, 10 months...2 knee surgeries...3 matches played in the past 18 months...
7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.
For the 15th time at Roland Garros, and for the 68th time in his career, Roger Federer has advanced to the Round of 16 in a major.
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After Midnight in Paris...heavy, slow difficult conditions...empty stadium that departed for curfew...39 years, 10 months...2 knee surgeries...3 matches played in the past 18 months...
7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5.
For the 15th time at Roland Garros, and for the 68th time in his career, Roger Federer has advanced to the Round of 16 in a major.
He's been a pretty good player over the years.
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He's been a pretty good player over the years.
Not bad. Not bad.
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1401266277478449153?s=21
His 68 Round of 16’s is a record.
Australia 18
French Open 15
Wimbledon 17
U.S. Open 18
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Roland Garros Men Round of 16:
Djokovic
Musetti
Berrettini
Federer
Nadal
Sinner
Schwartzmann
Struff
Zverev
Nishikori
Davidovich Fakina
Delbonis
Tsitsipas
Careno Busta
Garin
Medvedev
3 Italians for Federer, Djokovic, Nadal.
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Federer has pulled out of the tournament. Pretty disappointing. That Medvedev/Tsitsipas E8 match should be fun.
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Federer:
"After discussions with my team, I've decided I will need to pull out of Roland-Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court."
A skeptic might wonder if this was Federer's plan all along, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
He wasn't gonna win anyway, but now it's even more likely that very soon either Rafa is going to have the most majors in the history of men's tennis or Joker is gonna be within 1 of both of them.
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Federer:
"After discussions with my team, I've decided I will need to pull out of Roland-Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court."
A skeptic might wonder if this was Federer's plan all along, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
He wasn't gonna win anyway, but now it's even more likely that very soon either Rafa is going to have the most majors in the history of men's tennis or Joker is gonna be within 1 of both of them.
Djoker has a big advantage. Rafa will have two very tough matches to get to the semis. But of course Rafa is Rafa. :)
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam
Bam?
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Federer:
"After discussions with my team, I've decided I will need to pull out of Roland-Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery. I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court."
A skeptic might wonder if this was Federer's plan all along, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
He wasn't gonna win anyway, but now it's even more likely that very soon either Rafa is going to have the most majors in the history of men's tennis or Joker is gonna be within 1 of both of them.
This wasn’t unexpected from Federer. He entered the tourney to give it a go and get some match play. He would not have been favored against Berrettini. There would have been an even bigger stir had his next opponent been Nadal or Djokovic.
Reaction will be mixed based on tennis etiquette. He didn’t have to play clay at all. He wanted and needed the match play. And a major will get one some good match play. He played better than he thought he would. Many players, Nadal, etc…miss events and get injuries much more frequently than Fed has over the years.
There is an etiquette in tennis that unless one would risk further injury or illness, you take your loss on court. The actuality is mixed. Defaulting prior to a match or during a match is not uncommon. Jen Brady defaulted to Coco Gauff after losing the first set 6-1. Gauff has been playing great, and, Brady has been battling plantar fasciitis. Eyebrows won’t be raised because og Brady’s strong reputation. Federer will get a lot of the benefit of the doubt because he is a player that went most of his career without injury without defaulting etc…
For some it’s about the look and example it sets. Fed is playing to get to Halle and Wimbledon tune ups to try to win Wimbledon. Using one of the four slams to get their doesn’t look great. Others agin will appreciate all that he did just to make the Round of 16.
Tennis is a grueling nearly year round sport and you are alone on an island. Not a team sport where the team can pick you up. And, not even golf where one can blend in to the mass of players more. It’s 1v1 match play, every day.
Fed fans will support, haters will hate. Old school tennis will say take the loss on court. Tough to get too upset with someone with his track record. He’s almost 40, two recent knee surgeries. Gave it his all physically to get to the Round of 16. Not at the top of the list of tennis things to be uoset about. Unfortunate, yes. Unexpected, no.
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Serena is gone. She just didn't have it today.
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Serena is gome. She just didn't have it today.
And give Rybakina some credit. She has all the shots, she's 21, and she could be very good for a long time.
And let me tell you ... she either was stunned herself that she won, or she is the most stoic athlete of the last quarter-century. (Or maybe both.) No fist pumps, no screams of joy, no screaming, "Come on!" or "Let's go!" to encourage herself, no throwing herself onto the court, no nuthin'. She's the Bjorn Borg of the 2020s.
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The clay is by far Serena's worst surface and she's still won 3 French Open's. I think if she's motivated she could easily play another 3 yrs and will get to 25 or more. That said I do think Graf (and perhaps Seles and Evert) were better on the red clay. SW just can't get those free points on her serve and isn't as consistent from the baseline. It's a real shame Seles' career was cut (no pun intended) short. She was a freaking ball-machine.
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And give Rybakina some credit. She has all the shots, she's 21, and she could be very good for a long time.
And let me tell you ... she either was stunned herself that she won, or she is the most stoic athlete of the last quarter-century. (Or maybe both.) No fist pumps, no screams of joy, no screaming, "Come on!" or "Let's go!" to encourage herself, no throwing herself onto the court, no nuthin'. She's the Bjorn Borg of the 2020s.
Rybakina made 4 of 5 Finals in 2020 before the shut down. Struggled a bit with form and health in 2021 and took 3 weeks off before the French Open. She’s a very good top 20 player at just 21 years old.
Strategically, Serena could have done a few things differently. First, before that, everything begins and ends with Serena’s serve. It has been the best in Women’s tennis much of the past two decades. It wasn’t good enough today. In order to win against top players, she has to be good on serve.
Rybakina is a big hitter similar to Serena, with size and length, with better movement. And that movement difference was worse with Serena heavily bandaged leg. This was in part why it was considered a good match up for Serena. However, Serena played too much low percentage tennis, with little margin, trying to outhit her opponent too often and try for too many low percentage shots. Rybakina was vulnerable at times on her forehand when SW gave herself more margin with higher percentage cross court backhands etc..
To her credit Rybakina several times came up with big low percentage shots on her 2nd serve and down the line.
She’s still working her way back into her form, but she is a very good top 20 young player.
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In addition to outplaying Williams, Rybakina out-thought her most of the match. Kept hitting behind Serena, finding open spots. Was in the right place at the right time more often.
One thing for sure: Borat is celebrating today!
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In addition to outplaying Williams, Rybakina out-thought her most of the match. Kept hitting behind Serena, finding open spots. Was in the right place at the right time more often.
One thing for sure: Borat is celebrating today!
If you liked the way Rybakina played, wait until you see her play more in form. She’s a good player. Only 21. Played solid vs Serena. Not her best. Top 20 player but she has been just 60 in the points race this year.
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Coco Gauff played one of the best matches she has ever played in her young professional career against a very good Ons Jabeur (good player with lots of variety). Gauff could have defeated anyone today. 6-3, 6-1.
Super clean hitting. Lost only 5 points on her serve first set. Variety. Really good.
Gauff is the youngest Grand Slam quarterfinalist in 15 years. She is the youngest American French Open Finalist in 28 years. Youngest American to reach any Grand Slam Quarters in 24 years.
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I'm not watching today's matches, but I saw Djokovic down 2 sets. He obviously righted the ship big-time, and it looks like his opponent was having some physical problems, too?
Rafa is about to put his match away, too. Crazy that these two can't meet in the finals.
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I'm not watching today's matches, but I saw Djokovic down 2 sets. He obviously righted the ship big-time, and it looks like his opponent was having some physical problems, too?
Rafa is about to put his match away, too. Crazy that these two can't meet in the finals.
Don't forget about Diego. That dude is relentless. It's too bad I have to root against him vs Rafa. He's what.....5'6 , 130? Agreed. It was absurd to put Djoker/Rafa in the same half of the draw. Who ya got Medvy or Tsitsipas?
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Don't forget about Diego. That dude is relentless. It's too bad I have to root against him vs Rafa. He's what.....5'6 , 130? Agreed. It was absurd to put Djoker/Rafa in the same half of the draw. Who ya got Medvy or Tsitsipas?
Speaking of relentless ... Medvidev!
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French Open Juniors notables:
Americans 16 year old Robin Montgomery and Madison Sieg still remain. Sieg is a USC commit. Montgomery, DC native, is the 5th seed.
Leo Borg, son of Bjorn Borg, is into the Boys Juniors.
It’s been a long time for Sweden since the days of Borg, Wilander, Edberg, Enqvist, Järryd, Norman, Bjorkman, etc…of the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s. Soderling made a quarterfinal last at French in 2011. Ymer this year made the Rd of 32.
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6 of the 8 Women’s quarterfinalists are first time Grand Slam Quarterfinalists.
Spaniard Paula Badosa, former French Open Junior Champ, and 18-2 on clay this Spring, is out. 23 year old Slovenian Tamara Zidansek wins 8-6 in the 3rd. Zidansek is into the Semifinals. She is ranked 85th in the world and 46th in the 2021 Points Race. Livin’ the dream.
Elena Rybakina has entered 34 tour level events and she has made the quarterfinals or better 15 times. But she departs today in her first GS quarter, falling to her doubles partner Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6, 2-6, 7-9.
29 year old Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova makes her first ever GS Semifinal on her 7th try. She amde a key service return adjustment in the 2nd set, moving back on Rybakina’s bug first serve, but staying inside the baseline on the 2nd. Both players with lots of winners but Pavlyuchenkova’s experience paid off. Better on bigger points. Moved her feet well against Rybakina’s big line hitting. Served well, not her strength. Rybakina’s serve level dipped in the 2nd and affected the rest of her game a while. But great run for her who just 3 years ago was 175 in the world leaving Russia for Kazakhstan for more $ support and priority. (Several others have done this too)
Two very good quarterfinals.
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It looks like Medvy is in trouble. :(
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As expected, Stef Tsitsipas with a comprehensive high level win over Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. 6-3, 7-6, 7-5. No player has won anywhere near as many matches this year on tour as Tsitsipas, 38. A few titles. A little bit faster, stronger, fitter, physical, more cerebral player this year. He has put in the work. Medvedev played well. Tsitsipas was better.
He’ll get Zverev next. Zverev has an interesting stat of never having defeated a top 10 player in a slam, when he has reached the semis. (3 times before) 0-9 vs top 10 in majors.
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It looks like Medvy is in trouble. :(
As I said, Tsitsipas!
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Damn Gauff lost.
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I checked on Rafa's match a little while ago, and it was 1 set apiece, with Schwartzman up 4-3 in the third. Had to get some stuff done, and the next time I checked, Rafa had won the third set and was up 1-0 in the fourth.
Just saw that Rafa put a bagel on Schwartzman in the 4th to win it and, potentially, set up an epic semifinal against Djokovic.
I like to think NBC will have that one live? Here's hoping!
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Coco Gauff had 5 set points in the first set vs Barbara Krejcikova, but couldn’t convert, falling 7-6 (8-6). Needed a bit more patience and margin in some big points. Krejcikova also came up big in big points despite being down 0-3, 3-5, 4-6 in thr breaker etc…effectively serving wide deuce side inside out forehands. She had a little luck too miss hitting a service return high and deep to the line and then blasting a forehand winner off of the moon ball return while standing behind the baseline on set point down. Took her 4 games to get settled into the match. Came up with big serves and ground strokes when she needed them.
It was only Gauff’s 23rd event, ever. Quarterfinalist at Roland Garros at 17. Remarkable. 27-10 record this year so far. She’d like back a few points that were there for the taking. Great results for Gauff. Very, very close.
Krejcikova’s story is inspiring, grinding for years to break 100 ranking in singles, coming close until breaking through last year. No longer a highly successful top 10 doubles slam winning specialist at 25. She has had some very good results since last fall, taking Swiatek and Muguruza the distance with match points, etc…tremendous improvement.
Maria Sakkari had a comprehensive impressive variety display of big hitting, serving, ground strokes, finesse too. Very cerebral strategy as well vs defending champion Iga Swiatek. An elite performance. 6-4, 6-4. Has had the ability but hadn’t reached a major quarters yet. Now she is into the Women’s semis, as is fellow Greek Stef Tsitsipas in Men’s singles.
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I checked on Rafa's match a little while ago, and it was 1 set apiece, with Schwartzman up 4-3 in the third. Had to get some stuff done, and the next time I checked, Rafa had won the third set and was up 1-0 in the fourth.
Just saw that Rafa put a bagel on Schwartzman in the 4th to win it and, potentially, set up an epic semifinal against Djokovic.
I like to think NBC will have that one live? Here's hoping!
Vamos Rafa!! What's his FO record now? Imo his dominance at Roland Garros is probably the greatest accomplishment in all of sports. Ever. I'm not being hyperbolic. When you consider he is playing in an era with two other top 5 all-time players it's truly beyond belief. I may have to blow off work and watch Fri if it's Djoker/Rafa. Ridiculous they are on the same half of the draw.
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105-2, Muggs, with 13 titles.
Not sure about "the greatest accomplishment in all of sports," as that's impossible to really define or quantify, but it's gotta be on some kind of list.
I mean, in 1927, Ruth hit 60 HR -- more than every other AL team. Phelps at the Olympics. John Wooden's coaching record. Stuff like that. That was just thinking for 1 minute. We could come up with a heck of a list.
But yes, Rafa has been such a joy to watch, and here's one of the incredible things about all he has accomplished: Even if you only "gave" him as many French Open titles as his high in any other event (4 U.S. Open) to put him at 11, that would tie him with Laver and Borg for 5th most ever. Take away all 13 of them, and he still won as many majors as McEnroe.
I was especially glad he won the U.S. Open in 2019. Really cemented his legacy as an all-time, all-court superstar. As if being the unquestioned King of Clay isn't enough!
Now, here's hoping he gets 2 more wins at Roland Garros to pass Roger!
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105-2, Muggs, with 13 titles.
Not sure about "the greatest accomplishment in all of sports," as that's impossible to really define or quantify, but it's gotta be on some kind of list.
I mean, in 1927, Ruth hit 60 HR -- more than every other AL team. Phelps at the Olympics. John Wooden's coaching record. Stuff like that. That was just thinking for 1 minute. We could come up with a heck of a list.
But yes, Rafa has been such a joy to watch, and here's one of the incredible things about all he has accomplished: Even if you only "gave" him as many French Open titles as his high in any other event (4 U.S. Open) to put him at 11, that would tie him with Laver and Borg for 5th most ever. Take away all 13 of them, and he still won as many majors as McEnroe.
I was especially glad he won the U.S. Open in 2019. Really cemented his legacy as an all-time, all-court superstar. As if being the unquestioned King of Clay isn't enough!
Now, here's hoping he gets 2 more wins at Roland Garros to pass Roger!
Props to Diego for snagging a set. Hard not to like that guy.....tough as nails.
105-2 is 105-2. Think about that for a moment....he's not playing stiffs. Hopefully he gets his 14th but I'm a bit concerned. It seems to me the clay is playing a bit faster from the little I've watched. Djoker should be highly motivated.....boy I hope Rafa takes him out. He only needs 1 to pass Fed.
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I get the Babe Ruth argument and I think Simone Biles is in the conversation. As far as Phelps? I know this will be contraversial but since a sailfish can swim 60 mph his talent doesn't do much for me.
Personally, I have always been a proponent of animals competing with humans in swimming and running and then maybe some of these people will take a chill pill with their "medals". Cheetahs run a 4.4 100m in the wild, my old Dalmatian would also eviscerate Usain Bolt. She easily ran 40 mph. :)
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105-2, Muggs, with 13 titles.
Not sure about "the greatest accomplishment in all of sports," as that's impossible to really define or quantify, but it's gotta be on some kind of list.
I mean, in 1927, Ruth hit 60 HR -- more than every other AL team. Phelps at the Olympics. John Wooden's coaching record. Stuff like that. That was just thinking for 1 minute. We could come up with a heck of a list.
But yes, Rafa has been such a joy to watch, and here's one of the incredible things about all he has accomplished: Even if you only "gave" him as many French Open titles as his high in any other event (4 U.S. Open) to put him at 11, that would tie him with Laver and Borg for 5th most ever. Take away all 13 of them, and he still won as many majors as McEnroe.
I was especially glad he won the U.S. Open in 2019. Really cemented his legacy as an all-time, all-court superstar. As if being the unquestioned King of Clay isn't enough!
Now, here's hoping he gets 2 more wins at Roland Garros to pass Roger!
It isn’t possible to compare eras. You have pre and post open era where circumstances were entirely different. And even in the “Open Era” players didn’t count Majors the same way they do in the current era. It wasn’t a thing. Money was different, travel was different, technology was different, training was different, nutrition was different. It’s a pretty long list. A more realistic comparison is how a player compares to others in his or her era. And, the best are justly considered all time greats.
Chris Evert famously won 125 straight clay court matches across 7 years. Her all time clay record is 382-22. When Lindsay Devenport saw the new Nadal statue at the French Open this year, she said, where’s Chrissie’s statue?
There will always be great players in different eras. The best become all time greats.
Speaking of Bjorn Borg, his son lost in the Juniors Round of 16 today, in a close 3 setter to the top seed from China. His dad won those 11 Grand Slam Titles. He also retired at age 25. Oh, he played the Australian Open exactly one time in his career. Many players skipped Australia in the past when it was scheduled at a different time. See Evert, McEnroe, (he played AO just 5 times etc…)
So enjoy the great players and great tennis. But as is the case in any sport, effective comparisons begin and end within one’s era.
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It isn’t possible to compare eras. You have pre and post open era where circumstances were entirely different. And even in the “Open Era” players didn’t count Majors the same way they do in the current era. It wasn’t a thing. Money was different, travel was different, technology was different, training was different, nutrition was different. It’s a pretty long list. A more realistic comparison is how a player compares to others in his or her era. And, the best are justly considered all time greats.
Chris Evert famously won 125 straight clay court matches across 7 years. Her all time clay record is 382-22. When Lindsay Devenport saw the new Nadal statue at the French Open this year, she said, where’s Chrissie’s statue?
There will always be great players in different eras. The best become all time greats.
Speaking of Bjorn Borg, his son lost in the Juniors Round of 16 today, in a close 3 setter to the top seed from China. His dad won those 11 Grand Slam Titles. He also retired at age 25. Oh, he played the Australian Open exactly one time in his career. Many players skipped Australia in the past when it was scheduled at a different time. See Evert, McEnroe, (he played AO just 5 times etc…)
So enjoy the great players and great tennis. But as is the case in any sport, effective comparisons begin and end within one’s era.
OK.
As for the statues ... as soon as Chrissy wins her 13th French Open title, she can have a statue there. I grew up watching Chrissy. Loved her. She was great. She won 7 French Opens, which is spectacular. It ain't 13 though. No matter what era we're talkin' about, 7 ain't 13.
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OK.
As for the statues ... as soon as Chrissy wins her 13th French Open title, she can have a statue there. I grew up watching Chrissy. Loved her. She was great. She won 7 French Opens, which is spectacular. It ain't 13 though. No matter what era we're talkin' about, 7 ain't 13.
The point was and still is, there isn’t an effective way to compare different eras played under a wide variety of vastly different circumstances. That point not only escaped you, you extended it to comparing Men vs Women. Let me know when Men give birth to children. (Evert retired as still one of the World’s top few ranked players to have children.) If Nadal keeps it up, in a few years he as well may win 70 clay court titles, a great achievement for him among many.
An alternative take would have been to support Davenport’s comments as the French Open has long had a reputation of not treating the Women players in the same manner as the Men.
Jimmy Connors wasn’t allowed to play the French Open 5 straight years, his peak years as a professional tennis player due to his association with World Team Tennis. Banned. One year, for example, he was 99-4 ranked #1. He was also part of a large group of players that didn’t play Australia until the mid to later 1980’s. (He played it twice, won it once and made the finals the other time)
Borg played The French 8 times and won it 6 times. Monica Seles was the youngest ever French Open Champion at 16 year 6 months. She won it 3 straight years, and she had won 7 of 8 majors in a row (lost in Finals of the 8th) before getting stabbed while playing.
Money, and advances in training, travel, nutrition, technology, coaching, rest, injury prevention, injury recovery, on and on change the game. Today’s players can even afford to withdraw from tourneys (Nadal did it during 2016 French Open for example)
Nadal is an all time great player among many all time great players. In his era, he has been one of the best few players on the ATP Tour. And that’s great for him, and that’s great for tennis.
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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova becomes the first Woman to play more than 50 majors to reach her first major Final.
7-5, 6-3 over Takara Zidansek.
She has had 37 top 10 wins without ever reaching the top 10. (She moves to 14 with a title win).
29 years old, a former 3 time Junior Grand Slam Champion a decade and a half ago, makes her first slam final on her 52nd try.
One of the great stories of the tourney. Very popular tour player.
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The point was and still is, there isn’t an effective way to compare different eras played under a wide variety of vastly different circumstances. That point not only escaped you, you extended it to comparing Men vs Women. Let me know when Men give birth to children. (Evert retired as still one of the World’s top few ranked players to have children.) If Nadal keeps it up, in a few years he as well may win 70 clay court titles, a great achievement for him among many.
An alternative take would have been to support Davenport’s comments as the French Open has long had a reputation of not treating the Women players in the same manner as the Men.
Jimmy Connors wasn’t allowed to play the French Open 5 straight years, his peak years as a professional tennis player due to his association with World Team Tennis. Banned. One year, for example, he was 99-4 ranked #1. He was also part of a large group of players that didn’t play Australia until the mid to later 1980’s. (He played it twice, won it once and made the finals the other time)
Borg played The French 8 times and won it 6 times. Monica Seles was the youngest ever French Open Champion at 16 year 6 months. She won it 3 straight years, and she had won 7 of 8 majors in a row (lost in Finals of the 8th) before getting stabbed while playing.
Money, and advances in training, travel, nutrition, technology, coaching, rest, injury prevention, injury recovery, on and on change the game. Today’s players can even afford to withdraw from tourneys (Nadal did it during 2016 French Open for example)
Nadal is an all time great player among many all time great players. In his era, he has been one of the best few players on the ATP Tour. And that’s great for him, and that’s great for tennis.
All true.
It's been a pleasure to watch Rafa play, as well as all the others you mentioned.
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Barbora Krejcikova wins a 3 set thriller 7-5, 4-6, 9-7 over Maria Sakkari. About as high drama as tennis gets. She will try to become the first Czech in 40 years to win the French Open (Hana Mandlikova 1981).
Pavluchenkova has played 52 majors. Krejcikova just 5. As recently as a couple of years ago she wasn’t making it out of qualifying tourneys. Meteoric rise in singles this past year, breaking the top 100 for the first time. Krejcikova is also in the doubles semis. Long a doubles specialist, she has made 8 semifinals or better in her last 10 major doubles entered. She is the 3 time reigning Australian Open Mixed Doubles Champion.
Two likable unlikely finalists with lessons in perseverance, playing great tennis.
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Who ya got tomorrow? I'm a bit concerned Djoker could take out Rafa...I hope I'm wrong. That Zverev/Tsitsipas match-up should be fun as well.
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Who ya got tomorrow? I'm a bit concerned Djoker could take out Rafa...I hope I'm wrong. That Zverev/Tsitsipas match-up should be fun as well.
Of course Djokpvic could win. These arguably are the two greatest players in the history of the sport, and no result would be surprising.
It’s on clay, so I’ll go with my boy … though I know that’s simplistic.
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Of course Djokpvic could win. These arguably are the two greatest players in the history of the sport, and no result would be surprising.
It’s on clay, so I’ll go with my boy … though I know that’s simplistic.
I haven't gotten to watch much but will tomorrow. Hopefully Rafa is in his attack/no mercy mode. 105-2 with 13 chips is pretty good, but 107-2 with 14 chips is better. :)
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Tsitsipas is no joke. He's got a wicked one-handed backhand. Not as badass as Wawrinka but more spin and perhaps margin for error. I would think he'll win a bunch of majors.
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Tsitsipas is no joke. He's got a wicked one-handed backhand. Not as badass as Wawrinka but more spin and perhaps margin for error. I would think he'll win a bunch of majors.
He had to work for it!
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NBC showing the Rafa/Novak match on delay? I see they have the first semi starting the fifth set.
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NBC showing the Rafa/Novak match on delay? I see they have the first semi starting the fifth set.
WTH? I can't get it livestream on NBC. The match has started. Is it on the Tennis Channel through their app? Piases me off. Why on earth wouldn't this be live on NBC? Smh.
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WTH? I can't get it livestream on NBC. The match has started. Is it on the Tennis Channel through their app? Piases me off. Why on earth wouldn't this be live on NBC? Smh.
Did NBC think the Olympics started already with these ridiculous delay decisions?
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So let me get this straight... .NBC is now showing the Tsitsipas/Zverev match which has already been completed?? What a total mickey-mouse decision.
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Got it live on NBC Sports App. Potential top match of the year and most people tuning in already know the result of what you are showing currently.
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Got it live on NBC Sports App. Potential top match of the year and most people tuning in already know the result of what you are showing currently.
You have it live on the app? Ty. I can't seem to get it.
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I sat down with my sammich and it was already 3-0.
So far, it’s a repeat of last year’s match. Still early, though.
Oh, and I love Rafa’s shirt. Gotta check out if it’s available.
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Hopefully Rafa not closing out the first set quickly and allowing Novak to get some momentum doesn’t come back to bite him. Big break there.
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Unfortunately the NBCSN feed still includes Mary Carrillo. I could not care less about the towels.
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Dammit. Vamos Rafa. Apparently my concerns were valid.
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Dammit. Vamoa Rafa. Apparently my concerns were valid.
Had a bunch of chances to extend the set. Although, if anyone can flip momentum quickly on clay, it’s Rafa. At least Djokovic had to work in that set.
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Lot of errors but a ton of great rallies. I think whoever wins the third set wins this.
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Wow. Having some difficulty following on my phone. Hopefully Rafa finds a way to pull out the 3rd set. Does anyone know if the curfew is in effect like the other night? It could be interesting forcing fans to leave this one.
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BTW this match is already 3+ hrs and they are still in the 3rd set!!
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Going to be interesting when they kick the fans out in 30 minutes lol
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Dammit!! Son of a duck. Gonna be tough for Rafa now.
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Unbelievable third set. I rarely watch men’s tennis, and this is an outstanding match.
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Going to be interesting when they kick the fans out in 30 minutes lol
reminds me of those marathon Ivan Lendl v. Mats Wilander US Open matches, but a little more exciting.
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Feels over. Bummer.
Novak’s box ditching their masks is very on brand.
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Rafa looks spent. Making easy mistakes. Third set was incredible, took a lot out of him.
And Djokovic making all the shots.
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Rafa looks spent. Making easy mistakes. Third set was incredible, took a lot out of him.
And Djokovic making all the shots.
Now you know why I was nervous!
I will be rooting for Tsitsipas but I don't see Djoker losing. He may roll through Wimby and the USOpen as well.
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Novak is one of the few, if not the only one, that can play just as good as defense as Nadal. So many would be winners that Novak gets back and can flip the point quickly.
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I think we can all agree that putting those two on the same half of the draw was absurd?
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Djokovic vs Nadal.
Nadal served as well as he had all Spring in the first set. And looping balls to Djokovic’ backhand were working as Djokovic predictably pressed early. Also way too many ineffective (backhand) drop shots from ND.
ND makes the service return adjustment and moves back, something he doesn’t normally like to do. Getting more patient, allow RN to be a more offensive player. (RN serve went from 80+% to 59%)
Ridiculous level at times. RN had his chances, double fault in tie breaker, loose forehand volley long, etc…but fatigue can cause those things as he admitted afterwards.
3 out of 5 is very different from 2 out of 3. (That’s an actual big debate for some making slams 2 of 3 vs 3 of 5 to emphasize quality over physical war of attrition) RN said during clay season, let’s see who can take 3 sets vs 2 in Paris, emphasizing the difference. Point to point consistency, one hour long sets. It’s different.
Stats can be quirky. Nadal wins so often in Paris, that one of them is only one time in his career has Nadal come from 2 sets to 1 down to win in Paris. (John Isner)
Tsitsipas wins his 38th match of the year. Took his foot off of the gas up two sets and got away with it. Allowing a side to match later, where Zverev’s length and court coverage gives him and advantage. Pushed him back much of the match. Tsitsipas is a top 3-4 player in the world this year.
Krejcikova is going for both the singles and doubles titles, the first since local French player Mary Pierce. They will play Iga Swiatek and American Bethany Mattek Sands. (looking for her 6th)
Robin Montgomery fell in juniors round of 16. Russian heavy Women’s Juniors left.
American Desirae Krawczwk won the mixed doubles title with Joe Salisbury.
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Tsitsipas needs to take this first set. The Djoker isn't quite on his game yet. 5 aces already for Stephanos is a good sign.
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Crazy 1st set. Djoker is not playing near his top level but props to Tsitsipas for breaking at 6-5 and taking the tiebreaker.
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Djoker may very well win the Grand Slam this year. You have to give that guy credit.
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Another elite level match, Tsitsipas and Djokovic. Novak played at a very hugh level first set, serving at 90+%, ridiculous. But Tsitsipas was a little better during points. Djokovic returned to that level in the 5th. Stef didn’t get enough easy points off of serve. He couldn’t buy a first serve in the 5th.
It’s very difficult to maintain level for 3 of 5 against top players. High looping shots to Stef’s backhand were effective throughout. Too many curious strategy decisions from Stef. Too far back on 2nd serves. Going for down the line backhands at crucial game scores. Caught ball watching a bit in the 5th. Stef had his chances. Just a little dip, while Djokovic maintained a high level throughout. Neutralizing points, finding endless lines. An as expected match.
Barbora Krejcikova pulls off the French Open double winning singles and doubles. First time in 21 years, 8th time ever. Playing with Katerina Siniakova. 3 GS doubles 3 mixed doubles to go along with first singles. From 115th in the world last year to steadily breaking through a half dozen events getting deeper. Very aesthetically pleasing all court game and form.
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I am a Rafa fan, so I'd like him to finish with the most Grand Slam titles.
But I realize Djokovic almost surely will end up with more, and I recognize what an amazing talent Novak is. We have been lucky to get to watch him play all these years. It's incredible that the stars were aligned in a way to give us Novak, Rafa and Roger at the same time.
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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.
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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.
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It was terrible, obviously. We’ll never know how great her career might have been.
I didn't realize how young she was when she took over the sport from Graf. Her upbringing is also incredible. She had no indoor tennis courts in Yugoslavia. Basically hit against a wall during the winter months.
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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.
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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.
You're fun.
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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.
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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.
Don't you dare! Not allowed!
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You're fun.
Well…eh forget it ::)
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You're fun.
I’m probably having more fun than you, yes. I enjoy all of tennis (and many other team and olympic sports) at all levels of both Women and Men, singles, doubles, mixed, instead of just one player or team or level. So yeah I have a lot of fun, probably more than most here enjoying all of that.
(I enjoy all levels of baseball and softball besides MLB. Tremendous college post seasons going on by the way. I enjoy other levels of soccer besides the top few teams and leagues in Europe. MLS college club, are great fun in local markets too. And so on)
It doesn’t make me less fun or the sport less enjoyable to point out the vast differences in circumstances in eras. And, it doesn’t make it less fun to point out that best of an era and all time greats plural of different eras, are as definitive and as far as it gets. I greatly enjoy today’s best players just as I enjoy many other eras, levels. and aspects as well:
Watching a player like Chris Eubanks win a 2nd title when he wasn’t sure if or when he would again is great fun. Watching some of his peers, including some of the World’s best players be so happy for him is fun. Watching. player such as Barbora Krejcikova win the French Open singles and doubles is pretty fun considering she suffers from crippling anxiety at times and has had to be coaxed onto court from the locker room to play before. There are a lot of great and fun things out there.
I’m the one that often posts about a variety of sports and variety of people in them, not just one player or thing. So yeah I’m probably having fun.
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I’m probably having more fun than you, yes. I enjoy all of tennis (and many other team and olympic sports) at all levels of both Women and Men, singles, doubles, mixed, instead of just one player or team or level. So yeah I have a lot of fun, probably more than most here enjoying all of that.
(I enjoy all levels of baseball and softball besides MLB. Tremendous college post seasons going on by the way. I enjoy other levels of soccer besides the top few teams and leagues in Europe. MLS college club, are great fun in local markets too. And so on)
It doesn’t make me less fun or the sport less enjoyable to point out the vast differences in circumstances in eras. And, it doesn’t make it less fun to point out that best of an era and all time greats plural of different eras, are as definitive and as far as it gets. I greatly enjoy today’s best players just as I enjoy many other aspects as well:
Watching a player like Chris Eubanks win a 2nd title when he wasn’t sure if or when he would again is great fun. Watching some of his peers, including some of the World’s best players be so happy for him is fun. Watching. player such as Barbora Krejcikova win the French Open singles and doubles is pretty fun considering she suffers from crippling anxiety at times and has had to be coaxed onto court from the locker room to play before. There are a lot of great and fun things out there.
I’m the one that often posts about a variety of sports and variety of people in them, not just one player or thing. So yeah I’m probably having fun.
I am certain that you have more fun watching non-major tennis tournaments and various college sports than I do, because I rarely watch them. I'm guessing that I have more fun, say, umpiring youth baseball than you do, probably because you don't do it. (Maybe you do. If so, I sit corrected.)
I have lots of fun doing stuff that has nothing to do with sports. I hope you can say the same, my friend. Be well!
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I am certain that you have more fun watching non-major tennis tournaments and various college sports than I do, because I rarely watch them. I'm guessing that I have more fun, say, umpiring youth baseball than you do, probably because you don't do it. (Maybe you do. If so, I sit corrected.)
I have lots of fun doing stuff that has nothing to do with sports. I hope you can say the same, my friend. Be well!
You’re the one that made the comment. I never made a comment about whether or not you were fun or having fun in a sarcastic manner. So, I played along with your comment.
It’s the tennis thread. So I used tennis as the example in my reply. I never commented one way or another about if you were fun or having fun. That was your thing.
I’m the poster that posts the most in this thread about a wide variety of aspects of the sport. I do the same in other sports. So it was a bit “fun” for me to read your comment considering you discuss one thing/player about the sport in much of your posts for the most part. And that’s perfectly fine by the way.
I think what you may misunderstand is that being unable to effectively compare eras doesn’t take away fun. It actually brings more fun to more players and eras. I don’t have an overwhelming need to pick just one. It isn’t possible anyway. I enjoy many of them for different reasons. It’s great fun watching current era Big 3 and others in person. But i can enjoy others too.
And sure, playing sports, (it always starts with playing first for me) coaching sports, watching sports, attending sporting events are all great fun, but it’s just one of my interests, since you asked.
I like music. But there is no one best ever band or best ever album. I enjoy a wide variety of types of music. If anything I am more partial to individuals songs more than artists than albums. I don’t have a need to declare this the best ever or be a music hater or be a music snob. I like way too many artists and genres for that. As you could imagine I am not big on award shows. We like what we like.
In addition to sports and music, books, movies, travel, art, and so on…are some of the fun hobbies I enjoy. Sports of course is the only one that is considered competitive or a competition.
I simply said you can’t effectively compare eras. I also post positively about, and enjoy Federer, Nadal, Djokovic etc…and their great careers and specifics about their individual play. Not saying this or that player is the best ever doesn’t really take away from their great careers, and it isn’t any less fun.
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You’re the one that made the comment. I never made a comment about whether or not you were fun or having fun in a sarcastic manner. So, I played along with your comment.
It’s the tennis thread. So I used tennis as the example in my reply. I never commented one way or another about if you were fun or having fun. That was your thing.
I’m the poster that posts the most in this thread about a wide variety of aspects of the sport. I do the same in other sports. So it was a bit “fun” for me to read your comment considering you discuss one thing/player about the sport in much of your posts for the most part. And that’s perfectly fine by the way.
I think what you may misunderstand is that being unable to effectively compare eras doesn’t take away fun. It actually brings more fun to more players and eras. I don’t have an overwhelming need to pick just one. It isn’t possible anyway. I enjoy many of them for different reasons. It’s great fun watching current era Big 3 and others in person. But i can enjoy others too.
And sure, playing sports, (it always starts with playing first for me) coaching sports, watching sports, attending sporting events are all great fun, but it’s just one of my interests, since you asked.
I like music. But there is no one best ever band or best ever album. I enjoy a wide variety of types of music. If anything I am more partial to individuals songs more than artists than albums. I don’t have a need to declare this the best ever or be a music hater or be a music snob. I like way too many artists and genres for that. As you could imagine I am not big on award shows. We like what we like.
In addition to sports and music, books, movies, travel, art, and so on…are some of the fun hobbies I enjoy. Sports of course is the only one that is considered competitive or a competition.
I simply said you can’t effectively compare eras. I also post positively about, and enjoy Federer, Nadal, Djokovic etc…and their great careers and specifics about their individual play. Not saying this or that player is the best ever doesn’t really take away from their great careers, and it isn’t any less fun.
Trying to do the impossible -- comparing eras in sports, choosing the best band or song ever, stating how Marquette would have done had anybody other than Wojo been coach, trying to reason with folks who believe a cabal of pedophile cannibals is trying to take over the country, etc etc etc -- is all part of the "fun" of interwebs sites.
I apologize if my little sarcastic comment bothered you. I truly appreciate the info you provide here on tennis. You obviously are passionate about it and knowledgeable.
Keep up the good work, take care, and keep having fun in life!
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Trying to do the impossible -- comparing eras in sports, choosing the best band or song ever, stating how Marquette would have done had anybody other than Wojo been coach, trying to reason with folks who believe a cabal of pedophile cannibals is trying to take over the country, etc etc etc -- is all part of the "fun" of interwebs sites.
I apologize if my little sarcastic comment bothered you. I truly appreciate the info you provide here on tennis. You obviously are passionate about it and knowledgeable.
Keep up the good work, take care, and keep having fun in life!
Fair enough. I wanted to clear up the misconception that not comparing eras isn’t taking away any fun. It isn’t really fair to all players in all eras. I certainly enjoy and appreciate the current eras as much as anyone else. My posting is anything if consistent. It isn’t fair to cherry pick and it’s common for some elsewhere to get caught up in the moment of any sport success and say this or that is the best ever. If I post something that isn’t fair, it seems some are reading emotion into emotionless, matter of fact comments. At least it’s sports and entertainment. When discussing economy and the disingenuous nature of some of the haves (vs have nots) that don’t address things from bottom up instead of top down, that’s of course not entertainment.
There’s no question Federer, Nadal, Djokovic have (along with others) continued to elevate tennis, and, are the best players of their overlapping eras. I’m also not a singular fan of any one of them, or, a singular hater of any one of them. The reality is I don’t believe it would be fair to pick one of the three as the best of even their era. They will always be grouped together, and that’s more of a compliment than not. They are fun to watch and can make some very difficult shots look routine. Others will be remembered for other reasons, big match big tourney Stan Wawrinka. Delpo will be remembered as the most unlucky with injury despite having best in era talent.
Speaking of that, here is a pretty cool short video clip of Andy Murray (2 time Wimbledon Champ, Gold Medalist on grass) giving grass tips to up and coming Italian teen sensation Jannik Sinner.
https://twitter.com/tennistv/status/1404376935875100684?s=21
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Fair enough. I wanted to clear up the misconception that not comparing eras isn’t taking away any fun. It isn’t really fair to all players in all eras. I certainly enjoy and appreciate the current eras as much as anyone else. My posting is anything if consistent. It isn’t fair to cherry pick and it’s common for some elsewhere to get caught up in the moment of any sport success and say this or that is the best ever. If I post something that isn’t fair, it seems some are reading emotion into emotionless, matter of fact comments. At least it’s sports and entertainment. When discussing economy and the disingenuous nature of some of the haves (vs have nots) that don’t address things from bottom up instead of top down, that’s of course not entertainment.
There’s no question Federer, Nadal, Djokovic have (along with others) continued to elevate tennis, and, are the best players of their overlapping eras. I’m also not a singular fan of any one of them, or, a singular hater of any one of them. The reality is I don’t believe it would be fair to pick one of the three as the best of even their era. They will always be grouped together, and that’s more of a compliment than not. They are fun to watch and can make some very difficult shots look routine. Others will be remembered for other reasons, big match big tourney Stan Wawrinka. Delpo will be remembered as the most unlucky with injury despite having best in era talent.
Speaking of that, here is a pretty cool short video clip of Andy Murray (2 time Wimbledon Champ, Gold Medalist on grass) giving grass tips to up and coming Italian teen sensation Jannik Sinner.
https://twitter.com/tennistv/status/1404376935875100684?s=21
I don't care what you say ... you're the best (and most passionate) tennis commentator Scoop has ever had, regardless of era!
Cool video. Thanks.
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon.
Per a statement, "She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans."
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon.
Per a statement, "She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans."
I feel for Osaka. Here you have a young person who has anxiety ... and she no doubt feels she has no choice but to compete for Japan in the Tokyo Olympics. I mean, no pressure at all there.
In related news (but for a different reason), Rafa also skipping Wimbledon. Skipping the Olympics, too. What a drag it is getting old!
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Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon.
Per a statement, "She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans."
Nadal is also sitting out Wimbledon, as well as the Olympics. The time in between the French Open and Wimbledon is condensed this year. As mentioned earlier when some questioned when Federer left The French Open, this happens. Unlike team sports, players can’t take games off, miss time, etc…and have someone else play for them. Nadal has openly said recently that he wants to save himself to train and play for big events, majors etc…something that has been the norm in modern tennis unlike other eras. And economically they can do so. Nadal has already played the Olympics 3 times, winning gold in singles and doubles once each, and he carried the flag for Spain as well. Hopefully they both find a healthy successful return.
Osaka playing the Olympics is a big topic. She has roughly 24 sponsors, (over $50 million earned off the court this past year) roughly half are Japanese based companies. Several others are Olympic sponsors, and, or, will have a large Olympic presence. 2021 Olympic Olympic Tennis will be played on hard courts, a surface Osaka strongly prefers. If she can get some match play, she is expected to do well there and be competitive with the top players, unlike The French Open and Wimbledon.
Asia is tennis $ growth geography, with a few dozen events combined amongst the tours annually throughout the year. This is especially during the October Asian Swing, and, year end finals in November, but also in the Spring.
Osaka’s success has come along at a time after Asia made a big push in the sport the previous decade, and, continues to do so. Many Asian events are among the tour’s most popular events amongst the players.
As for grass court season, several players are trying to get in some grass court match play prior to Wimbledon. That will be limited this year. Americans Korda, Giron, Pegula, Vandeweghe, Keys, Tiafoe, are all off to good early grass starts. Spain’s Garbi Muguruza one of the best WTA players, is off to a good start but is still battling injuries. Vekic is back from injury playing well, Azarenka. FAA took out Fed in Halle. There’s still time for some to get in some grass court play before Wimbledon.
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Meniscus tear for Taylor Fritz. Hopeful to be back for Wimbledon.
8 days after surgery for a torn meniscus. Taylor Fritz, not bad.
https://twitter.com/taylor_fritz97/status/1405216607404642304?s=21
https://twitter.com/taylor_fritz97/status/1405954926979608576?s=21
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Serena Williams (as expected) will not play the Tokyo Olympics. She has won gold and 3 doubles gold in past Olympics. First up to take her place is Jessie Pegula. The team for now would be Kenin, Brady, Gauff, Pegula. Keys and Riske are just outside of that group.
Popular tour player, and aesthetically pleasing playing style and variation, Ons Jabeur wins her first WTA Title, and, it’s on grass. Big for Tunisia and N. Africa. She is the first Arab player to do so.
Former 2017 Wimbledon Junior Champ, American Claire Liu, won her qualifying tourney to advance to Wimbledon main draw. Also, never give up. 30 year old American Danielle Lao also won her qualifying tourney to advance to her first ever Wimbledon main draw. She’s a former USC All American college player. Stanford’s Kristie Ahn joins them. In rhe Men’s draw, Virgina, UCLA, Texas A&M represented by Brandon Nakashima, Mackie McDonald, Arthur Rinderknech (France).
19 year old Anerican Katie Volynets won her qualifying tourney to advance to main draw Wimbledon.
21 American Women and 13 American Men in main draw singles. This is the most combined since 1998. (35)
Just 5 American Women in top half of draw but a whopping 15 in the bottom half.
Notables: Mixed Doubles team of Venus Williams and Nick Kyrgios. Women’s Doubles: Coco Vandeweighe and Sam Stosur. (Coco V also in singles). Anisimova and Sloane Stephens. Gauff and McNally. Ram and Salisbury playing together.
Simina Halep had to withdraw due to her previous injury. Local British player Johanna Konta had to withdraw due to COVID-19 and close contact of someone who tested positive.
Players are required to stay at the Event Bubble Hotel with limited guests (Park Plaza, Central London) with seeded players getting suites. This is very different from the usual renting homes closer to the event site.
The courts (17 below) are ready to go.
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Good start for ‘Merica at Wimbkedon.
American Frances Tiafoe takes out 3rd seeded, and recent French Open Finalist, Stef Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
American Sloane Stephens takes out two time Wimbledon Champion and 10 seeded Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4. (Kvitova, in form, was one of the 2021 Wimbledon favorites)
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Damn....Tiafoe took a sledgehammer to Tsitsipas. Great job.
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Tough break for Serena.
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Unlucky for Serena. She is far from alone as many players have slipped and fallen on the wet grass of the rainy first few days of Wimbledon. Gauff, Stephens, Korda, many others. Possible serious injury in Federer’s match. It’s unfortunate, but it has always been a factor on grass.
On to the Rd of 32:
Sabalenka, Jabeur (over Venus), Keys, Swiatek, Ostapenko, Stephens, Pliskova.
Two good American stories come to an end. Both Kristie Ahn and Claire Liu played inbtheir first main draw Wimbledon, and both won and advanced to the Round of 64. Ahn has grinded the tour many years, former Stanford star. Liu is a former Wimbledon Junior Champion.
Several notable early exits including Americans Anisimova, Kenin, Pegula, Venus, Serena, Collins.
1st round winners: Rogers up a set on Sakkari. Coco V, and Coco G,
Men Rd of 32 notables:
Djokovic, Kudla, Tiafoe, Korda, Shapovalov.
Out: Sinner, Tsitsipas, McDonald, Opelka, Isner
Berretini, Krygios, Monfils, Fritz, Johnson, Sandgren, Federer, Querrey, Guron, Medvedev.
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Coco may have the potential to win double digit slams. She is already popping serves at 120 mph. Her movement is superior to any other woman on tour. Once she polishes up her 2nd serve and gets a bit more consistent I expect the floodgates to open. It may not be for another year but she has serious game.
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Terrible job by ESPN with their Wimby coverage. You have an American in a tight 4th set with Zverv hoping to force a 5th and they are showing Fed's match which is 2 sets to zero.
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Then they finally go to Fritz/Zverev in the 4th set tiebreaker but with a split screen? WTF? Ridiculous.
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Then they finally go to Fritz/Zverev in the 4th set tiebreaker but with a split screen? WTF? Ridiculous.
For future reference, I think you can watch any match for free at watchespn.com
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Bradenton, Florida’s Sebastian Korda becomes the 8th ATP player in the past 20 years to reach the 2nd week, Round of 16, at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The other 7:
Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, Berdych, Cilic, Hewitt, Tsitsipas.
18 year old Emma Raducanu becomes the youngest British player in the Open Era to make the Round of 16. Electric crowd for her match.
17 year old Coco Gauff advances to her 2nd straight Wimbledon Round of 16 and her 4th overall in a major. She’ll play the only remaining past Wimbledon champion, Angie Kerber. Caty McNally and Gauff look sharp in doubles, into the Round of 16 together. (took out Badosa who is still alive in singles)
Madison Keys advanced to her 3rd Wimbledon Round of 16, former Semifinalist, and her 15th overall in a major.
Sloane Stephens, Shelby Rogers, Garbi Muguruza, are out. Ons Jabeur with one of the matches of tourney taking out Muguruza.
Another match of the tourney was mixed doubles, great effort from former 5 time USC All American Sabrina Santamaria,, and Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) but just short to Venus Williams and Nick Krygios. Rybakina, Sabalenka, Muchova, all dominant thus far.
After dominating the first set Krygios gets and abdominal injury and has to withdraw vs Felix Auger Aliassime.
Up and comer Roger Federer is into the Round of 16 for the 69th time in a major.
Berrettini looks sharp.
Taylor Fritz falls in 4 sets to Alex Zverev, in Round of 32, just weeks after surgery on his torn meniscus. The wonders kf modern medicine for Fritz to be able to both play and play well. Modern medicine. Modern era.
French Open Champion Barbora Krejcikova quietly advances to the Round of 16.
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For future reference, I think you can watch any match for free at watchespn.com
You can watch all matches on the ESPN app.
ESPN has the rights to 3 of the 4 majors. (No French until after 2024). Also, on delay each day, Tennis Channel and their app also shows coverage.
ESPN carries first ball to last ball, all matches, all categories on the ESPN app. The broadcasters will be different, as much of it is the World Feed, which, at Wimbledon means lots of BBC. John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, Chanda Rubin (She’s very good) work with BBC. Some matches have zero sound/without commentators. The bigger names and matches have them. I don’t need sound. But I know others might.
ESPN and Tennis Channel both, show the biggest names and biggest matches. And sometimes those players are not necessarily American. They know Federer will get a better rating, and draw more interest than Zverev or Fritz.
This is why the ESPN app is good for watching tennis at the majors. Unfortunately, ESPN has shifted to “only” majors in their contracts.
Tennis Channel unfortunately is still poorly distributed by Sinclair, and, the Tennis Channel app/TC Plus is overpriced and a 12 month commitment. But they carry all non major events in the U.S.
Indian Wells, CA, which is the 5th largest event on tour, will be held two weeks in October this fall, having moved from its usual March spot. It will be back in March 2022 as well.
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Then they finally go to Fritz/Zverev in the 4th set tiebreaker but with a split screen? WTF? Ridiculous.
Taylor Fritz, just a few weeks ago having surgery for his torn meniscus:
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Taylor Fritz, just a few weeks ago having surgery for his torn meniscus:
Is he usually more mobile than he was today? Thought that was the clear difference between the two players.
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Is he usually more mobile than he was today? Thought that was the clear difference between the two players.
Yes. He isn’t 100%. Pretty strong result for him that he was able to train, practice, and win a few rounds at Wimbledon this year, and, take a top level player to 4 sets, after his recent meniscus tear and surgery a few weeks ago.
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Korda/Khrachanov are now 8-8 in the 5th set. Potential tiebreaker at 12-12.
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I just don't see anyone beating the Djoker. If he wins Wimbledon he has a really good chance for the calendar grand slam. It would be a pretty good year for the guy if he goes from 17 to 21 and takes over the record from Nadal and Fed. You really have to give this dude his props.
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Angie Kerber has won 3 Grand Slams, she’s been to 15 Grand Slam Round of 16’s. She has been top 10, 8 times in her career including year end number 1 twice. She came in winning one of the biggest tune up grass events. 6-4, 6-4 over Coco Gauff. Tremendous defense, angles, placement in windy conditions. Gauff had plenty of chances, but needed a bit more patience to play extra shots, and forehand let her down a bit at times. Few would have defeated Kerber today. Big in big points, crafty. Good experience. To lose 6-4, 6-4, not playing your best against an elite opponent playing their best, is pretty good.
Ons Jabeur has defeated 3 straight Grand Slam winners into the Quarters over Swiatek. All court game and variety.
Sabalenka, Barty, and quietly, Pliskova moving forward. In particular, Sabalenka has turned a corner in grand slams after being one of the best players who hadn’t had much success at one. High level with Rybakina. Barty takes out the French Open winner Krajcikova.
Disappointment from Madison Keys who lacked patience in her loss to Golubic. Opportunity missed there.
Muchova comes from behind over Badosa. Quietly solid in slams.
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Angie Kerber has won 3 Grand Slams, she’s been to 15 Grand Slam Round of 16’s. She has been top 10, 8 times in her career including year end number 1 twice. She came in winning one of the biggest tune up grass events. 6-4, 6-4 over Coco Gauff. Tremendous defense, angles, placement in windy conditions. Gauff had plenty of chances, but needed a bit more patience to play extra shots, and forehand let her down a bit at times. Few would have defeated Kerber today. Big in big points, crafty. Good experience. To lose 6-4, 6-4, not playing your best against an elite opponent playing their best, is pretty good.
Ons Jabeur has defeated 3 straight Grand Slam winners into the Quarters over Swiatek. All court game and variety.
Sabalenka, Barty, and quietly, Pliskova moving forward. In particular, Sabalenka has turned a corner in grand slams after being one of the best players who hadn’t had much success at one. High level with Rybakina. Barty takes out the French Open winner Krajcikova.
Disappointment from Madison Keys who lacked patience in her loss to Golubic. Opportunity missed there.
Muchova comes from behind over Badosa. Quietly solid in slams.
Kerber would have probably beaten everyone left in the draw today. Coco just needs to improve her 2nd serve and consistency with her forehand. She'll be fine.
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Kerber is very good, and, played at a high level. Coco’s serve was good enough today. Forehand was an issue and she wasn’t as comfortable as Kerber in the wind. Kerber was 11 years older than Gauff, 28 when she won her first grand slam. She has since won 3 and is going for 4.
Unlike her elite backhand, she hits her forehand upright, and open, instead of turning her shoulders and getting down. That’s why she gives herself more topspin margin on that side and hits a deep looping forehand with placement. She improved it some in the 2nd with more technique similar to her backhand. But it wasn’t consistent enough. A few too many loose points after a frustrating long point. And coming in before hitting a good enough shot to come in. But these are all improvable things. The margin between the two players was very small. Gauff scrambles as well as anyone, few have as good of a backhand, much improved first serve. Kerber spoke about Gauff’s game, talent, compete level, and professionalism, after.
Kerber to her credit defended extremely well, angles, strategic rallies, finesse placement, while still finishing off points. Coming into the match Kerber had the most backhand winners in the tourney. Very easily could have been a deep 3 setter.
Gauff continues to be a top 10 player this year, and she will improve upon her now 23rd World Ranking. 17, remarkable.
Lots of players left can win it, but Kerber played very well and has as good of a chance as anyone.
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Sebastian Korda will want his match back. That one will sting a long time. Those don’t leave you any time soon. 10-8 in 5th. Fatigue in the 5th, just couldn’t get any pop or placement on his serve. Ran out of gas. Continues his great run up the Men’s ranks. His top 50 will keep improving. But he would have preferred a better ending to his 21st birthday.
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Wow...Two Canadians in the Quarters?
That has to be a first.
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It is the first 2 Canadian Men that have advanced to any grand slam Quarterfinal in the same year in the Open Era. Big day for Canada.
It's a big day for Australia. First time since 1980 two Australian Women have faced one another in any slam Quarter. Wendy Turnbull fell to Evonne Goolagong.
It's also a big day for anyone connected to Ajla Tomljanovic. She joins her boyfriend Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon Quarters, and, Felix Auger Aliassime, who dates her cousin, joins them in the Quarters as well.
It's a big day for Tunisia and North Africa as Ons Jabeur keeps adding to her milestones.
There will be two Czech Republic Women in the Quarters, and, possibly two Russian men as well..
22 of the possible 24 quarterfinalists in 3 majors this year for the Women are different players. Only Muchova and Barty have made more than one.
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Djoker just continues to roll players. Chances he does not win the title and get to 20?
a) 0%
b) 5%-15%
c) 15%-25%
d) 25%-50%
e) 50% or >
I'm going with A.
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From the AP:
https://apnews.com/article/europe-wimbledon-tennis-sports-53bd9e520b452c3347741a8e052ebb96?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=July8_MorningWire&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer has been feted by plenty of ovations at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. None quite like this one, though. This was not a celebration and didn’t come at the end of the match.
Instead, it delayed the beginning of what turned out to be the last game of his quarterfinal loss and felt more like a “thank you” or — just in case — a “goodbye.” And Federer acknowledged afterward he isn’t sure whether he’ll be back.
It's already pretty obvious that Federer's days of winning majors are over. He wants to resist retiring, though, in part because he still loves competing and in part because of his huge endorsement haul, but it's clearly the end of an era.
It was a hell of a run, one of the best in sports history.
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From the AP:
https://apnews.com/article/europe-wimbledon-tennis-sports-53bd9e520b452c3347741a8e052ebb96?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=July8_MorningWire&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer has been feted by plenty of ovations at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. None quite like this one, though. This was not a celebration and didn’t come at the end of the match.
Instead, it delayed the beginning of what turned out to be the last game of his quarterfinal loss and felt more like a “thank you” or — just in case — a “goodbye.” And Federer acknowledged afterward he isn’t sure whether he’ll be back.
It's already pretty obvious that Federer's days of winning majors are over. He wants to resist retiring, though, in part because he still loves competing and in part because of his huge endorsement haul, but it's clearly the end of an era.
It was a hell of a run, one of the best in sports history.
Two topics:
1) Can the player still win titles? In Federer’s case, yes.
2) Does it matter if they keep playing but can’t? In every case, no.
If one can make the Quarterfinals, having played so little match play, one can win the tourney. And, of course, one doesn’t have to win tourneys to keep playing tourneys. A lot of tennis players, golfers, etc otherwise wouldn’t be playing their sports.
They said Federer was done years ago, until he kept winning. Sampras was done until he won the U.S. Open.
Is Nadal done since he lost in the French semis? No. Will he play another French? Yes.
Federer didn’t say it was his last Wimbledon. He said he wants to play again next year and he takes things year by year considering a variety of factors, including health, training, prep, family. etc..He gave straightforward, thoughtful answers to some good and some not so good questions. We have previously discussed that somewhat similar to the Super Bowl, you get all kinds of media you normally wouldn’t at a major.
It didn’t feel like a goodbye. It didn’t feel like he is or isn’t coming back. it felt like he lost to a good, top level, in form player, in the Quarters of Wimbledon. He will regroup as he has in any defeat, and, he said as much in his presser and he will bounce back to the next events on tour. Rafa Nadal for example, hasn’t made the Finals of Wimbledon since 2010. None of these are easy to win.
Making the Quarterfinals of a major is an accomplishment at any age, and, at any stage of a career.
I realize there are casual observers and even casual media that only count slams, but, even for some of those people, this is a bit knee jerk extreme.
Why is Angie Kerber playing in the Wimbledon Semifinals right now? Someone please let her know she was done a few years ago.
Serena Williams has made at least one grand slam semifinal or better every year since 1999, including this year, yet some have wanted to retire her many years ago.
I hope Federer and the like play 10 or 20 more years, perhaps more doubles, mixed doubles too. Whatever he likes. Good for him. The list of players on tour that have made a slam quarters isn’t all that long. Venus Williams keeps playing. What a fun, thrilling mixed doubles match for her this year at Wimbledon, one of the better matches ot the event.
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Two topics:
1) Can the player still win titles? In Federer’s case, yes.
2) Does it matter if they keep playing but can’t? In every case, no.
If one can make the Quarterfinals, having played so little match play, one can win the tourney. And, of course, one doesn’t have to win tourneys to keep playing tourneys. A lot of tennis players, golfers, etc otherwise wouldn’t be playing their sports.
They said Federer was done years ago, until he kept winning. Sampras was done until he won the U.S. Open.
Is Nadal done since he lost in the French semis? No. Will he play another French? Yes.
Federer didn’t say it was his last Wimbledon. He said he wants to play again next year and he takes things year by year considering a variety of factors, including health, training, prep, family. etc..He gave straightforward, thoughtful answers to some good and some not so good questions. We have previously discussed that somewhat similar to the Super Bowl, you get all kinds of media you normally wouldn’t at a major.
It didn’t feel like a goodbye. It didn’t feel like he is or isn’t coming back. it felt like he lost to a good, top level, in form player, in the Quarters of Wimbledon. He will regroup as he has in any defeat, and, he said as much in his presser and he will bounce back to the next events on tour. Rafa Nadal for example, hasn’t made the Finals of Wimbledon since 2010. None of these are easy to win.
Making the Quarterfinals of a major is an accomplishment at any age, and, at any stage of a career.
I realize there are casual observers and even casual media that only count slams, but, even for some of those people, this is a bit knee jerk extreme.
Why is Angie Kerber playing in the Wimbledon Semifinals right now? Someone please let her know she was done a few years ago.
Serena Williams has made at least one grand slam semifinal or better every year since 1999, including this year, yet some have wanted to retire her many years ago.
I hope Federer and the like play 10 or 20 more years, perhaps more doubles, mixed doubles too. Whatever he likes. Good for him. The list of players on tour that have made a slam quarters isn’t all that long. Venus Williams keeps playing. What a fun, thrilling mixed doubles match for her this year at Wimbledon, one of the better matches ot the event.
Yes, Federer "can" win another major. IMHO, he will not.
Nadal is not Federer. I'd give him a decent shot, at least in the French.
If Djokovic stays healthy, he will own every meaningful record before he's through, and like it or not there will be only a few who dispute that he's the best ever. You, of course, are welcome to be one of the few.
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Yes, Federer "can" win another major. IMHO, he will not.
Nadal is not Federer. I'd give him a decent shot, at least in the French.
If Djokovic stays healthy, he will own every meaningful record before he's through, and like it or not there will be only a few who dispute that he's the best ever. You, of course, are welcome to be one of the few.
Not sure what you consider meaningful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-time_tennis_records_%E2%80%93_men%27s_singles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-time_tennis_records_%E2%80%93_men%27s_singles)
but Federer's 23 consecutive GS semis, or his streak of 10 straight Finals, followed up by another streak of 8 straight Finals will be hard to beat.
I like Novak and to me you can argue either he, Nadal, or Federer are the best all time. (Rod Laver had his moments IMHO).
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Yes, Federer "can" win another major. IMHO, he will not.
Nadal is not Federer. I'd give him a decent shot, at least in the French.
If Djokovic stays healthy, he will own every meaningful record before he's through, and like it or not there will be only a few who dispute that he's the best ever. You, of course, are welcome to be one of the few.
Federer lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Nadal hasn’t played in a Wimbledon Final in 11 years. He went 5 straight years not even making the quarterfinals. Should he stop playing Wimbledon by your standards? No, of course not.
I am not one of a few actually who don’t believe it is realistically possible to compare eras. It isn’t a small group. If comparing eras is something you want to do, go ahead. But it’s just a subjective personal preference as opposed to any all era fair objective measure. For me, I have no desire to pick one best player or team or …of all time because it’s subjective, and, often related to personal bias of personal like and personal experience. Saying who or what you like isn’t the same as saying who is the best. That’s different. It’s more realistic to compare players within the same era and overlapping eras. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all at the top of their overlapping eras.
Taylor Fritz made a great run this year at Wimbledon, just a few weeks after torn meniscus surgery. That modern medicine wouldn’t have been possible in other eras.
Players didn’t play for slams and count slams in other eras. Slam money was nowhere near it is now. In today’s game, for example, it’s a big deal for a fledgling player to make it the main draw of a slam to get that bigger check.
Sponsor money wasn’t the same either. Players couldn’t afford to skip events, rest, injury, recovery in the past. Travel was also different as was the schedule. Many players didn’t even begin playing Australia until the later 1980’s. Monica Seles was stabbed on court as she was dominating the tour. She had chances to win many more majors, also taking some away from others. We’ll never know. Hence another example as to why picking one player isn’t possible.
Chrissie Evert won 125 straight matches on clay, yet, she missed 3 straight French Opens during her peak. She also missed 13 Australian Opens. Today’s players can afford to pay for coaching, training, nutrition, private lodging at tourneys. Some players retired to start families.
Rod Laver went 5 straight years during his peak, not playing any slams at all. 20 opportunities.
Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have been the best players of their overlapping eras. But that’s as far as it goes. And, that’s great. Some of the others mentioned were the best in their eras. And that’s great too. The fun part is not having to pick just one player or era. I can enjoy them all equally just as I would in any other sport.
Sports records get broken all the time. But what matters is what that player or team did in their era at that time. Are we really going to compare eras in football when the game has changed and evolved with different points of emphasis etc…? Nah.
And of course, playing is about so much more than whomever wins at the highest level.
It’s like soccer, the Euros have been great fun. But so have the June and July U13-U19 boys and girls USYS, Academy League, MLS next, ECNL, etc…They have also been a lot of fun too. And of course practice is where the work is put in, the incremental improvements click in when no one is watching, the good stuff.
You are certainly entitled to your interests. You are interested in two things in tennis. One particular current player, and counting slams. That’s it.
And that is perfectly fine. We like what we like. But, the actual sport of course is about so much more than just that. And, with that is a recognition that different eras are played under very different circumstances, and, therefore cannot be objectively compared. And playing and story lines are about so much more than the singles title winner in a major.
Rafa Nadal has entered the upcoming August, Washington D.C. Citi Open. Why? He’s never been to Washington D.C. and he’s always wanted to go there. Rock Creek Park, 50% capacity. Several good players are playing. It isn’t a major, and, he may not win it, but, he’s going to play anyway.
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Fiull disclosure Rafa is by far my fav player.
Between the Big 3 if they stopped playing right now I think you can make an argument for all of them. That said, Djokovic looks like he could play another 4-5 yrs. If he gets to say 23, 24 and wins another French Open there is no way you can make an argument he's not the all-time best.
When I look at all three you can certainly break it down that Roger is the best on grass, Rafa on clay, and Novak on a hard-court. Although I'm wondering the speed difference between the USOpen and AO? Is the Australian a slower hard-court? One thing is certain: Rafa is the best on clay.
Here's the odd thing about this discussion. Wimbledon is still considered the most important/prestigious tournament. Yet, very few tournaments are played on grass during the course of the season. I actually believe Federer has the most complete game of the 3 if you look at the variety of his shots but he's not as consistent or as tough mentally.
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Federer lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Nadal hasn’t played in a Wimbledon Final in 11 years. He went 5 straight years not even making the quarterfinals. Should he stop playing Wimbledon by your standards? No, of course not.
I am not one of a few actually who don’t believe it is realistically possible to compare eras. It isn’t a small group. If comparing eras is something you want to do, go ahead. But it’s just a subjective personal preference as opposed to any all era fair objective measure. For me, I have no desire to pick one best player or team or …of all time because it’s subjective, and, often related to personal bias of personal like and personal experience. Saying who or what you like isn’t the same as saying who is the best. That’s different. It’s more realistic to compare players within the same era and overlapping eras. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all at the top of their overlapping eras.
Taylor Fritz made a great run this year at Wimbledon, just a few weeks after torn meniscus surgery. That modern medicine wouldn’t have been possible in other eras.
Players didn’t play for slams and count slams in other eras. Slam money was nowhere near it is now. In today’s game, for example, it’s a big deal for a fledgling player to make it the main draw of a slam to get that bigger check.
Sponsor money wasn’t the same either. Players couldn’t afford to skip events, rest, injury, recovery in the past. Travel was also different as was the schedule. Many players didn’t even begin playing Australia until the later 1980’s. Monica Seles was stabbed on court as she was dominating the tour. She had chances to win many more majors, also taking some away from others. We’ll never know. Hence another example as to why picking one player isn’t possible.
Chrissie Evert won 125 straight matches on clay, yet, she missed 3 straight French Opens during her peak. She also missed 13 Australian Opens. Today’s players can afford to pay for coaching, training, nutrition, private lodging at tourneys. Some players retired to start families.
Rod Laver went 5 straight years during his peak, not playing any slams at all. 20 opportunities.
Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have been the best players of their overlapping eras. But that’s as far as it goes. And, that’s great. Some of the others mentioned were the best in their eras. And that’s great too. The fun part is not having to pick just one player or era. I can enjoy them all equally just as I would in any other sport.
Sports records get broken all the time. But what matters is what that player or team did in their era at that time. Are we really going to compare eras in football when the game has changed and evolved with different points of emphasis etc…? Nah.
And of course, playing is about so much more than whomever wins at the highest level.
It’s like soccer, the Euros have been great fun. But so have the June and July U13-U19 boys and girls USYS, Academy League, MLS next, ECNL, etc…They have also been a lot of fun too. And of course practice is where the work is put in, the incremental improvements click in when no one is watching, the good stuff.
You are certainly entitled to your interests. You are interested in two things in tennis. One particular current player, and counting slams. That’s it.
And that is perfectly fine. We like what we like. But, the actual sport of course is about so much more than just that. And, with that is a recognition that different eras are played under very different circumstances, and, therefore cannot be objectively compared. And playing and story lines are about so much more than the singles title winner in a major.
Rafa Nadal has entered the upcoming August, Washington D.C. Citi Open. Why? He’s never been to Washington D.C. and he’s always wanted to go there. Rock Creek Park, 50% capacity. Several good players are playing. It isn’t a major, and, he may not win it, but, he’s going to play anyway.
Thanks for all the info.
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I forgot the US Open wasn't hardcourt until 1978.
Also, I would thoroughly enjoy watching matches on carpet, or wood. What other surfaces could it be played on?
#Titles Hard
71 Switzerland Roger Federer
61 Serbia Novak Djokovic
49 United States Jimmy Connors
United States Andre Agassi
41 United States Pete Sampras
33 United Kingdom Andy Murray
30 Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
28 Australia Rod Laver
23 Sweden Stefan Edberg
22 United States John McEnroe
# Clay
92 Czech Republic/Egypt Jaroslav Drobný[54]
76[55] United States Bill Tilden
75 New Zealand Anthony Wilding[56][57]
65[55] France Henri Cochet
62[55] United Kingdom Josiah Ritchie
Spain Rafael Nadal
60[55] United States Budge Patty
56[55] Spain Manuel Santana
54[55] Australia Roy Emerson
49[55] Argentina Guillermo Vilas
United States Frank Parker
# Grass
82[58] United Kingdom Roy Edward Allen
56[58] United Kingdom Josiah Ritchie
52[58] United Kingdom Sydney H. Smith
51[58] United Kingdom Herbert R. Barrett
49[58] United States Bill Tilden
44[58] United States William Larned
Australia Jack Crawford
Australia Rod Laver
41[58] Australia Roy Emerson
40[58] Australia John Bromwich
# Carpet
43 United States John McEnroe
39 United States Jimmy Connors
34 Czechoslovakia/United States Ivan Lendl
22 Germany Boris Becker
Australia Rod Laver
Sweden Björn Borg
18 United States Arthur Ashe
13 United States Pete Sampras
Croatia Goran Ivanišević
12 United States Stan Smith
# Wood
23 France Jean Borotra[59][60]
20 Australia Ken Rosewall
18 Australia Rod Laver
15 United States Bill Tilden
9 United Kingdom George Caridia[61]
8 United Kingdom Laurence Doherty
7 United Kingdom Ernest Lewis
Australia Anthony Wilding
5 France André Gobert
4 Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Drobný
United Kingdom Robert Wilson
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Pliskova might want to wake up or this could be the quickest match in Wimbledon history. Barty with the first 14 points.
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I didn't realize how good Evonne Goolagong was back in the 70's. Her record was very impressive and she seems to get overlooked historically. Her story is also quite inspiring.
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I didn't realize how good Evonne Goolagong was back in the 70's. Her record was very impressive and she seems to get overlooked historically. Her story is also quite inspiring.
Was a featured player in the 70s and got a lot of publicity for her Aboriginal roots.
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Was a featured player in the 70s and got a lot of publicity for her Aboriginal roots.
She may have gotten publicity back then but not really to the level she deserves right now imo. She won 86 tournaments, 7 GS, and was in 18 GS Finals? For four years in the 70's she made every GS Final? She wasn't as good as Court, King, Evert, or Martina but clearly she had serious game Herman.
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It turned out to be a pretty good match. Barty has a nice variety on her game.
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ESPN extends Wimbledon contract through 2035. It’s mostly the same except ABC will add additional coverage on the middle weekend of the tourney moving forward.
Women’s semis: Barty over Kerber. Pliskova over Sabalenka. Barty didn’t allow Kerber to play her trademark counterpuncher tennis, and, Pliskova made Sabalenka play cross court angles vs center of the court.
Barty over Pliskova in 3. Neither at their best. Barty saved her best for Kerber. 2nd Grand Slam Title for Barty. Too much complete game from Barty, can do too many things, including a few more things that Pliskova can’t. Pliskova had long been the best to win a major, former number 1. Has knocked on the door late in all 4 majors. Still top 10.
Barty wins Wimbledon Title 10 years after winning the Wimbledon Junior Title. (It’s a long road from being a teenager to the often more successful mid 20’s age in current tennis).
Barty is first Women’s player to win Wimbledon Title wearing a baseball cap since, Alice Marble in 1939.
Barty took two years off of tennis as a teen because transition from Juniors to pros was tough. Played Cricket. Returned at 21. Took a year off during the pandemic. Played a lot this year, two injuries, a heavy wrapped thigh much of the year. And an acute hip o jury at the French. Won back to back Miami Opens. Won 4 titles this year not including doubles.
All court game, variety, athleticism, finesse, power, placement. 5’5. Ipswich, Queensland, Ngaragu Indigenous people.
Evonne Goolagong lived with 7 siblings, no electricity. Found a coach as a teen to help her game, steer her from the racism, but also preyed upon her. Free flowing game, huge success despite late start, limited funds, limited travel, and injuries. One of the best all time players, paving the way.
Hsieh/Mertens come back in a 3 set thriller over Vesnina/Kudermetova in Women’s Doubles, saving two match points, 9-7 in the 3rd. Hsieh won it two years ago with Barbora Strycova.
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Djoker not sharp early. Berrettini needs to take advantage.
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Wow. Berrettini takes the 1st set after being down 5-2. Djoker is going to have to dig deep. He's way off his game while Berrettini is looking more confident. He has the power to hit him off the court on grass.
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The one thing Djokovic does that perhaps separates him from Fed or Nadal is he consistently finds a way to return blistering 1st serves. And often with great precision and depth. It's unbelievable. Part of it may be his flexibility but Berrettini is hitting massive serves (on grass) and it's like no problem at all for the Djoker. Is the grass not as fast as it used to be?
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As soon as the best tennis player in history broke Berrettini's first service game of the 2nd set, I told Mrs. 82 it was over.
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As soon as the best tennis player in history broke Berrettini's first service game of the 2nd set, I told Mrs. 82 it was over.
Berrettini actually played better in the 3rd and especially 4th set. The guy is just too good. It would be amazing if he wins the calendar gs whether people like the guy or not. The potential of the CGS and the 21st GS title on the same day is pretty remarkable.
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Berrettini actually played better in the 3rd and especially 4th set. The guy is just too good. It would be amazing if he wins the calendar gs whether people like the guy or not. The potential of the CGS and the 21st GS title on the same day is pretty remarkable.
I'll root for Rafa, because I always do. But if Novak is in the U.S. Open final against anybody else, I will be pulling for him to get the slam. It would be a great accomplishment, and one very much deserved.
As a tennis fan, it's been so wonderful to get to watch Novak, Rafa, Roger and Serena all playing in the same era.
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Ane Mintegi Del Omo becomes the first Spanish player to win the Girls Junior Singles Wimbledon Title, winning over Germany’s Natasja Schunk.
Samir Banerjee defeats Victor Lilov in an All American Boys Junior Wimbledon Final.
Novak Djokovic one of the best Men’s players of his era, captures the Men’s Wimbledon Singles Title over Matteo Berrettini. Slow start in multiple sets for Matteo for different reasons. Djokovic also struggled 2nd serve earlier on. But both were very solid overall, not enough from Matteo on the backhand pass off of the cross court slice approach from ND. And, Djokovic got in to the net quite a bit and he was very solid 34/48 at the net to go along with the often strong service return. Berrettini has the game and grass track record to win it. He had won 22 of 24 on grass. One has to be willing to play longer rallies with Djokovic, with variety, and be aggressively strategic about short points. Djokovic as do many top players often times, play the big points better. Not an easy task. The Olympics and the North American swing upcoming.
Updated Women’s WTA 2021 Points Race:
Barty
Sabalenka
Krejcikova
Swiatek
Pliskova
Osaka
Muguruza
Pavlyuchenkova
Jabeur
Gauff
American Desirae Krawczyk, is into the mixed doubles finals with Neal Skupski.
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I'll root for Rafa, because I always do. But if Novak is in the U.S. Open final against anybody else, I will be pulling for him to get the slam. It would be a great accomplishment, and one very much deserved.
As a tennis fan, it's been so wonderful to get to watch Novak, Rafa, Roger and Serena all playing in the same era.
I think most prople would call Serena the GOAT. Personally, I don't see the argument for Margret Court. At the same time I think since Henin retired, and Venus has gotten older, she really didn't have anyone that challenged her until she got into her late 30's. Henin always gave her a few probs, she was a terrific all-around player.
As for the Big 3, to think each of them have 20 in the same era is honestly ridiculous. Because the vast majority of people would have all of them in the top 5 of all-time.
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Ane Mintegi Del Omo becomes the first Spanish player to win the Girls Junior Singles Wimbledon Title, winning over Germany’s Natasja Schunk.
Samir Banerjee defeats Victor Lilov in an All American Boys Junior Wimbledon Final.
Novak Djokovic one of the best Men’s players of his era, captures the Men’s Wimbledon Singles Title over Matteo Berrettini. Slow start in multiple sets for Matteo for different reasons. Djokovic also struggled 2nd serve earlier on. But both were very solid overall, not enough from Matteo on the backhand pass off of the cross court slice approach from ND. And, Djokovic got in to the net quite a bit and he was very solid 34/48 at the net to go along with the often strong service return. Berrettini has the game and grass track record to win it. He had won 22 of 24 on grass. One has to be willing to play longer rallies with Djokovic, with variety, and be aggressively strategic about short points. Djokovic as do many top players often times, play the big points better. Not an easy task. The Olympics and the North American swing upcoming.
Updated Women’s WTA 2021 Points Race:
Barty
Sabalenka
Krejcikova
Swiatek
Pliskova
Osaka
Muguruza
Pavlyuchenkova
Jabeur
Gauff
American Desirae Krawczyk, is into the mixed doubles finals with Neal Skupski.
And, Desirae does it, back to back mixed doubles slams at French and Wimbledon this year, with two different partners. Nice job for the Arizona State alum from California.
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It’s tough because I’m not sure any of their primes really lined up. Federer racked up a lot of majors before Rafa was really a threat on anything other than clay. Novak has racked up a lot as Rafa and Roger have slowed down. Rafa has been able to extend his career long enough to rack up a bunch of French Opens. Granted his non-French count gets him 1 behind Agassi.
I’m a big Rafa fan, but I can’t see how Novak isn’t thought of as the best. He’s far and away the best hard court guy in my opinion. You could argue he’s the best on grass. Clay you have to give Nadal, but Novak is probably 2.
Once Novak got his mental and fitness game up to a championship level, he’s been a machine.
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It’s tough because I’m not sure any of their primes really lined up. Federer racked up a lot of majors before Rafa was really a threat on anything other than clay. Novak has racked up a lot as Rafa and Roger have slowed down. Rafa has been able to extend his career long enough to rack up a bunch of French Opens. Granted his non-French count gets him 1 behind Agassi.
I’m a big Rafa fan, but I can’t see how Novak isn’t thought of as the best. He’s far and away the best hard court guy in my opinion. You could argue he’s the best on grass. Clay you have to give Nadal, but Novak is probably 2.
Once Novak got his mental and fitness game up to a championship level, he’s been a machine.
Agree that Novak is the best all-around men's tennis player ever.
I understand what you're talking about re their primes, but I do think they lined up fairly well.
Novak won 3 of the 4 majors in 2011, so let's call that the start of his "prime." Between then and now, Rafa won 3 U.S. Opens, a bazillion French Opens and was runner-up in several Wimbledons and U.S. Opens. I'd say their "primes" intersected pretty well. Roger, yes, was arguably past his prime; yet he still won 2 Wimbledons, 2 Aussies, and was runner-up numerous times in other majors -- in other words, still better than anybody not named Novak or Rafa during that stretch.
I guess a lot of it would depend on how one defines "prime." Novak is 34 now and should be past his prime. P.S.: He isn't!
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It’s tough because I’m not sure any of their primes really lined up. Federer racked up a lot of majors before Rafa was really a threat on anything other than clay. Novak has racked up a lot as Rafa and Roger have slowed down. Rafa has been able to extend his career long enough to rack up a bunch of French Opens. Granted his non-French count gets him 1 behind Agassi.
I’m a big Rafa fan, but I can’t see how Novak isn’t thought of as the best. He’s far and away the best hard court guy in my opinion. You could argue he’s the best on grass. Clay you have to give Nadal, but Novak is probably 2.
Once Novak got his mental and fitness game up to a championship level, he’s been a machine.
Fair points Cheebs. Although I would think most tennis historians would slot Borg #2 on clay and Sampras #2 on grass. Djokovic is probably the best all-around player and if he finishes the job in NY I think he slams that door.
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I agree 82, it is nitpicking primes a bit. It is incredible to have 3 guys be this good for this long. I always forget just how good Andy Murray was due to how long the Big 3 careers have lasted.
I agree Muggsy. My rankings were more of the 3. But yes, there’s probably better clay or grass players than these guys on a given day. Also tough with how surfaces have changed. I believe the Wimbledon grass is far different now than when Sampras played. When Nadal started being competitive on grass, it sounded like it slowed down.
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I agree 82, it is nitpicking primes a bit. It is incredible to have 3 guys be this good for this long. I always forget just how good Andy Murray was due to how long the Big 3 careers have lasted.
Yep, for a little while there, the talk had gone from Big 3 to Big 4. A shame that he suffered such a severe injury; we'll never know how good he'd have been and how it would have affected the others, especially Novak and Rafa.
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I agree 82, it is nitpicking primes a bit. It is incredible to have 3 guys be this good for this long. I always forget just how good Andy Murray was due to how long the Big 3 careers have lasted.
I agree Muggsy. My rankings were more of the 3. But yes, there’s probably better clay or grass players than these guys on a given day. Also tough with how surfaces have changed. I believe the Wimbledon grass is far different now than when Sampras played. When Nadal started being competitive on grass, it sounded like it slowed down.
Exactly. Comparing and contrasting players begins and ends with one’s own era. And for many that’s great and plenty good enough. As Pete Sampras said when asked what he would do in today’s game, he said, “I think I would have adjusted.”
Let’s take a look.
Novak Djokovic, great player, one of best in his era and therefore one of the best all time in tennis. But just as one could look a little closer at any other player, one can do that with him too.
More than half of his Grand Slams have come since Federer turned 34. He’s never missed an Australian Open in his career, not one time. That’s his favorite and the one he’s won the most.
Bjorn Borg played it once. Jimmy Connors played it twice, winning once, finals the other time. McEnroe played it five times.
Rod Laver won 5 of 6 straight slams, turned pro, and was therefore banned from playing slams the next 5 years, 20 straight slams missed. He also won 8 other times in Paris, London, New York, in events that were not considered as or counted as slams.
The examples are pretty endless. Draws and luck matter too.
Surfaces and technology have changed a lot. Today’s Wimbledon is a baseline tourney not a serve and volley tourney. It’s been that way for a while. The four surfaces ate much closer to being the same as opposed to being very different than each other in the past.
Some people get caught up in the moment. It’s more of a personality trait than a reality trait.
It’s like an NFL player up for the Hall of Fame. Perhaps that player broke records rushing or receiving. And years later as the game changes in many ways, perhaps their record(s) are broken more often by more players. But that doesn’t change what the original player in the discussion did at the time. “At the time” is the key phrase. Nothing can take away what happened during that particular time. And, each period in time can only work with the resources in that period.
With these three particular players, their skill sets and where and how they have achieved what they have achieved varies a bit. That doesn’t take away from any of the three. They have all been the best of their overlapping eras. Good for them Good for the sport.
There are reasons why Djokovic stops by Sampras’ house when he’s in L.A. Rhere are reasons why Sampras mentions Laver quite frequently and spends time with him in San Diego, and so on. The players and many others recognize and understand it more than some superficial observers.
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Exactly. Comparing and contrasting players begins and ends with one’s own era. And for many that’s great and plenty good enough. As Pete Sampras said when asked what he would do in today’s game, he said, “I think I would have adjusted.”
Let’s take a look.
Novak Djokovic, great player, one of best in his era and therefore one of the best all time in tennis. But just as one could look a little closer at any other player, one can do that with him too.
More than half of his Grand Slams have come since Federer turned 34. He’s never missed an Australian Open in his career, not one time. That’s his favorite and the one he’s won the most.
Bjorn Borg played it once. Jimmy Connors played it twice, winning once, finals the other time. McEnroe played it five times.
Rod Laver won 5 of 6 straight slams, turned pro, and was therefore banned from playing slams the next 5 years, 20 straight slams missed. He also won 8 other times in Paris, London, New York, in events that were not considered as or counted as slams.
The examples are pretty endless. Draws and luck matter too.
Surfaces and technology have changed a lot. Today’s Wimbledon is a baseline tourney not a serve and volley tourney. It’s been that way for a while. The four surfaces ate much closer to being the same as opposed to being very different than each other in the past.
Some people get caught up in the moment. It’s more of a personality trait than a reality trait.
It’s like an NFL player up for the Hall of Fame. Perhaps that player broke records rushing or receiving. And years later as the game changes in many ways, perhaps their record(s) are broken more often by more players. But that doesn’t change what the original player in the discussion did at the time. “At the time” is the key phrase. Nothing can take away what happened during that particular time. And, each period in time can only work with the resources in that period.
With these three particular players, their skill sets and where and how they have achieved what they have achieved varies a bit. That doesn’t take away from any of the three. They have all been the best of their overlapping eras. Good for them Good for the sport.
There are reasons why Djokovic stops by Sampras’ house when he’s in L.A. Rhere are reasons why Sampras mentions Laver quite frequently and spends time with him in San Diego, and so on. The players and many others recognize and understand it more than some superficial observers.
Where I would disagree is the idea that you can only compare players within the same era. I think you can look at each era and depth and greatness of the field of players. Also, while it's true Djoker has dominated the AO and it's the least prestigious GS tournament, all the top players have gone to Melbourne unlike back in the day. The surface and technology changes are important to fully analyze but the fact is this particular era has three 20 win GS winners. The vast, vast, majority of legends like Laver and Sampras, as well as tennis historians, would certainly put all three of these players on their best of all-time list. On the flipside when Emerson led in GS titles no one considered him a top 5 player ever. The one person historically that imo is the hardest to judge vs modern players is Bill Tilden.
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Where I would disagree is the idea that you can only compare players within the same era. I think you can look at each era and depth and greatness of the field of players. Also, while it's true Djoker has dominated the AO and it's the least prestigious GS tournament, all the top players have gone to Melbourne unlike back in the day. The surface and technology changes are important to fully analyze but the fact is this particular era has three 20 win GS winners. The vast, vast, majority of legends like Laver and Sampras, as well as tennis historians, would certainly put all three of these players on their best of all-time list. On the flipside when Emerson led in GS titles no one considered him a top 5 player ever. The one person historically that imo is the hardest to judge vs modern players is Bill Tilden.
There are literally dozens of factors that are not the same in different eras.
Many past tennis greats compliment the more recent tennis greats and vice versa. That’s always going to be common. But look a little closer and people such as Sampras will say the quote I referenced. He’s very comfortable with his place in tennis history.
The Australian Open is by far the most popular Grand Slam Tourney among today’s players, not close. It’s called “The Happy Slam” for a reason. To say it is somehow less prestigious isn’t true at all. Not in modern few decade history. You may be confusing the Australian Open with The French Open. The running joke the past few decades when some players are asked to rank the four slams, some will put Indian Wells etc ahead of The French Open.
Before the mid and later 1980’s, many players did not play Australia for multiple reasons that include:
The Tourney was previously held at a different time of year. More recently, it has been held as the first slam of the year with ample rest and injury recovery time from the end of the previous long season. It’s now played in the popular Australian summer. It’s a thing to spend the month of January in different parts of Australia and New Zealand. Some of today’s too players also get paid $ to play in exhibitions while there.
Novak Djokovic has played in 17 straight Australian Opens. Roger Federer has played there 22 out of the past 23 years. Rafa Nadal has played there 16 out of the past 18 years.
Jimmy Connors played the Australian open 2 out of 24 years. Bjorn Borg played the Australian Open 1 time in the 10 years he played. John McEnroe played 5 out of 16 years. Chrissie Evert played it 6 out of 20 years. Martina Navratilova played it 10 out of 23 years. Steffi Graf played it 10 out of 17 years. Andre Agassi played it 9 out of 21 years.
Sampras played it 11 of 15 years. (He’s very close with Rod Laver) Ivan Lendl well known for his fitness and playing many events, missed it 5 times. Serena has played it 20 of 24 years.
So, here you have one of the four slams where many past players didn’t play, which of course means they had less opportunity to win slams over the years. And, this is just one example of many.
It isn’t just surface and technology. That’s just a few examples of many. But even those contain numerous examples within them.
In the past professional players couldn’t play in the slams. They wanted to make a living and played numerous pro events and exhibitions to pay the bills. Today players have it a lot easier with scheduling, rest, recovery, injury treatment, racket, shoe, clothes, analytics, travel, medicine, coaching, training, communication, on and on and on. It’s a different world. Some of the best players in the world stopped playing at age 25 (Borg) or 31 (Agassi, Sampras) etc…There was literally a top American Men’s player that advanced to the Round of 32 of Wimbledon this year just two weeks after torn meniscus surgery. There have been many missed slam opportunities have their been in the past compared to now based on yet another factor here. How many Women (and Men) stopped playing to start families and do other things? It’s just another example of something easier to do today and still play, than in the past. Endless examples.
Why would I compare players from different eras that played under entirely different circumstances? I wouldn’t. I’d just enjoy it all.
Trying to compare eras is silly season. It’s pretty wild that some of the people that revere Marquette’s basketball history, teams, and players, from the 1970’s, are also some of the same people that are dismissive of past players success in tennis or other sports. That suggests that objectivity never existed on the topic with those people in the first place. It’s more about liking what they like. And, that’s great, but, fandom and liking something isn’t the same as similar, fair and objective measures of success.
I’m aware of the personality trait of some people to have a desire for a definitive number or ranking or answer, always searching. To these people, there can only be one answer. That must be a challenging trait to have. For some others, they will have a favorite or favorites, and those inevitably become the best to them. Fandom of course is a bit different and easier. Reality and common sense suggest there are many all time great players, teams, of different eras to be equally revered and celebrated. There is something within those people that makes them feel better if they can say this or that is the best thing ever. It somehow brings those people some sort of definitive comfort and closure they seek. Good for them. It isn’t objective reality. But it’s all good.
Counting slams is a recent phenomenon for some. It’s a modern sports talk hot take for some. And, a reasonable discussion can be had about one era. But even in the current example, say Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, they have all had success in different ways that perhaps some of the others didn’t. So, it’s far easier to say all three are all time greats that were the best of their two overlapping eras.
A fair, and objective thing to do is to compare athletes that play at a similar time under similar circumstances. Give the players of yesteryear all of the same advantages as those of today and get back to me. Or, take away all of today’s advantages for players and have them play under past circumstances, and get back to me.
And of course, it isn’t tennis specific. It can be applied to any sport.
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7 of the 9 U.S. Open series events will be using the Hawk-Eye-Live electronic line calling on all courts. (San Jose and Newport will not)
All 9 events can only be seen on Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel plus in the U.S.
Newport
San Jose
Atlanta
Washington
Toronto
Montreal
Cincinnati
Winston-Salem
Cleveland
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Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the electronic line calling where it shows a recreation (for lack of a better word) of the ball placement. Maybe its my distrust of not being able to see the actual ball. I liken it to video poker. No way would I put my money in a video poker machine.
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Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the electronic line calling where it shows a recreation (for lack of a better word) of the ball placement. Maybe its my distrust of not being able to see the actual ball. I liken it to video poker. No way would I put my money in a video poker machine.
Some electronic line calling systems have been tested a long time with great accuracy before being used. That’s why they are in use. The French Open doesn’t use any yet because repeated testing has reached a good enough standard to use it. Testing is rigorous.
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So yes, glad we all agree with everybody not on Scoop that by the time he's through, Novak Djokovic will be recognized as the greatest tennis player ever.
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So yes, glad we all agree with everybody not on Scoop that by the time he's through, Novak Djokovic will be recognized as the great tennis player ever.
I look at the baseliners from the Sampras era and frankly the Big 3 would smoke these guys. Agassi was great but nowhere close to these players. Sampras imo had the best serve ever. On fast grass or a hard court he had the game to perhaps overpower them on a particular day. However, the overall skills and court coverage of the Big 3 are on a completely different level. The more that I think about it, and having watched some older matches recently, the more convinced I am that if you compare the B3 to the Sampras/Aggasi era it's not remotely close.
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I look at the baseliners from the Sampras era and frankly the Big 3 would smoke these guys. Agassi was great but nowhere close to these players. Sampras imo had the best serve ever. On fast grass or a hard court he had the game to perhaps overpower them on a particular day. However, the overall skills and court coverage of the Big 3 are on a completely different level. The more that I think about it, and having watched some older matches recently, the more convinced I am that if you compare the B3 to the Sampras/Aggasi era it's not remotely close.
Truth.
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Truth.
Tilden is a really interesting conversation having read a bit about the guy. He thoroughly dominated his era including seven US-Opens. His win percentage is pretty sick as well. You add the fact that he was known to "4-Ball". What that means is he would hold four balls in one hand on his service games and the result was humiliating misery for his opponents.....a.k.a. ace, ace, ace, ace. This fact alone should certainly add him to any conversation on the all-time best. It's quite conceivable his personal life has hurt his historical opinion and greatness.
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So yes, glad we all agree with everybody not on Scoop that by the time he's through, Novak Djokovic will be recognized as the greatest tennis player ever.
This is what gaslighters do when they are unable to discuss specific facts of a situation.
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This is what gaslighters do when they are unable to discuss specific facts of a situation.
Would you agree that Agassi was one of the best players of his era after Sampras? I'm curious how you think he would have done against Nadal, Fed, or Djoker when they were all in their prime whether it be the 90's or today? You seriously believe that he was near their level?
As far as "facts" this is a speculative conversation.
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Would you agree that Agassi was one of the best players of his era after Sampras? I'm curious how you think he would have done against Nadal, Fed, or Djoker when they were all in their prime whether it be the 90's or today? You seriously believe that he was near their level?
As far as "facts" this is a speculative conversation.
The actual facts are players in past eras played under different circumstances as opposed to now. Those are facts.
What you aren’t doing is allowing past players to have all of those many advantages that players today have when doing your speculative comparisons. That isn’t apples to apples.
Andre Agassi?
He defeated Pete Sampras 14 times. For persecutive, only one other player did it half of that amount. He won the Australian Open almost 50% of the times he played it, and, he still missed the event 12 other times and, he retired at 31. Only 1 other player in his era won more titles than Agassi. When Agassi retired, only 2 players had won more Grand Slams. Only 3 had played in more Grand Slam Finals. Only 2 had played in more slam semifinals. Only 1 had played in more slam quarterfinals. Only 1 player had won more matches. Agassi had a hard court winning percentage of 84%. Only 2 players could match that. Only 2 players had won more Masters Titles.
I think it’s pretty easy to say Agassi would be an all time great in any era. Imagine if he had all of the advantages of today’s players on tour. Do we need to go over all of those again?
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The actual facts are players in past eras played under different circumstances as opposed to now. Those are facts.
What you aren’t doing is allowing past players to have all of those many advantages that players today have when doing your speculative comparisons. That isn’t apples to apples.
Andre Agassi?
He defeated Pete Sampras 14 times. For persecutive, only one other player did it half of that amount. He won the Australian Open almost 50% of the times he played it, and, he still missed the event 12 other times and, he retired at 31. Only 1 other player in his era won more titles than Agassi. When Agassi retired, only 2 players had won more Grand Slams. Only 3 had played in more Grand Slam Finals. Only 2 had played in more slam semifinals. Only 1 had played in more slam quarterfinals. Only 1 player had won more matches. Agassi had a hard court winning percentage of 84%. Only 2 players could match that. Only 2 players had won more Masters Titles.
I think it’s pretty easy to say Agassi would be an all time great in any era. Imagine if he had all of the advantages of today’s players on tour. Do we need to go over all of those again?
He was a phenomenal player, no doubt about that. Incredible eye-hand coordination and the ability to time the ball perfectly on the rise. But when I watch Djoker and Nadal they basically do everything Agassi did with far better court coverage and heavier spin and power. Some of it is technology but not all of it. They're bigger and stronger guys that would be able to control the rallies imo.
As for Federer? Don't forget he beat Sampras at Wimbledon when he was 19 with hardly any experience. Pete was a bit past his prime but was still very formidable.
You're absolutely right it's not an apples to apples comparison but I think you have to take into account that Djoker, Nadal, and Fed have noticeably fewer weaknesses in their games compared to Sampras or Agassi. I'm not saying Sampras or Agassi wouldn't pick up a few grand slams the past 15 yrs but it would be extremely difficult for them to win 4, 5, or more imo. Especially Agassi.
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This is what gaslighters do when they are unable to discuss specific facts of a situation.
20 major titles. Best head-to-head record against his top two rivals, whom most decades-long tennis observers also consider top-5-in-history players. Career grand slam x 2. About to complete only the second slam ever.
It's all been recited ad nauseum. Simpler to just state the obvious.
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He was a phenomenal player, no doubt about that. Incredible eye-hand coordination and the ability to time the ball perfectly on the rise. But when I watch Djoker and Nadal they basically do everything Agassi did with far better court coverage and heavier spin and power. Some of it is technology but not all of it. They're bigger and stronger guys that would be able to control the rallies imo.
As for Federer? Don't forget he beat Sampras at Wimbledon when he was 19 with hardly any experience. Pete was a bit past his prime but was still very formidable.
You're absolutely right it's not an apples to apples comparison but I think you have to take into account that Djoker, Nadal, and Fed have noticeably fewer weaknesses in their games compared to Sampras or Agassi. I'm not saying Sampras or Agassi wouldn't pick up a few grand slams the past 15 yrs but it would be extremely difficult for them to win 4, 5, or more imo. Especially Agassi.
Every generation has young up and coming players getting wins over aging stars. Why only mention the current generation? Pete Sampras was 3-0 vs John McEnroe.
You keep comparing 2021 with the 1990’s. It isn’t the same. Are you really going to say with a straight face that string, racket, ball, tech is anywhere near the same then as today? Let alone many other things.
Just taking your example, Novak Djokovic has never missed an Australian Open. Not one time. 17 straight. And he’s done great there winning it 9 times. Andre Agassi has one of the highest winning percentages ever at the Australian Open. Imagine if he hadn’t missed it 12 times.
“Bigger, stronger” is part of the many endless differences of eras. Give past players current conditions. Make current players play in past conditions. No special gluten free diet and medical treatment for Djokovic. Let’s see how much spin the current player put on the ball using past era string and wood rackets. Good luck.
Let’s have all four Grand Slams have their past playing surfaces instead of their current playing surfaces. The surfaces of the slams in the past were not the same as they are today. This allowed for more variety of types of success, with more players within the same era.
It’s endless apples to oranges. Hence it’s more productive and reasonable to compare and contrast players within the same era because those players play under more similar circumstances.
You keep saying you understand the endless differences and advantages, but then you go straight back to comparing players as they are and were from past eras to the current era without accounting for those same things.
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The line this morning to watch practice in Rock Creek Park at the Citi Open in Washington D.C.
Finals resale tickets for D.C. and Cincinnati are going for well over $1k.
https://twitter.com/tennisatlantic/status/1421470919688654853?s=21
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It sucks that Nadal had to pull out of the U.S. Open, joining Federer and defending champion Dominic Thiem on the sideline.
There are no guarantees, not even for the best player in the world, but Djokovic obviously has an incredible shot at completing the Grand Slam. I don't think it will be "diminished" at all. It's not his fault the others aren't there, and he whupped all competitors in the first three legs, too.
When Djokovic wins this -- and yes, I said "when" -- he also will pass Rafa and Roger for the most major titles. He officially will be the greatest ever.
All of the above should clinch the various "athlete of the year" and "Sportsman of the Year" awards for him. No other athlete on the planet will have so thoroughly dominated his or her sport in 2021.
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It sucks that Nadal had to pull out of the U.S. Open, joining Federer and defending champion Dominic Thiem on the sideline.
There are no guarantees, not even for the best player in the world, but Djokovic obviously has an incredible shot at completing the Grand Slam. I don't think it will be "diminished" at all. It's not his fault the others aren't there, and he whupped all competitors in the first three legs, too.
When Djokovic wins this -- and yes, I said "when" -- he also will pass Rafa and Roger for the most major titles. He officially will be the greatest ever.
All of the above should clinch the various "athlete of the year" and "Sportsman of the Year" awards for him. No other athlete on the planet will have so thoroughly dominated his or her sport in 2021.
That really blows but I wouldn't say Djoker slamming the door is a lock. The pressure will be intense. I'm hoping Diego Schwartzman matches up with him and shocks the world. There's also the COVID factor which could wreak some havoc.
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That really blows but I wouldn't say Djoker slamming the door is a lock. The pressure will be intense. I'm hoping Diego Schwartzman matches up with him and shocks the world. There's also the COVID factor which could wreak some havoc.
Agree. I said there were no guarantees. But in my opinion, he'll win. I know ... not exactly going out on a limb.
Even without Rafa and the others playing, it would be a hell of an achievement.
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Agree. I said there were no guarantees. But in my opinion, he'll win. I know ... not exactly going out on a limb.
Even without Rafa and the others playing, it would be a hell of an achievement.
It doesn't change how big a deal it is if he gets the GS. It would be one of the greatest achievements in sports. It still upsets me that Rafa missed that sitting volley in the 3rd set t-b in the French. And he double-faulted, that's two free points. You just don't see that from Rafa.
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Good on Andy Murray strongly encouraging his fellow pros to get vaccinated.
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Did you see Kyrios' act yesterday? Wow just wow. I predict that two years from now he'll no longer be in grand slam draws, perhaps sooner. What a waste of talent.
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Did you see Kyrios' act yesterday? Wow just wow. I predict that two years from now he'll no longer be in grand slam draws, perhaps sooner. What a waste of talent.
Missed it. I'm bored with him.
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Missed it. I'm bored with him.
He constantly bitched to the chair umpire about having to walk to the back of the court to get a towel between points. Because of COVID the ball kids aren't handing the players a towel and I guess Nicky didn't like this even though it's a policy for all players. The dude clearly has serious mental issues and the maturity of a toddler.
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Great job by Diego Schwartzman! He took out K. Anderson who is 6'8. Diego is 5'6. :)
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Great wins by two 18 year olds knocking out the 3 seeds in the men's and women's draw. Two huge upsets. Hopefully Tiafoe comes through.
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Did you see that woman chug a beer on 2 different occasions when the camera was on her during the Bautista Agut match? Hilarious!
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Did you see that woman chug a beer on 2 different occasions when the camera was on her during the Bautista Agut match? Hilarious!
I missed that but will have to find the video. Ty.
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Rublev is really tough. These courts seem to be playing crazy fast. I'm just not sure Tiafoe is consistent enough. He's gonna have to keep popping power serves to have a shot.
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Cmon Tiafoe!!! Have you read his story? Absolutely incredible. Impossible not to root for that guy and his family.
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As a father and, well, just a human, it was painful to watch Osaka's press conference.
I hope that she eventually finds peace.
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Tiafoe was brilliant last night. He was thwacking the ball with tremendous velocity from both sides in the 5th set and just awesome at the net. I'm not sure I've seen groundstrokes hit that hard consistently. We're talking 105-110 mph. Hopefully he can continue his strong play and make a deep run.
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Tiafoe was brilliant last night. He was thwacking the ball with tremendous velocity from both sides in the 5th set and just awesome at the net. I'm not sure I've seen groundstrokes hit that hard consistently. We're talking 105-110 mph. Hopefully he can continue his strong play and make a deep run.
Didn’t see it. But he’s been a talented guy for years.
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As a father and, well, just a human, it was painful to watch Osaka's press conference.
I hope that she eventually finds peace.
Maybe more modeling, endorsement deals, and awards show appearances will help, even though it didn’t last time.
Her act has worn thin. If you don’t want to play, don’t play.
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Maybe more modeling, endorsement deals, and awards show appearances will help, even though it didn’t last time.
Her act has worn thin. If you don’t want to play, don’t play.
I feel for her I do, but it does seem like she’s not really helping herself.
I saw an interesting take today about how, while mental health awareness and acceptance is EXTREMELY important and life saving, we collectively start to trend towards almost applauding public examples of depression as opposed to destigmatizing it but also pushing for a remedy and treatment. We’ve known this about these troubles for Osaka for quite sometime, but she never stays away that long and then crumbles again when adversity appears. I’m not saying “you’re a wealthy athlete, deal with it”, but if you had a friend or family member that had triggers and they kept careening into those triggers without improving in between, I’d still say “are you handling this properly?”
And not for nothing, I’ve thought it for awhile, but I do think a lot of this can be traced back to the Serena debacle at the US Open a few years ago
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Maybe more modeling, endorsement deals, and awards show appearances will help, even though it didn’t last time.
Her act has worn thin. If you don’t want to play, don’t play.
You are a classy guy. But at least you said out loud what people like you believe - mental illness is just an act, presumably to get attention.
I can only guess that you believe Sloane Stephens is a whiny baby, as well.
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Maybe more modeling, endorsement deals, and awards show appearances will help, even though it didn’t last time.
Her act has worn thin. If you don’t want to play, don’t play.
Wow.
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Perhaps more credit should be given to Leylah Hernandez for beating Osaka and then following that up with another win over Kerber? Leylah was asked "when did you think you could win the match over Naomi"? She replied: "Before I stepped onto the court." That's badass and a great response. Congrats to the young lady (18) and hopefully she continues her impressive tournament.
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Don’t know if it’s been said here, but McEnroe is a really good analyst.
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Don’t know if it’s been said here, but McEnroe is a really good analyst.
Yes.
F-A-A is a potential superstar. Only 21. Good effort by Tiafoe but Felix is the real deal.
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Yes.
F-A-A is a potential superstar. Only 21. Good effort by Tiafoe but Felix is the real deal.
Incredible inconsistent and mercurial but he’s insanely talented. Lot of solid players out of Canada recently.
Tiafoe is still very young at 23, still think he can put it together. He’s so much fun to watch the way he snaps those forehands
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Incredible inconsistent and mercurial but he’s insanely talented. Lot of solid players out of Canada recently.
Tiafoe is still very young at 23, still think he can put it together. He’s so much fun to watch the way he snaps those forehands
Agreed. But Felix has easy power and is 6'4 and long. Once he gains a little more consistency look out on fast courts. While Djoker is the obvious favorite he's more vulnerable than I thought. These courts seem to be playing wicked fast. If they can handle the pressure Zverev, Medvy, and F-A-A have a shot. Tiafoe and F-A-A are really fun to watch and good for the sport.
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Auger-Aliassime had 23 aces, including 2 on his second serve.
Once he gets a little more consistent on groundstrokes, he really can be something.
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Auger-Aliassime had 23 aces, including 2 on his second serve.
Once he gets a little more consistent on groundstrokes, he really can be something.
He's very cool. You can tell he's a really good dude by the way he handled the crowd tonight.
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18-year-old Leylah Fernandez, the self-described "happy-go-lucky girl" who is causing quite a stir with her impressive wins and her exuberance, said her parents make sure to emphasize that “you can’t take things too seriously, you’ve got to be mature but at the same time just be a kid, let loose, have fun, eat chocolate when you want to, and just have fun, watch movies, go past your bedtime.”
I love that! She's a blast to watch play. And though we obviously are only getting an on-the-surface look, she sounds like a really well-adjusted kid with a super-supportive family.
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Got her chit together, aina?
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Boychik, y ar ewe up sew early, hey?
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Boychik, y ar ewe up sew early, hey?
I live in the eastern time zone. My first post today was at around 8:30 a.m. while I ate breakfast.
Good for you, smoe, sleeping in on Labor Day, nu?
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Nah, back from my 8 mile walk. And, itz Dr. Dribble ta ewe, kin, hey?
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Brooksby may be Cooksby. :(
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Fernandez has been so much fun to watch. After seeing her vs, Osaka it really just seems like Osaka just doesn’t even enjoy the sport anymore.
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Wow. She did it again!! Congrats to Leylah Hernandez on another W at the USOpen!
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This Alcaraz kid has some serious game. He's zipping groundstrokes corner to corner without a care in the world. Wicked inside-out forehead. I don't think he's a fluke.
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Auger-Aliassime is the first man born in the 2000s to reach a major semifinal.
In interviews, he seems like a real together young guy.
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Auger-Aliassime is the first man born in the 2000s to reach a major semifinal.
In interviews, he seems like a real together young guy.
What happened? I turned my head and the match was over. Was Alcaraz injured?
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What happened? I turned my head and the match was over. Was Alcaraz injured?
He just walked up and quit. Slight limp, looked like he was favoring his left leg maybe?
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He just walked up and quit. Slight limp, looked like he was favoring his left leg maybe?
WTF? This happens way too often it seems to me. Medvy vs F-A-A should be a good semi.
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Radacanu is the first woman to get to the SF of the USOpen through the qualifying rounds. It's an incredible story. She hasn't lost a set. Great to see a new generation kicking some ass. It think we all would like to see a Fernandez/Radacanu Final. It would get a lot of buzz.
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Radacanu is the first woman to get to the SF of the USOpen through the qualifying rounds. It's an incredible story. She hasn't lost a set. Great to see a new generation kicking some ass. It think we all would like to see a Fernandez/Radacanu Final. It would get a lot of buzz.
Haven’t seen the Brit play yet. Maybe in the semis. Great story though.
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Haven’t seen the Brit play yet. Maybe in the semis. Great story though.
I haven't either. But I noticed at Wimbledon how technically sound her overall game is for such a young player. She has the ability to hit down the line on both sides with tremendous pop and accuracy. She also has pretty good wheels and a nice slice serve to the deuce court. It's very apparent that both she and Fernandez, while not physically dominant, are very savvy players and great competitors. Gauff has more talent imo but right now these two are more consistent.
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I forgot about Berrettini. He has a chance tonight. If Djoker does get this done you really have to hand it to him. Even without Nadal kr Fed it's not like he's gonna have to dispose of cupcakes.
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I forgot about Berrettini. He has a chance tonight. If Djoker does get this done you really have to hand it to him. Even without Nadal kr Fed it's not like he's gonna have to dispose of cupcakes.
Berrettini is fun. He’s a really energetic bomber. But Joker has handled players like him pretty completely in his career. So we’ll see
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Berrettini is fun. He’s a really energetic bomber. But Joker has handled players like him pretty completely in his career. So we’ll see
That's exactly right and why he has a puncher's chance. He's got significant pop and is playing on a fast court. I'm just not sure he can do it 3 out of 5.
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MB is unloading on his forehand. He needs this first set.
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This just got real interesting. Berrettini takes the first set. The Djoker could be in serious trouble. He looks tight to me.
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Damn....Berrettini really fell off his 1st set level. And Djoker decided to step it up. He cam kind of go through stretches where he doesn't miss and controls every point. MB looks deflated.
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Berrettini does 2 things well -- serve and hit the forehand.
Novak is the best service-return player in history, and Novak also is great at controlling a point and he's pounding Berrettini's mediocre BH.
Novak puts so much pressure on the server, who has to think: "I'd better be damn close to perfect with my serves, because this SOB is like a human backboard."
Hard to imagine Novak losing to a player he is far superior to unless he's really, really off. Novak was pretty off in the first set and still only lost 7-5.
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Berrettini does 2 things well -- serve and hit the forehand.
Novak is the best service-return player in history, and Novak also is great at controlling a point and he's pounding Berrettini's mediocre BH.
Novak puts so much pressure on the server, who has to think: "I'd better be damn close to perfect with my serves, because this SOB is like a human backboard."
Hard to imagine Novak losing to a player he is far superior to unless he's really, really off. Novak was pretty off in the first set and still only lost 7-5.
Yes. But Berrettini was controlling far more points in the first set by thwacking forehands with no regard for human life. If you have that kind of pop you have to go for it against Novak because you have no chance in extended rallies. You must play power tennis on a fast court like this which means unloading on those two shots you referenced and finishing points off.
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I hate to say it as a huge Nadal fan but if Djoker closes the door there's really no argument that he's not the GOAT. The guy has no weaknesses and is as mentally tough as Rafa. His return of serve is beyond ridiculous. I also disagree with the notion that you can't and it's silly to compare eras. The guy is playing in the same era as two other top 5 players and may very well get the calendar GS and 21 and counting. I mean you think of the guys that played similarly to Novak, like an Agassi for example, and he's so much better it's seriously a joke. He would eviscerate Aggasi. There isn't a sogle thing Andre did better than Novak.
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Agree.
Think about Novak getting DQ’d from last year’s USOpen in that fluke. That’s major #22. And he missed all that time a few years ago to injury in what should have been his prime. The guy could have 25-26 already.
As if the 21 he’ll have in a few days isn’t incredible enough.
As you know I’m a big Rafa guy too … but really can’t deny Novak’s place in history.
Sorry, Tony Trabert!
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This just got real interesting. Berrettini takes the first set. The Djoker could be in serious trouble. He looks tight to me.
If you hammered the ML every time someone thought or said this about Novak after he dropped a first set, you’d be rich. Among many other insane attributes, his ability to go from “man he looks terrible/hurt/sick” to dominant and utterly controlling of the match…is ridiculous
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Agree.
Think about Novak getting DQ’d from last year’s USOpen in that fluke. That’s major #22. And he missed all that time a few years ago to injury in what should have been his prime. The guy could have 25-26 already.
As if the 21 he’ll have in a few days isn’t incredible enough.
As you know I’m a big Rafa guy too … but really can’t deny Novak’s place in history.
Sorry, Tony Trabert!
I am thinking about Sampras playing Novak on this court. He also was primarily serve and a power forehand but he could put points away at the net. I think that's the only way to beat him when he's playing his A game but no one can really volley anymore.
Now Sampras did have the best serve in history but we've never seen anyone close to the returner Djoker is. Amazing flexibility and reflexes. Personally I think Djoker, Rafa, and Fed are at a completely different level than past players and it's not just technology and training differences.
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Wow is Leylah Fernandez impressive. Unbelievable poise and terrific hands. She sort of reminds me of Agassi the way she times the ball. Hopefully she pulls this off.
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Unbelievable win from Leylah but you have to feel for Sabalenka. Cheering between faults and after double faults? That's uncalled for and totally ridiculous.
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I can honestly say I have never been so captivated by a tennis player more than I am with Fernandez. She is a stone cold killer, wrapped in what we call personality in our house. Swagger. Attitude. Confidence. Joy. I’ll never forget when Shriver asked her when she believed she could beat Osaka, and she said, “when I walked on the court.”
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I can honestly say I have never been so captivated by a tennis player more than I am with Fernandez. She is a stone cold killer, wrapped in what we call personality in our house. Swagger. Attitude. Confidence. Joy. I’ll never forget when Shriver asked her when she believed she could beat Osaka, and she said, “when I walked on the court.”
Absolutely Junpstreet. Tremendous swagger combined with incredible composure and focus. As I said after she disposed of Kerber, we should be talking about how impressive Leylah is and not Osaka losing that match. I think Sakkari will beat Radacanu but really hope we see both teenagers in the Final.
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Wow. Radacanu just won the first set 6-1. These teens look far more composed than experienced players. It's amazing.
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This match was kinda like Joker’s last match. Surgical. Great defense. Full court coverage. Always in position.
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Radacanu is no freaking joke. She has a complete game. Sneaky pace, especially down the line. She also has a very solid serve and like Leylah a tremendous return game. Both of these kids are unflappable and super likable, they're great for the game. I don't know who to pick between the two of them.
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I don’t care who wins. I hope it goes 3 Sets.
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I don’t care who wins. I hope it goes 3 Sets.
I think the crowd won't favor one over the other which is unusual. Truthfully I think clay will be the best surface for both of them unless they don't know how to slide. Radacanu has a little more pop. Their consistency and poise is what's most impressive.
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Damn....I didn't see it but Medvy destroyed F-A-A? Very surprised.
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Damn....I didn't see it but Medvy destroyed F-A-A? Very surprised.
Felix had a great chance to win the second set - up 5-3, and serving for the set at 5-4 - but he played really tight, got broken, and then appeared to lose his focus … and eventually his will. And Medvedev played real well too.
Great run by the kid but he would have had no chance against Novak. Not sure Medvedev has much of a shot either, but more than Felix would have based on experience alone.
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Felix had a great chance to win the second set - up 5-3, and serving for the set at 5-4 - but he played really tight, got broken, and then appeared to lose his focus … and eventually his will. And Medvedev played real well too.
Great run by the kid but he would have had no chance against Novak. Not sure Medvedev has much of a shot either, but more than Felix would have based on experience alone.
Zverev probably has the best shot vs Djoker. But he's going to have to serve big for 3 sets and hope Novak doesn't play his top level.
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Zverev is looking really good early. Dominating on his service games and winning the longer rallies. He's controlling the points with his power. Djoker is definitely in some trouble.
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Zverev is looking really good early. Dominating on his service games and winning the longer rallies. He's controlling the points with his power. Djoker is definitely in some trouble.
He lost a set. He’s not in trouble until he loses 2. Same as the other night
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He lost a set. He’s not in trouble until he loses 2. Same as the other night
Zverev kicking away a sevice game certainly helps him.
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Huge level drop for Zverev in the 2nd set and that can't happen if you're gonna beat Novak. Maybe he read your post JWags and couldn't handle the pressure?
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Wow! What an ending to the 3rd set.
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Wow! What an ending to the 3rd set.
Neither guy was playing great until that last game. I think Zverev blew a great opportunity but he has the game to extend this to a 5th.
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Jimmy Butler is sitting in Zverev’s player box.
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This match is on Zverev's racket. He's overpowering Novak both on his serve and on the ground. If he can keep his nerves in check I think he wins the 5th.
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Wow what a break point and conversion by the Djoker. Insane drop shot.
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Buh-bye!
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Buh-bye!
The mental toughness of Djokovic is seriously off the charts. Because Zverev has had every opportunity to usurp this match imo. Not over yet....but close.
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Well....now it's over. Zverev isn't gonna feel great about this L.
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Fork! Stat!
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Ugh, Djokovic has always been far and away my least favorite of the big three as well.
The fact that he’s going to be the one to end up with the most majors is kinda irksome.
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The mental toughness of Djokovic is seriously off the charts. Because Zverev has had every opportunity to usurp this match imo. Not over yet....but close.
Like I said the other night, his record after losing the first set in majors is pretty remarkable. He’s a mental giant and Zverev has always been kind of a head case.
COVID stuff aside, I feel like people don’t like me Novak cause he’s cocky and has a chip on his shoulder, especially compared till Fed who is the ultimate gentleman and Rafa who is sort of understated. Novak has never bothered me, I think he’s an entertaining personality, and his game is incredibly fun to watch. I like that he will be on top with majors being very accomplished across all surfaces (and likely would have 2-3 more French opens if not matched against the best clay player of all time) compared to Rafa’s dominance on one surface and Fed who has only played well at the French in a 5 year period
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Ugh, Djokovic has always been far and away my least favorite of the big three as well.
The fact that he’s going to be the one to end up with the most majors is kinda irksome.
Agreed...but you do have to hand it to the guy if he pulls this off.
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Zverev definitely has the talent to win majors. It's all between the ears.
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Jimmy Butler is sitting in Zverev’s player box.
Too cool to clap, though.
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Nobody thinks Medvedev has a chance?
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Nobody thinks Medvedev has a chance?
Not true. Obviously, Novak is favored but Daniiel has a chance. He is the #2 player in the world for a reason.
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Not true. Obviously, Novak is favored but Daniiel has a chance. He is the #2 player in the world for a reason.
Agreed.
It's conceivable Djoker wins another 3-5 majors, Nadal still could win 1 or 2, Fed is done imo.
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This is the most exciting women's GS Fimal maybe ever when you take into account both of their stories. Who ya got?
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Emma looks like the player with a bigger variety of shots, and she definitely looks more rested. Very good athlete, too. She's got the first set, so let's see how Leylah responds.
Both are good service returners and neither has a killer serve, so lots and lots of break points in Set 1.
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Emma looks like the player with a bigger variety of shots, and she definitely looks more rested. Very good athlete, too. She's got the first set, so let's see how Leylah responds.
Both are good service returners and neither has a killer serve, so lots and lots of break points in Set 1.
Radacanu has more firepower and Leylah hasn't served particularly well. Hopefully Fernandez finds a way to take this to a 3rd set.
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What a pleasure to watch, eh Muggs?
Those two young ladies gave every ounce of energy they had for the entire 2 hours. Great attitudes, great spirit, and a lot of talent, too.
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A quality match despite Leylah not serving well. Radacanu's pop down the line is very impressive. Both of them brought it and are a pleasure to watch. I wasn't impressed by Fowler or Evert during the match. Lots of nonsensical comments.
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Radacanu has more firepower and Leylah hasn't served particularly well. Hopefully Fernandez finds a way to take this to a 3rd set.
Great fun’s, few games. I confused the two more than a few times since Radacanu was dressed in the colors of the Philippine flag when Fernandez is the half Filipina. :D
Two young, talented, and likable players on the women’s side. Love to see it.
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Great fun’s, few games. I confused the two more than a few times since Radacanu was dressed in the colors of the Philippine flag when Fernandez is the half Filipina. :D
Two young, talented, and likable players on the women’s side. Love to see it.
Ha! I didn't realize that! Great observation Billy.
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Ha! I didn't realize that! Great observation Billy.
When you’re married to a Filipina you notice little things like that! ;D ;D ;D
Though I did remind my wife those are also the colors of the Romanian flag and Emma is half-Romanian.
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Wow. That ceremony and those two young women, with their words, along with the crowd, was phenomenal. You talk about impressive? People you want to cheer for and are total class acts? That was beyond refreshing and I hope other athletes across the spectrum saw the trophy presentation. I was tearing up and their parents must be so proud of them.
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A quality match despite Leylah not serving well. Radacanu's pop down the line is very impressive. Both of them brought it and are a pleasure to watch. I wasn't impressed by Fowler or Evert during the match. Lots of nonsensical comments.
Chris Evertt, Chris Fowler, the Mcenroe's, basically all of them need to be sent to the old folks home and a new generation needs to be brought in.
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Chris Evertt, Chris Fowler, the Mcenroe's, basically all of them need to be sent to the old folks home and a new generation needs to be brought in.
What really irritates me is Fowler literally "analyzes" each point. Then he makes wild assumptions about how the match will go and each of their strategies based on the result of one freaking point. It's absurd. For example: a player drop shots, it's not placed particularly well, and loses the point. He'll mmediately utter something asinine like "that's not a good decision with the speed of so and so."
And Evert isn't much better. Projecting all sorts of nonsense about players' fatigue, nerves, their families, future success., etc, etc, etc. Half the time or more I wanted them to stfu frankly and compliment the greatness of these young women.
I think you're right. It's time for some new blood behind the booth.
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I noticed that the ESPN website has Radacanu winning the USOpen as their 7th headline with no video of the match.
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What really irritates me is Fowler literally "analyzes" each point. Then he makes wild assumptions about how the match will go and each of their strategies based on the result of one freaking point. It's absurd. For example: a player drop shots, it's not placed particularly well, and loses the point. He'll mmediately utter something asinine like "that's not a good decision with the speed of so and so."
And Evert isn't much better. Projecting all sorts of nonsense about players' fatigue, nerves, their families, future success., etc, etc, etc. Half the time or more I wanted them to stfu frankly and compliment the greatness of these young women.
I think you're right. It's time for some new blood behind the booth.
Spot on, especially about Everett.
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Spot on, especially about Everett.
Who could be brought in? Lindsay Davenport? I think Roddick is getting into broadcasting.
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I didn't remember thinking, "Fowler and Evert are bad," and so I guess I didn't really notice. I'll take your word for it.
What I'll be interested in seeing is how good these young players get from here. When Ostapenko won the French a few years ago, I thought she had the game to really have a nice career, and she might, but she has been a disappointment since then.
Fernandez needs a bigger, more consistent serve, among other things. Raducanu looks like she has a very nice all-around game, but I've only seen this match and about a half-hour of her other matches combined, so I don't know. Tennis can always use an infusion of young talent, so I hope they have game for the long-term.
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I didn't remember thinking, "Fowler and Evert are bad," and so I guess I didn't really notice. I'll take your word for it.
What I'll be interested in seeing is how good these young players get from here. When Ostapenko won the French a few years ago, I thought she had the game to really have a nice career, and she might, but she has been a disappointment since then.
Fernandez needs a bigger, more consistent serve, among other things. Raducanu looks like she has a very nice all-around game, but I've only seen this match and about a half-hour of her other matches combined, so I don't know. Tennis can always use an infusion of young talent, so I hope they have game for the long-term.
Trust me, they're abysmal.
As far as the future of these women? There's no way to know but Serena being near the end of career opens up a lot of opportunities. Regardless, they are so likable and fun that I think they add a ton to the sport. Past champions for the women have often been young but these two appear to have the whole package from a personality standpoint . They play with tremendous fire along with a joy for the game. Neither will be dominant but will get huge fan support.
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I didn't remember thinking, "Fowler and Evert are bad," and so I guess I didn't really notice. I'll take your word for it.
What I'll be interested in seeing is how good these young players get from here. When Ostapenko won the French a few years ago, I thought she had the game to really have a nice career, and she might, but she has been a disappointment since then.
Fernandez needs a bigger, more consistent serve, among other things. Raducanu looks like she has a very nice all-around game, but I've only seen this match and about a half-hour of her other matches combined, so I don't know. Tennis can always use an infusion of young talent, so I hope they have game for the long-term.
What do you think will be a bigger issue in their futures? Their continued skill development ( I think Emma has the chance to be a top 5 player) or the outside pressures that neither have had to face before they became “name” players?
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What do you think will be a bigger issue in their futures? Their continued skill development ( I think Emma has the chance to be a top 5 player) or the outside pressures that neither have had to face before they became “name” players?
Every person is different but there have been many great young players that have handled "outside pressures" quite well. Now, this is a different era with social media but I think Evert among others are projecting some of Osaka's mental health issues on both Radacanu and Hernandez.
That doesn't mean I'm discounting that they'll have pressures, or that Osaka doesn't have a serious problem, but I think it mpacts players individually and we shouldn't make assumptions based on other players.
Radacanu may have the potential to win a bunch of grand slams. She has a lot of pop, a solid serve, grit, and excellent wheels. If she gets another before she's 20 that will be added pressure. Leylah has the disadvantage of being a bit undersized and can get overpowered. Personally, I think clay will be her best surface.
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They both seem to have incredible attitudes, Jockey, but it's a lot easier when expectations are so low and there is no pressure. I don't know anything about their family structures or any number of other things, so it's just gonna be a matter of seeing what happens.
They both definitely have things that need to be improved significantly to be long-term, big-time players, but they both do a lot well already. I'll be rooting for them!
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I'm curious what the ratings are gonna be for the Final today? This may not happen again in my lifetime but vs the NFL I doubt many people will watch.
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Medvy with the early break.
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Comfortable 1st set for Medvy. He's serving huge. Djoker will need to pick it up to pull this off.
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Wow. Djokovic just lost his mind.
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Medvedev in complete control. Tremendous serving and out-hitting. Novak. Djoker doesn't have his A game but give DM a lot of credit.
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Wow. This is over. Medvy will not be denied today. Amazing court coverage and Djoker isn't getting free points on his serve. Plus he went bananas for no reason. Props to DM.
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Perfect match thus far for Medvedev. Pretty incredible out of him.
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Perfect match thus far for Medvedev. Pretty incredible out of him.
Complete domination. I realize Djoker hasn't been anywhere near his top level but Medvedev has thoroughly outplayed him. I also feel Zverev should have beaten Novak in the SF.
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Just like Moses Malone predicted.
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Just like Moses Malone predicted.
Huh?
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Huh?
https://ballislife.com/fo-fo-fo-moses-malone-the-76ers-sweep-the-lakers-in-the-1983-finals/
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https://ballislife.com/fo-fo-fo-moses-malone-the-76ers-sweep-the-lakers-in-the-1983-finals/
Oh...I wasn't thinking about the actual score.
Moses was one cool dude. Wish I could have seen him play. Historically underrated imo.
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Medvedev obviously played well, but Djokovic was so far away from top form that I feel quite a few opponents would have beaten Novak today.
Turned out to be a weird tournament.
Two unranked teens play for the women’s title, with the winner being the one who had to go through qualifying just to get in the field.
And a men’s draw without Rafa and Roger, and with Novak unable to muster the energy at the end to grab a historic victory.
With The Big 3 in their mid-30s and older, and with Serena obviously at or very near the end, is this the new normal for tennis? A new era that won’t be dominated by a very few players?
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Medvedev obviously played well, but Djokovic was so far away from top form that I feel quite a few opponents would have beaten Novak today.
Turned out to be a weird tournament.
Two unranked teens play for the women’s title, with the winner being the one who had to go through qualifying just to get in the field.
And a men’s draw without Rafa and Roger, and with Novak unable to muster the energy at the end to grab a historic victory.
With The Big 3 in their mid-30s and older, and with Serena obviously at or very near the end, is this the new normal for tennis? A new era that won’t be dominated by a very few players?
No doubt. He just didn't have it. But Medvy played a very intelligent match and chased down everything. As far as the new normal? It could be for awhile. Although I do think Medvedev and Zverev could break out. Novak isn't done and Rafa might have 2 more French-O's. Fed I think is finished. On the women's side I think we'll see a number of champions and Gauff will eventually get there.
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No doubt. He just didn't have it. But Medvy played a very intelligent match and chased down everything. As far as the new normal? It could be for awhile. Although I do think Medvedev and Zverev could break out. Novak isn't done and Rafa might have 2 more French-O's. Fed I think is finished. On the women's side I think we'll see a number of champions and Gauff will eventually get there.
Medvedev just kept hitting everything back to Djokovic and waited for Novak to screw up. That was an intelligent strategy today, because it wasn't Normal Novak, and I'm guessing Medvedev recognized that early.
I have doubts about Medvedev, Zverev or any of the other young men separating themselves from the pack. I hope you're right about Rafa, but he just can't stay healthy and he's not a kid. I didn't mean to suggest Novak is done; I mean, the guy won 3 majors and got to the final of the 4th. But even he can't go on forever.
The women's side is just a big jumble to me.
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Medvedev just kept hitting everything back to Djokovic and waited for Novak to screw up. That was an intelligent strategy today, because it wasn't Normal Novak, and I'm guessing Medvedev recognized that early.
I have doubts about Medvedev, Zverev or any of the other young men separating themselves from the pack. I hope you're right about Rafa, but he just can't stay healthy and he's not a kid. I didn't mean to suggest Novak is done; I mean, the guy won 3 majors and got to the final of the 4th. But even he can't go on forever.
The women's side is just a big jumble to me.
I agree that Medvedev was primarily putting the ball in play but the real separation was that he was getting a lot of free points off his serve and the Djoker wasn't.
I think Rafa is very capable of 2 more FO titles and an even 15. :)
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The women's side is just a big jumble to me.
I don't mean this to be sexist, im sure it will be but not intentionally, but after watching lots of tennis of both genres at the ATP/WTA level, dating a D1 collegiate player for a bit, and having a cousin who played college tennis...the womens game is far more emotional and mercurial. There are men who have that issue, but it feels far more prevalent in the womens game, even amongst the stars. I can think of plenty of Grand Slam matches where Wozniaki, Svitolina, Mertens, Halep, etc... absolutely implode mid set in a match they have under control. It just contributes to the parity. Hell, Raducanu short circuited at Wimbledon and then came back and did this incredible run, but it wouldn't be out of norm to expect another crumble. It is what it is.
There are men who implode plenty, but there always feels like a couple of top male players are impervious for a stretch of time.
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I don't mean this to be sexist, im sure it will be but not intentionally, but after watching lots of tennis of both genres at the ATP/WTA level, dating a D1 collegiate player for a bit, and having a cousin who played college tennis...the womens game is far more emotional and mercurial. There are men who have that issue, but it feels far more prevalent in the womens game, even amongst the stars. I can think of plenty of Grand Slam matches where Wozniaki, Svitolina, Mertens, Halep, etc... absolutely implode mid set in a match they have under control. It just contributes to the parity. Hell, Raducanu short circuited at Wimbledon and then came back and did this incredible run, but it wouldn't be out of norm to expect another crumble. It is what it is.
There are men who implode plenty, but there always feels like a couple of top male players are impervious for a stretch of time.
Maybe. But don't forget that for a generation (or more), it was a small group of women who steadfastly stood atop the game for long stretches. Think about Evert, Navratilova and Graf. They might not have been the equivalent of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic ... but pretty darn close. And maybe that will happen again on that side and it will be the men searching for a few legit stars. I guess we'll see.
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I don't mean this to be sexist, im sure it will be but not intentionally, but after watching lots of tennis of both genres at the ATP/WTA level, dating a D1 collegiate player for a bit, and having a cousin who played college tennis...the womens game is far more emotional and mercurial. There are men who have that issue, but it feels far more prevalent in the womens game, even amongst the stars. I can think of plenty of Grand Slam matches where Wozniaki, Svitolina, Mertens, Halep, etc... absolutely implode mid set in a match they have under control. It just contributes to the parity. Hell, Raducanu short circuited at Wimbledon and then came back and did this incredible run, but it wouldn't be out of norm to expect another crumble. It is what it is.
There are men who implode plenty, but there always feels like a couple of top male players are impervious for a stretch of time.
That's why we should never elect a woman president. :)
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I don't mean this to be sexist, im sure it will be but not intentionally, but after watching lots of tennis of both genres at the ATP/WTA level, dating a D1 collegiate player for a bit, and having a cousin who played college tennis...the womens game is far more emotional and mercurial. There are men who have that issue, but it feels far more prevalent in the womens game, even amongst the stars. I can think of plenty of Grand Slam matches where Wozniaki, Svitolina, Mertens, Halep, etc... absolutely implode mid set in a match they have under control. It just contributes to the parity. Hell, Raducanu short circuited at Wimbledon and then came back and did this incredible run, but it wouldn't be out of norm to expect another crumble. It is what it is.
There are men who implode plenty, but there always feels like a couple of top male players are impervious for a stretch of time.
In defense of Raducanu, Wimbledon was literally her first GS tournament. She was totally overwhelmed and never anticipated the media frenzy. As for women imploding vs men there actually have been many occasions where men have imploded. Including Federer vs the Djoker at Wimbledon a few years ago. Zverev I believe is 0-10 or 1-10 vs top 10 players in majors.
Over the years quite a few male players have had meltdowns JWags, it's just that the Big 3 have been so dominant. Truthfully Djoker had a meltdown yesterday.
Reading a bit about Raducanu she's incredibly impressive even if she didn't play tennis. Straight A student and could attend Oxford or Cambridge. Additionally she has a wide range of athletic and other interests. Hopefully the media doesn't smother her because she obviously has enormous star potential. But the kid is so well grounded and humble, she'll manage just fine.
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Marat Safin for emotional meltdowns.
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Marat Safin for emotional meltdowns.
Safin walked so Kyrgios could run
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Very strong draw this week at the new WTA 500 in Chicago at the XS Tennis Center and foundation. (55th and State, good cause for your $). Very easy public transportation stops. Still opportunities to get out there.
It’s the first time in Chicago for many of the International players and for some American players too. It’s the third event there this year, with the other two in the Summer. So it’s weather friendly.
They have done a nice job. 8 top 20 World players and lots of other big names.
They look to the success of the JTTC in College Park, MD/Washington D.C. The JTTC in D.C. has had a lot of success with something similar. JTTC products Frances Tiafoe was a recent U.S. Open Quarterfinalist, and Robin Montgomery who recently turned 17, won both the Singles and Doubles of the U.S. Open Girls Juniors.
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On Monday,, Ons Jabeur will become the first Arab player ever ranked in either the WTA or ATP top 10. She is still going in the semifinals of the tour's 5th biggest event, Indian Wells, CA. Well earned.
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Steve Nash getting a hit in at The Rec at Marquette:
https://twitter.com/RyanMcMull3n/status/1450233163020742658?t=J6bkW5yr-SbtUAVpuRKy_Q&s=19
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The WTA has suspended all events in China. Props to their leadership and overall message.
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“If you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open ... and everywhere."
-- Rafa Nadal
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“If you are vaccinated, you can play in the Australian Open ... and everywhere."
-- Rafa Nadal
I guess I'm a bit lost as to why Djokovic was cleared to play in the first place?
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I guess I'm a bit lost as to why Djokovic was cleared to play in the first place?
Because international tennis doesn't speak for the government of Australia.
Tennis approved it because they like money.
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Yeah he was cleared by the people that run the Australian Open thinking that the government would just let him in I guess? Pretty dumb move.
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What they said.
This is "personal choice" working its magic. Djokovic personally chose to not get vaccinated and to try to get around Australia's national rules with a bogus exemption. Now he's personally choosing to fight it Australia enforcing its rules. And if he loses in court, as most expect he will, he can personally choose to either get the vaccine so he can compete in his favorite tournament and become the all-time majors winner, or he can personally choose to go home.
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It's his "medical exemption" before the tournament that has me lost. Australia requires visitors to be vaccinated. Apparently his "medical exemption" is that he had covid before and doesn't want to get the vaccine? How could the tournament officials have any power whatsoever to allow him to play and bypass the laws of the country? Doesn't make any sense at all.
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Djokovic could have gotten vaccinated, that’s on him. Craig Tiley (Tennis Australia) said he could play with a recent positive COVID-19 test as a medical exemption. Tiley has a history of overpromising. That’s on him. Tiley is otherwise well liked by players as a very good long time AO Tennis Director, one of the most popular places to play.
The sport, any sport, will always be bigger than any one player. I’m more interested in the actual tennis thus far, the 5 title winners etc…Anisimova, Barty, Monfils, Nadal, Halep.
20 year old American Amanda Anisimova wins her first title in a few years, since her father and coach u expectedly passed away. Has top 10 talent. Now working with Darren Cahill.
17 year old Coco Gauff taking World Number 1 the distance before falling in 3 sets. She was the only player to break Barty’s serve. Barty won both singles and doubles. She’s won 11 of the last 32 tourneys she has entered. At almost 35%, the next best is 17%.
Career high rankings for Americans Shelby Rogers 35, and Ann Li 44.
Canada wins the ATP Cup. Felix Auger Aliassime back in the top 10.
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What they said.
This is "personal choice" working its magic. Djokovic personally chose to not get vaccinated and to try to get around Australia's national rules with a bogus exemption. Now he's personally choosing to fight it Australia enforcing its rules. And if he loses in court, as most expect he will, he can personally choose to either get the vaccine so he can compete in his favorite tournament and become the all-time majors winner, or he can personally choose to go home.
it looks like Joker won in court. This is going to get interesting.
At least Joker is consistent in his anti-vax stance. He's been this way well before Covid.
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He's certainly a joke.
But a hell of a tennis player.
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He's certainly a joke.
But a hell of a tennis player.
Here's some of his past claims:
The tennis star has a track record when it comes to questionable scientific claims.
In his book Serve to Win, Djokovic described how in 2010 he met with a nutritionist who asked him to hold a piece of bread in his left hand while he pressed down on his right arm. Djokovic claims he was much weaker while holding the bread, and cited this as evidence of gluten intolerance.
And during an Instagram live, he claimed that positive thought could "cleanse" polluted water, adding that "scientists have proven that molecules in water react to our emotions."
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Here's some of his past claims:
The tennis star has a track record when it comes to questionable scientific claims.
In his book Serve to Win, Djokovic described how in 2010 he met with a nutritionist who asked him to hold a piece of bread in his left hand while he pressed down on his right arm. Djokovic claims he was much weaker while holding the bread, and cited this as evidence of gluten intolerance.
And during an Instagram live, he claimed that positive thought could "cleanse" polluted water, adding that "scientists have proven that molecules in water react to our emotions."
His nutritionist seems like a looney toon, however, I will say, whatever the path, him switching away from gluten in 2010 also coincides from when he went from a very good promising young player with a single Aussie Open and a bunch of near misses...to the absolute freak of nature destroyer he's become
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Here's some of his past claims:
The tennis star has a track record when it comes to questionable scientific claims.
In his book Serve to Win, Djokovic described how in 2010 he met with a nutritionist who asked him to hold a piece of bread in his left hand while he pressed down on his right arm. Djokovic claims he was much weaker while holding the bread, and cited this as evidence of gluten intolerance.
And during an Instagram live, he claimed that positive thought could "cleanse" polluted water, adding that "scientists have proven that molecules in water react to our emotions."
I'm not sure this is as crazy as most people think. I don't know if there's extensive data but positive thoughts by many accounts can help plants grow. As for the gluten thing? I dunno.
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Hell of a tennis player.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59939507
Interesting. He won the case on procedural grounds, basically. That it was unfair for the interview to take place when it did, as he has asked for time to consult to talk to his lawyers and figure out what was going on. Not on the basis that he didn’t breach the rules.
Of course someone without his resources would already be out of the country. Nobody would have cared about their due process rights. The rich and famous win again.
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Good guy ...
Djokovic Admits False Statement on Australia Travel Document
The tennis star also said he had participated in an interview and a photo shoot even after testing positive for the coronavirus, in an apparent violation of rules in his native Serbia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/world/asia/novak-djokovic-covid-statement.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220112&instance_id=50066&nl=the-morning®i_id=108420427&segment_id=79432&te=1&user_id=d36dcf821462fdd16ec3636710a855fa
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Blaming his agent for false statements on his travel declaration. Violating Serbia’s isolation protocol. Questions about his test result.
What a guy!
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Djokovic could have gotten vaccinated, that’s on him. Craig Tiley (Tennis Australia) said he could play with a recent positive COVID-19 test as a medical exemption. Tiley has a history of overpromising. That’s on him. Tiley is otherwise well liked by players as a very good long time AO Tennis Director, one of the most popular places to play.
The sport, any sport, will always be bigger than any one player. I’m more interested in the actual tennis thus far, the 5 title winners etc…Anisimova, Barty, Monfils, Nadal, Halep.
20 year old American Amanda Anisimova wins her first title in a few years, since her father and coach u expectedly passed away. Has top 10 talent. Now working with Darren Cahill.
17 year old Coco Gauff taking World Number 1 the distance before falling in 3 sets. She was the only player to break Barty’s serve. Barty won both singles and doubles. She’s won 11 of the last 32 tourneys she has entered. At almost 35%, the next best is 17%.
Career high rankings for Americans Shelby Rogers 35, and Ann Li 44.
Canada wins the ATP Cup. Felix Auger Aliassime back in the top 10.
Despite annual tourney entry age restrictions, (for being under 18) 17 year old American Coco Gauff has reached her 10th WTA Quarterfinal at Adelaide 2. No WTA World Top 10 player did this before age 20. And, only two, did it at age 20. (Muguruza and Sabalenka).
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Djokovic’s visa cancelled again.
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Djokovic’s visa cancelled again.
It's going to be interesting to see how this impacts his legacy. I think all the other GS tournaments require vaccinations? I dunno for sure. It seems like he misled the authorities in Australia. The best result of course would be he no longer plays and Rafa picks up 2 or 3 more GS titles. 😀
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His flouting of basic Covid- positive regulations and submitting false information on his immigration form highlight his ‘I get to do what I want with no repercussion’ attitude. Plus if this stands up in court he could be barred for three years from Australia. Plus many countries ask if you’ve ever been denied a visa or had one cancelled on their visa applications.
There is no right to be allowed into any country other than your own. I have zero sympathy.
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It's going to be interesting to see how this impacts his legacy. I think all the other GS tournaments require vaccinations? I dunno for sure. It seems like he misled the authorities in Australia. The best result of course would be he no longer plays and Rafa picks up 2 or 3 more GS titles. 😀
His legacy will be fine. Plenty of the best athletes in countless sports had public bouts of douchebaggery or worse. 10-20 years from now all that will be remembered is that he is the all time leader in majors, which I think he does comfortably even if he never enters Australia again.
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It's going to be interesting to see how this impacts his legacy. I think all the other GS tournaments require vaccinations? I dunno for sure. It seems like he misled the authorities in Australia. The best result of course would be he no longer plays and Rafa picks up 2 or 3 more GS titles. 😀
It will be fine - just as Rodgers' legacy will be fine. Time passes. people forget.
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Djoker loses appeal. Who gets to 21 first?
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/17/french-open-in-doubt-for-unvaccinated-novak-djokovic-as-france-passes-strict-covid-fighting-law/?sh=64ae846851a0
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/01/17/french-open-in-doubt-for-unvaccinated-novak-djokovic-as-france-passes-strict-covid-fighting-law/?sh=64ae846851a0
"WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Rule changes, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. It’s possible France’s vaccine pass requirements will have been lifted by the time the tournament comes around in late May. At the moment, the Serbian national can play Wimbledon in June as English rules permit unvaccinated people to travel if they test negative after arrival and quarantine for ten days. Djokovic may find entry for the U.S. Open in August tougher owing to the country’s vaccine requirements, for which there are only very limited exemptions."
Uh...or he could just get vaccinated.
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Didn't miss him. I enjoyed watching Rafa and the rest of the players who don't try to skirt the rules.
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From The Athletic:
After the vaccination brouhaha in Melbourne, Australia, Novak Djokovic is in danger of missing the French Open in May, too, after France’s parliament passed a law requiring vaccination for anyone attending stadiums, theaters or lounges. The French Sports Ministry confirmed Monday that no exemptions will be made.
The only way Djokovic can play is if the restrictions loosen by May or he gets vaccinated.
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Great third-round win for Rafa over the very capable Kachanov. Rafa is moving great and playing very well on his least-favorite surface. Even without Djokovic, it would still be an incredible achievement for Rafa to win his second Aussie Open.
For the women, defending champ Naomi Osaka is out, losing a third-set tiebreaker to unseeded American Amanda Anisimova.
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Djoker out for the foreseeable future, and Osaka loses in the third round.
Great tennis day.
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Amanda Anisimova may be unseeded but she’s a top 10 talent.
She was top 100 at age 17. (For perspective Coco Gauff is the only 17 year old in the current top 200, ranked 16th)
She had a strong Junior background with coach Nick Saviano. She was a former Junior World Number 2 player. She defeated fellow American Coco Gauff in the U.S. Open Junior final. (She’s 3 years older than Gauff)
She reached number 21 in the world on the Women’s professional tour. And then her dad and coach died of a heart attack at age 52 a week before the U.S. Open.
So, it’s taken her a long, a couple of years, of grieving, a pandemic, other things, to give it fair go again. She added Darren Cahill this year as a coach which is a good fit for her. She won the Melbourne Title before the Australian Open.
46 winners to Osaka’s 21. Two great players who both played a great match.
Round of 16 she gets Ash Barty next, an in form, number 1 ranked player in the world.
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Incredible first-set tiebreak between Rafa and Mannarino.
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When Monfils is "on" he is without a doubt the most entertaining tennis player on the ATP.
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Zverev got thumped. He looked upset.
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After Rafa won that incredible tiebreak, with some absolutely amazing shotmaking as if he were 20 again, he imposed his will to win the next two sets easily. Still hard to see him winning this, but hey, it's possible!
Barty in straight sets over unseeded American Amanda Anisimova.
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He still super young, he has some seasoning to do, and his most appealing quality (his guns blazing fearlessness) is often his downfall…but man I want to see see Shapo put it all together. He’s so much fun to watch. Lefty, one handed backhand, loves a jumping backhand, volatile, he’s a delight. Also, a Israeli born Russian who grew up in Canada and lives in the Bahamas? That’s tennis in a nutshell.
Also, he’s not my guy but credit to Rafa for settling in and controlling set 5 after Shapo was on the war path
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Medvy coukd be a problem for Rafa. I expect Shapo to get a GS title or two.
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Great tourney for Amanda Anisimova. After winning a title, she took out the Olympic Gold Medalist, the defending AO Champion, and, broke Ash Barty’s 63 game game service hold streak. (No player has won as many games vs Barty in the tourney as Barty moves into the semifinals vs Keys)
Speaking of Madison Keys, technical and tactical adjustments, plus fitness, and she’s been a different player this year. Better ball shaping and point crafting. She’s already going to move from a 70 plus ranking to inside the top 30. She has a title, won a close 3 setter in the match of the year so far with Gauff, and she gets Barty on the semis. Part of tennis is playing in middle of the day heat, something that doesn’t bother Keys as much as some others.
5th slam semifinal for Keys. 2 top 10 wins already. 4th slam semifinal for Barty who is trying to win her home country tourney for the first time. She does everything just a little bit better than everyone else.
Two time NCAA singles champion at UVA, Danielle Collins, is seeking her 2nd slam semifinals.
A 20 year old (Swiatek) vs a 36 (Kanepi) year old round out the quarters.
Taylor Fritz made his first round of 16 before falling in 5 close sets to Tsitsipas.
Rajeev Ram is seeking his 3rd slam doubles title in his 8th quarterfinal.
Fountain of youth for Gael Monfils to the quarters.
Berrettini and Nadal advancing to the semis.
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He still super young, he has some seasoning to do, and his most appealing quality (his guns blazing fearlessness) is often his downfall…but man I want to see see Shapo put it all together. He’s so much fun to watch. Lefty, one handed backhand, loves a jumping backhand, volatile, he’s a delight. Also, a Israeli born Russian who grew up in Canada and lives in the Bahamas? That’s tennis in a nutshell.
Also, he’s not my guy but credit to Rafa for settling in and controlling set 5 after Shapo was on the war path
Shapovalov obviously has some growing up to do, but then again most 22-year-olds do. I agree with Gilbert on the areas of the game he needs to improve. But you're right, Wags, he has a chance to be really really good.
Rafa is my guy, and that was quite a match for him. He was in total control in the first two sets, his forehand looked better than ever; and he really composed himself in the 5th after dropping 2 sets. Overall, what's been most impressive to me is how much he has improved his serve since he turned, say, 32 or 33 years old. It's actually a weapon for him now. He won't blow anybody away with it like Isner, but he keeps his opponent on edge and sets himself up for so many winners with it.
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The combination of Rafa playing exceptionally well and Berrettini looking out of sorts gave Rafa a walk in the park to a 2-set lead. Berrettini finally started playing better and took the 3rd set, but as usual Rafa rose to the challenge to win in 4.
I didn't see Medvedev beat Tsitsipas but not too surprised Medvedev win. He'll be favored to beat Rafa, I'm guessing.
If Rafa finds a way to play his best game, he could make history. It would be truly amazing if this 35-year-old wonder can win Major #21 on his least favorite surface against the best young player in men's tennis.
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In the “Open era.” (since 1968), an American Woman has reached a Grand Slam Final every year except one. (2006).
28 year old Danielle Collins makes it 16 straight years.
A Florida Public courts made youngster, 3 time Junior State Champion, two time NCAA Champion (Virginia) Danielle Collins is seeking her first Grand Slam Title. Now, a top 10 player. And, she had endometriosis surgery just last year to remove a painful cyst the size of a tennis ball.
Ash Barty does many things just a little bit better than most other players on tour. Seeking her long awaited, and first home Australia Grand Slam Single Title. Will any player win more games off of her than American Amanda Anisimova? So far, that answer is no.
Barty chose to sit out 2020 season during the Pandemic. She played 2021 without ever returning to Australia until the end of the year. Seeking her 3rd Grand Slam Title.
An all Australia Men’s Doubles Final of Kyrgios/Kakkinakis v Ebden/Purcell.
15 year old Washington D.C. native Clervie Ngounoue has won the Australian Open Junior Doubles Title with partner Diana Shnaider.
Rafa Nadal and Daniil Medvedev also advance to the Men’s Singles Final over Berrettini and Tsitsipas.
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Indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong won the French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open in order as her first major titles in the 1970's.
Fellow Indigenous Austrlain Ash Barty has now won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the Australian Open in order as her first three major titles. She comes back from down 1-5 in the 2nd set against Danielle Collins. (3 straight AO finals with Americans. 2 straight with former college players)
The only other active player to win majors on 3 different surfaces is Serena Williams.
Felllw Australians Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkankis win the Men's Doubles title.
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Anytime Collins would start to make any kind of move, Barty would respond with brilliant shotmaking.
Deserving champion for sure, and I'm glad she got to be celebrated at home.
Go Rafa!
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Medvy is starting to let the pro-Rafa crowd get to him. If this goes to a 4th set you just never know.....vamos Rafa!
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Medvy is starting to let the pro-Rafa crowd get to him. If this goes to a 4th set you just never know.....vamos Rafa!
Rafa looks like he’s got a spring in his step. Not sure it can last for 2 more sets.
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He seems to be going to the drop shot a lot. Absolute must hold here.
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Oh....wow. This just got more interesting.
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Damn. I just can't see Rafa pulling this off. Loose game after getting a gift break.
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Uhh.....BAM!! VAMOS, VAMOS, VAMOS!!!
Man I hope he pulls this off.
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I’m shocked this is going 5. Let’s hope Rafa pulls it out.
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I’m shocked this is going 5. Let’s hope Rafa pulls it out.
I'm stunned as well. Medvedev was in complete control.
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Sweet Jesus!! Rafa with a brutal service game up 5-4.
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Ugh. Just like the Djokovic match awhile ago.
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Time for Rafa to slam the door here.
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KABOOM!!
21
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Really did not see that one going his way.
So awesome!
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Wow ... just wow.
An amazing comeback for the greatest player in the history of tennis, and one of the most accomplished athletes the world has ever seen.
That is all. Just wow.
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Wow ... just wow.
An amazing comeback for the greatest player in the history of tennis, and one of the most accomplished athletes the world has ever seen.
That is all. Just wow.
Medvy is really likable but Rafa's will to win and competitive spirit is as good as we have ever seen in the history of sports. I believe Daniil will be sleeping poorly this evening for not unloading on his serve more often. He was able to dictate the majority of the points but got too tentative when he had chances to thwack winners.
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Medvy is really likable but Rafa's will to win and competitive spirit is as good as we have ever seen in the history of sports. I believe Daniil will be sleeping poorly this evening for not unloading on his serve more often. He was able to dictate the majority of the points but got too tentative when he had chances to thwack winners.
Agree with all that, Muggs. I thought Rafa blew it when he couldn't win the second set after getting up a break, and I surely thought he blew it in the 5th when he failed to close it out on his serve up 5-4. But he made all the shots that mattered in the next two games -- and, for that matter, in 3 sets in a row. He probably had a half-dozen winners that I thought were as good as any shots he had ever hit ... and that's saying something!
35 effen years old, still moves incredibly, so smart now in that he doesn't wear himself out on less important points and/or points he has 1% chance of winning, has improved his serve so much in his 30s, way underrated backhand, a wizard at the net.
This has gotten me psyched for the whuppin' we're about to put on The Provi!
I really never thought Rafa would pass Roger ... 21 majors ... what can you say?
Well, here's one more thing I can say as one of the biggest Rafa fans out there ...
Thanks Novak for being a dirtbag, a conspiracy theorist, an anti-vaxxer and a liar!
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Agree with all that, Muggs. I thought Rafa blew it when he couldn't win the second set after getting up a break, and I surely thought he blew it in the 5th when he failed to close it out on his serve up 5-4. But he made all the shots that mattered in the next two games -- and, for that matter, in 3 sets in a row. He probably had a half-dozen winners that I thought were as good as any shots he had ever hit ... and that's saying something!
35 effen years old, still moves incredibly, so smart now in that he doesn't wear himself out on less important points and/or points he has 1% chance of winning, has improved his serve so much in his 30s, way underrated backhand, a wizard at the net.
This has gotten me psyched for the whuppin' we're about to put on The Provi!
I really never thought Rafa would pass Roger ... 21 majors ... what can you say?
Well, here's one more thing I can say as one of the biggest Rafa fans out there ...
Thanks Novak for being a dirtbag, a conspiracy theorist, an anti-vaxxer and a liar!
Djoker would have changed the draw I suppose but I feel the scrutiny would have worn him down mentally. The two best players this fortnight played an epic final and the sport did not miss Djoker. As for Medvedev I feel he'll win a bunch more majors. Particularly in New York and Melbourne. He has sneaky power and incredible movement for a man his size. He got a bit off the strengths of his game and he lost momentum today.
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Djoker would have changed the draw I suppose but I feel the scrutiny would have worn him down mentally. The two best players this fortnight played an epic final and the sport did not miss Djoker. As for Medvedev I feel he'll win a bunch more majors. Particularly in New York and Melbourne. He has sneaky power and incredible movement for a man his size. He got a bit off the strengths of his game and he lost momentum today.
I've been very impressed with Medvedev's touch on drop shots and volleys, and as you said he has the rest of the game. He's young so probably not quite as strong mentally as a guy like Rafa. It takes time to get there.
If I'm to be objective, I'd say he and Djokovic have to be the two best all-around players in the world today. But if Rafa's healthy and on, he's right there. That's The Big 3 for the moment. We'll see how many moments Novak lets himself have in 2022, because as of this moment, he wouldn't be allowed to play in France or Flushing Meadows, either.
And you're right ... after the initial realization that he wasn't gonna play, he really wasn't missed Down Under.
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I've been very impressed with Medvedev's touch on drop shots and volleys, and as you said he has the rest of the game. He's young so probably not quite as strong mentally as a guy like Rafa. It takes time to get there.
If I'm to be objective, I'd say he and Djokovic have to be the two best all-around players in the world today. But if Rafa's healthy and on, he's right there. That's The Big 3 for the moment. We'll see how many moments Novak lets himself have in 2022, because as of this moment, he wouldn't be allowed to play in France or Flushing Meadows, either.
And you're right ... after the initial realization that he wasn't gonna play, he really wasn't missed Down Under.
Medvy is one of the few guys I have seen dictate play against Djoker on a hard court. He has a bigger serve and needs to uncork it more imo. He also occasionally doesn't come in and end points when he should. The bottom line is he has the game, and maybe Zverev does as well. Mentally however both Rafa and Novak are extraordinary. All I'm saying is if I was 6'6 I would be bombing serves and playing 1st attack tennis.
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Medvy is one of the few guys I have seen dictate play against Djoker on a hard court. He has a bigger serve and needs to uncork it more imo. He also occasionally doesn't come in and end points when he should. The bottom line is he has the game, and maybe Zverev does as well. Mentally however both Rafa and Novak are extraordinary. All I'm saying is if I was 6'6 I would be bombing serves and playing 1st attack tennis.
Well, you're at least 4'6, so you got that goin' for ya!
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Well, you're at least 4'6, so you got that goin' for ya!
4'6? Let's not go overboard.
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Roger on Rafa:
“A few months ago we were joking about both being on crutches. Amazing. Never underestimate a great champion. Your incredible work ethic, dedication and fighting spirit are an inspiration to me and countless others around the world.”
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So now Djokovic is getting vaccinated?
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So now Djokovic is getting vaccinated?
If so, good. I'd love to see him challenge Rafa again in Paris.
Here's hoping he's not lying this time.
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So now Djokovic is getting vaccinated?
is he's getting "immunized" and people are reading vaccination?
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One of the all time greats on and off of the court, Juan Martin Del Potro announced he is likely to retire after Buenos Aires and Rio.
The popular gentle giant has 22 Titles, a Grand Slam Title, Davis Cup Title, Olympic Silver and Bronze. 7 different years ranked in the top 11 or better. First player to defeat Federer and Nadal in the dame major. Only player to win a major other than Federer, Nadal, Djokovic to win a major during an 8 year period.
Few things more enjoyable in tennis than crowd gasps at the crack of his forehand, or a night Delpo match at the grandstand at Corona Park.
Multiple wrist injuries, and surgeries, going back 11 years. 4 different knee surgeries since his knee fracture.
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Very good player, and I liked watching him play. Obviously not an "all-time great," though, as anybody who even casually follows tennis could immediate name a dozen male players better than Del Potro.
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Very good player, and I liked watching him play. Obviously not an "all-time great," though, as anybody who even casually follows tennis could immediate name a dozen male players better than Del Potro.
Lol.
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Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Sampras, Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Agassi, Laver, Lendl, Wilander, Courier, Edberg, Emerson, Murray, Newcombe, Rosewall.
For starters.
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I think you are confusing great player with best player of all time. (something that doesn’t exist) Of course he was a great player in his era, which of course, makes him an all time great player.
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I think you are confusing great player with best player of all time. (something that doesn’t exist) Of course he was a great player in his era, which of course, makes him an all time great player.
You wrote "one of the all time greats" not "great" player. Now if that's the case what exactly is your criteria? GS wins? Titles? World Ranking? If your contention is "one of the all-ime greats" means one of the 100 or so best players? Maybe. But I think the number is probably more exclusive in tennis or at least it's perceived that way.
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You wrote "one of the all time greats" not "great" player. Now if that's the case what exactly is your criteria? GS wins? Titles? World Ranking? If your contention is "one of the all-ime greats" means one of the 100 or so best players? Maybe. But I think the number is probably more exclusive in tennis or at least it's perceived that way.
Again, you also seem to be confusing best of all time with all time great players.
Are Hall of Fame tennis players all time great players for example? Yes.
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I guess if a person can beat shoot in tennis, he or she is an all-time great.
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I guess if a person can beat shoot in tennis, he or she is an all-time great.
You're deflecting.
The subject was whether or not Delpo is an all time great professional tennis player. You two confused that with a different subject of whether or not he is one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
I even used the example of the Tennis Hall of Fame to try to help show the difference between the two subjects. Is Andy Roddick an all time great tennis player? Yes. Is a baseball Hall of Famer an all time great baseball player? Yes.
It's pretty surprising to be discussing whether or not Delpo is an all time great tennis player. That one seems pretty obvious based on both his body or work, and, watching him play.
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Again, you also seem to be confusing best of all time with all time great players.
Are Hall of Fame tennis players all time great players for example? Yes.
The Shoothoops Tennis Hall of Fame is the only one I can find that includes Del Potro as a member.
Vilas is the only male Argentine in the Hall. There's another player who was better than your all-time great. And Roddick, whom I forgot, there's another, so thanks for bringing him up. And Ashe. And ...
I said I could name a dozen off the top of my head better than Del Potro. You followed with an Lol, so I quickly named 17 -- and I didn't even include Vilas, Roddick and Ashe. So then you bring up the Hall ... which your all-time great isn't in.
But sure, my friend, define "all-time great" however you want. I'm going to bed.
We Are Marquette!
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The Shoothoops Tennis Hall of Fame is the only one I can find that includes Del Potro as a member.
Vilas is the only male Argentine in the Hall. There's another player who was better than your all-time great. And Roddick, whom I forgot, there's another, so thanks for bringing him up. And Ashe. And ...
I said I could name a dozen off the top of my head better than Del Potro. You followed with an Lol, so I quickly named 17 -- and I didn't even include Vilas, Roddick and Ashe. So then you bring up the Hall ... which your all-time great isn't in.
But sure, my friend, define "all-time great" however you want. I'm going to bed.
We Are Marquette!
You took something simple, made it difficult, then double and tripled down instead of saying you were thinking of something else.
A celebrated tennis great is possibly retiring soon due to 11 years of off and on injuries. Seems simple enough.
You first named some players who have won among the most majors of all time to somehow say that player wasn’t a great player. (Who can forget all of those Roy Emerson matches you watched)
The Tennis Hall of Fame was mentioned to show that players in it are both all time greats, and some, aren’t as high on a most majors won list. (that wasn’t a thing prior to this era)
Yes, I’m aware Delpo isn’t yet in the Tennis Hall of Fame considering he is still an active player. (Feel free to protest when he enters) Sports Hall of Fames were mentioned to point out that there are plenty of all time great players in a variety of sports, (including but not limited to tennis).
I think you’re caught up in the recent phenomenon of counting of majors won as the barometer to define great. Roddick for example, also won just one major, the same one, won a Davis Cup, was top ten for nine years etc…and was fortunate to not have the injury extent of Delpo. He’s a Hall of Famer and an all time great as well.
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You took something simple, made it difficult, then double and tripled down instead of saying you were thinking of something else.
A celebrated tennis great is possibly retiring soon due to 11 years of off and on injuries. Seems simple enough.
You first named some players who have won among the most majors of all time to somehow say that player wasn’t a great player. (Who can forget all of those Roy Emerson matches you watched)
The Tennis Hall of Fame was mentioned to show that players in it are both all time greats, and some, aren’t as high on a most majors won list. (that wasn’t a thing prior to this era)
Yes, I’m aware Delpo isn’t yet in the Tennis Hall of Fame considering he is still an active player. (Feel free to protest when he enters) Sports Hall of Fames were mentioned to point out that there are plenty of all time great players in a variety of sports, (including but not limited to tennis).
I think you’re caught up in the recent phenomenon of counting of majors won as the barometer to define great. Roddick for example, also won just one major, the same one, won a Davis Cup, was top ten for nine years etc…and was fortunate to not have the injury extent of Delpo. He’s a Hall of Famer and an all time great as well.
I think this is debatable and your criteria is being presented as fact. The Hall of Fame in an individual sport like tennis is much different than say basketball or football. But when you write "one of the all time greats" it connotes an elite list of players, not 100 or so players.
Now in Delpo's case he suffered a lot of injuries but won 1 GS and made two GS semis. It seems to me part of the criteria has to be one GS title in singles? Or do you include doubles as well? Are the Bryan brothers all-time greats? My take is in lieu of excoriating MU82 you should perhaps lay out your own personal criteria and look at various players from different eras. But I will tell you this: most would not agree with your statement that Delpo is "one of the all-time greats" and your defensiveness doesn’t do you any favors supporting your conclusion.
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You took something simple, made it difficult, then double and tripled down instead of saying you were thinking of something else.
A celebrated tennis great is possibly retiring soon due to 11 years of off and on injuries. Seems simple enough.
You first named some players who have won among the most majors of all time to somehow say that player wasn’t a great player. (Who can forget all of those Roy Emerson matches you watched)
The Tennis Hall of Fame was mentioned to show that players in it are both all time greats, and some, aren’t as high on a most majors won list. (that wasn’t a thing prior to this era)
Yes, I’m aware Delpo isn’t yet in the Tennis Hall of Fame considering he is still an active player. (Feel free to protest when he enters) Sports Hall of Fames were mentioned to point out that there are plenty of all time great players in a variety of sports, (including but not limited to tennis).
I think you’re caught up in the recent phenomenon of counting of majors won as the barometer to define great. Roddick for example, also won just one major, the same one, won a Davis Cup, was top ten for nine years etc…and was fortunate to not have the injury extent of Delpo. He’s a Hall of Famer and an all time great as well.
I happen to think there is a difference between "great" and "all-time great." You apparently do not.
Michael Chang was a great tennis player for many years. I happen to not think he was an "all-time great." David Duval was the No. 1 golfer in the world at one time and if not for injuries and other things, who knows how good he could have been? He was great ... but I don't happen to think he was an "all-time great" golfer.
But you're free to categorize "Delpo" anyway you want. Call him the greatest ever for all I care.
I'll say he was a fine tennis player for his time who definitely was not an all-time great, and I'll risk being tsk-tsked by you for all eternity.
What a silly debate this has been. Thankfully, hardly any of our fellow Scoopers bother with this thread, so we haven't ruined anything for anybody.
Enjoy your Sunday.
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I happen to think there is a difference between "great" and "all-time great." You apparently do not.
Michael Chang was a great tennis player for many years. I happen to not think he was an "all-time great." David Duval was the No. 1 golfer in the world at one time and if not for injuries and other things, who knows how good he could have been? He was great ... but I don't happen to think he was an "all-time great" golfer.
But you're free to categorize "Delpo" anyway you want. Call him the greatest ever for all I care.
I'll say he was a fine tennis player for his time who definitely was not an all-time great, and I'll risk being tsk-tsked by you for all eternity.
What a silly debate this has been. Thankfully, hardly any of our fellow Scoopers bother with this thread, so we haven't ruined anything for anybody.
Enjoy your Sunday.
You've both ruined everything for me. What's the actual truth here? :)
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I happen to think there is a difference between "great" and "all-time great." You apparently do not.
Michael Chang was a great tennis player for many years. I happen to not think he was an "all-time great." David Duval was the No. 1 golfer in the world at one time and if not for injuries and other things, who knows how good he could have been? He was great ... but I don't happen to think he was an "all-time great" golfer.
But you're free to categorize "Delpo" anyway you want. Call him the greatest ever for all I care.
I'll say he was a fine tennis player for his time who definitely was not an all-time great, and I'll risk being tsk-tsked by you for all eternity.
What a silly debate this has been. Thankfully, hardly any of our fellow Scoopers bother with this thread, so we haven't ruined anything for anybody.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Michael Chang is in the Tennis Hall of Fame. He was a great player in his era. Therefore, he is an all time great player. Seems simple enough.
There’s more to being great or an all time great than counting slams in tennis.
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I think this is debatable and your criteria is being presented as fact. The Hall of Fame in an individual sport like tennis is much different than say basketball or football. But when you write "one of the all time greats" it connotes an elite list of players, not 100 or so players.
Now in Delpo's case he suffered a lot of injuries but won 1 GS and made two GS semis. It seems to me part of the criteria has to be one GS title in singles? Or do you include doubles as well? Are the Bryan brothers all-time greats? My take is in lieu of excoriating MU82 you should perhaps lay out your own personal criteria and look at various players from different eras. But I will tell you this: most would not agree with your statement that Delpo is "one of the all-time greats" and your defensiveness doesn’t do you any favors supporting your conclusion.
Even here you are somewhat preoccupied with slam counting. I am very aware it’s a very common thing in tennis (or golf) to do that these days.
Some people can’t rest until they somehow decipher the single greatest player of all time. I understand.
MU82 first defined all time tennis greats as those with the most slams according to his examples, including some that didn’t even play in the “Open era.” This is even though players play under much different circumstances in different eras.
It’s seems a bit contradictory to say player xyz is a great player in his or her era. But oh by the way that same player is not an all time great. Of course they are.
It’s not being able to see the forest for the trees. It’s being unnecessarily pedantic. There are many all time great players in a wide variety of sports. I think its a preoccupation with terms such as goat etc…(which doesn’t exist).
I’ve already posted several of Delpo’s achievements.
It’s silly to me that a HOF player in a sport isn’t considered an all time great player.
Perhaps I’m just less stingy or more positive. But I also like sports in totality, Men, Women, various levels of a sport.
But it doesn’t seem all that challenging to me to say Delpo was a great player and therefore an all time great.
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Good lord
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The Mardy Fish episode of the Untold Docuseries is pretty good.
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The Mardy Fish episode of the Untold Docuseries is pretty good.
Yes it is.
https://twitter.com/netflix/status/1438283790103678979?s=21
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Djokovic says he won’t get vaccinated, even if it means he can’t play in any majors.
Good. More for Rafa.
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Two Top 20 WTA Singles Players, Coco Gauff and Jessie Pegula, win the WTA Doha 1000 Doubles Title.
The win moves Gauff individually to top 10 in the World in doubles, after finishing 6th in the World last year as a doubles team with Caty McNally.
Gauff was also a singles quarterfinalist, picking up her 4th World top 4 singles win, along the way. She’ll turn 18 next month. Pegula turned 28 this week.
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Naomi Osaka brought to tears by heckler during loss at Indian Wells
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/03/13/naomi-osaka-indian-wells/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F364f580%2F622e11de9d2fda34e7ce760d%2F5f8d147cae7e8a56e5b732a4%2F50%2F70%2F622e11de9d2fda34e7ce760d
Sad. I feel for this young woman.
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Naomi Osaka brought to tears by heckler during loss at Indian Wells
...
Sad. I feel for this young woman.
I do too - she really seems to be in a bad place right now. From what I saw, the heckler just yelled "You suck!" and the heckler was then jeered by the rest of the crowd, presumably in support of Osaka. That triggered her to want to get on the microphone in the middle of the match, it seems like fall apart during the match, and then be reduced to tears afterward. All that from a pretty lame and one-off heckler.
She said that she had gotten deep into the Williams sisters past mistreatment at Indian Wells. It seems like she's in that tough spot where she's kind of meta-afraid of her mental health struggles, and hyper vigilant for the next trigger which basically guarantees she'll find it. Here's hoping she continues to get some help and take the rest she needs.
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Naomi Osaka brought to tears by heckler during loss at Indian Wells
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/03/13/naomi-osaka-indian-wells/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F364f580%2F622e11de9d2fda34e7ce760d%2F5f8d147cae7e8a56e5b732a4%2F50%2F70%2F622e11de9d2fda34e7ce760d
Sad. I feel for this young woman.
God forbid she reads an muscoop game thread.
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This is not meant to be overly harsh to Osaka, but I just don’t think she has what it takes, off the court, to be an enduring superstar. She’s an incredible player, a seemingly good person, and can be pretty charismatic/marketable, but there is a thick skin and edge that you need to stay on top and afloat, especially in a cutthroat individual sport.
Vile racial heckling or completely inappropriate questioning/inquiries aside, you have to shake off a lot of it or just tune it out, and she’s seemed to really struggle with that over the last few years. It can be learned, and maybe she will, I hope for her sake she does, but you can’t lose it every time someone says you suck or a reporter needles you in a way you don’t love.
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I do too - she really seems to be in a bad place right now. From what I saw, the heckler just yelled "You suck!" and the heckler was then jeered by the rest of the crowd, presumably in support of Osaka. That triggered her to want to get on the microphone in the middle of the match, it seems like fall apart during the match, and then be reduced to tears afterward. All that from a pretty lame and one-off heckler.
She said that she had gotten deep into the Williams sisters past mistreatment at Indian Wells. It seems like she's in that tough spot where she's kind of meta-afraid of her mental health struggles, and hyper vigilant for the next trigger which basically guarantees she'll find it. Here's hoping she continues to get some help and take the rest she needs.
Congratulations to Veronika Kudermetova, a top 25 World Ranked player who was the better player last night, heckler or heckler, and, who played lights out tennis. Very deserving of moving forward.
I am a big mental, emotional, and physical health advocate. I can certainly empathize with several things with regards to Osaka, especially some of those from her childhood. I am all for the prioritization of doing everything to help yourself from a tour standpoint and a private standpoint, to get into as good of a place as possible with all of those 3 things.
Osaka has played very few matches in about 6 months. And, this is the 5th biggest event on tour. The Women’s game is refreshingly very deep with lots and lots of players capable of winning and going far events. She’s lost in the round of 32 of her last 3 biggest events. Things get pretty challenging at that level.
Losing is a big part of sports. There’s zero reason why Osaka can’t continue to be very successful as one of the tour’s best players for a very long time.
Kudermetova next plays Marie Bouzkova, who defeated Jessie Pegula in 3 sets.
Lots and lots and lots of great matches and stories at Indian Wells this year. It’s been a lot of fun.
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This is not meant to be overly harsh to Osaka, but I just don’t think she has what it takes, off the court, to be an enduring superstar. She’s an incredible player, a seemingly good person, and can be pretty charismatic/marketable, but there is a thick skin and edge that you need to stay on top and afloat, especially in a cutthroat individual sport.
Vile racial heckling or completely inappropriate questioning/inquiries aside, you have to shake off a lot of it or just tune it out, and she’s seemed to really struggle with that over the last few years. It can be learned, and maybe she will, I hope for her sake she does, but you can’t lose it every time someone says you suck or a reporter needles you in a way you don’t love.
Or you know, people could just be decent.
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Or you know, people could just be decent.
There are a lack of decent people in all phases of life, normal or celebrity. Learning how to deal with them or disregard them is a part of life, even moreso in the bright lights of superstardom and fame. I never said she was weak or a loser or a crybaby, just that she might not have what it takes to handle everything off the court. I think she needs to prioritize her mental health and her emotional well being and hopefully the rest sorts itself out.
Its not being an a** to say simply chalking up to "well that person was mean/rude/unfair" is unrealistic, this isn't kids sports, when she's far from the first or last person in her position to deal with such things. Its a great opportunity to talk about mental health and the humanity/sensitivities of athletes without just acting like everything would be fine if people were nice.
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Or you know, people could just be decent.
Someone said "you suck" after she lost 6-0. Ive had way worse thrown at me as an amatuer highschool player.
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Taylor Fritz becomes the first American male to win the men's singles title at Indian Wells (5th biggest tourney in the world) since Andre Agassi in 2001.
6-3, 7-6 over Rafa Nadal. He defeated four seeded players along the way including three in the top ten. Spectacular play, including in the final on.a bad ankle.
The win moves him to 13 in the ATP World Rankings.
Jack Sock/John Isner win the men's doubles title.
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Apparently Ashleigh Barty is retiring from tennis. Pretty shocking, she probably would have won 10 gs titles or more.
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Apparently Ashleigh Barty is retiring from tennis. Pretty shocking, she probably would have won 10 gs titles or more.
Not everyone plays to count slams. She accomplished everything she wanted to do in tennis. She has other personal and professional interests.
It isn’t the first time she has left. She previously left tennis for almost two years when she was younger, and she played cricket.
She’s getting married and she isn’t interested in spending that much time outside of Australia any time soon.
She could always come back down the road after an extended break like Clijsters, or not like Henin. She does what she likes and wants regardless of public opinion, and, she also happens to be one of the nicest people on tour that does a lot for others.
Good for her.
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Not everyone plays to count slams. She accomplished everything she wanted to do in tennis. She has other personal and professional interests.
It isn’t the first time she has left. She previously left tennis for almost two years when she was younger, and she played cricket.
She’s getting married and she isn’t interested in spending that much time outside of Australia any time soon.
She could always come back down the road after an extended break like Clijsters, or not like Henin. She does what she likes and wants regardless of public opinion, and, she also happens to be one of the nicest people on tour that does a lot for others.
Good for her.
"Not everyone plays to count slams". That's because so few people are capable of winning slams. It's a surprising decision for a woman on top of her game and very capable of dominating the sport. Borg burned out at 25 but had 11 gs titles. Of course she can do what she wants and is very well liked, that's irrelevant. That doesn't mean you know her personally or have any idea why she made this decision. I'm not criticizing her at all but the fact is it's surprising. That's all I'm saying.
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"Not everyone plays to count slams". That's because so few people are capable of winning slams. It's a surprising decision for a woman on top of her game and very capable of dominating the sport. Borg burned out at 25 but had 11 gs titles. Of course she can do what she wants and is very well liked, that's irrelevant. That doesn't mean you know her personally or have any idea why she made this decision. I'm not criticizing her at all but the fact is it's surprising, that's all I'm saying.
Clearly she's capable of winning slams, having done it on 3 surfaces. And she's one of 5 players who have finished 3 consecutive years at number 1.
She has said why she is making this decison. And yes, I do have personal experience with her.
It's difficult for you to understand a top player who doesn't play to count slams. There's a lot more to the sport than that. It wasn't even a thing until Sampras close to breaking the record.
There are dozens of Women's players capable of winning slams. 23 different players have won a slam since in the last decade. There are lots of great players.
You said it was shocking and the only other thing you added is that she could have gone on to win 10 more slams. I then said not everyone plays to count slams including some that can and do win them. And some have other interests too. She's very self aware.
Her style of play, and quality will be missed.
She's one of the all time great players. She appears happy.
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Clearly she's capable of winning slams, having done it on 3 surfaces. And she's one of 5 players who have finished 3 consecutive years at number 1.
She has said why she is making this decison. And yes, I do have personal experience with her.
It's difficult for you to understand a top player who doesn't play to count slams. There's a lot more to the sport than that. It wasn't even a thing until Sampras close to breaking the record.
There are dozens of Women's players capable of winning slams. 23 different players have won a slam since in the last decade. There are lots of great players.
You said it was shocking and the only other thing you added is that she could have gone on to win 10 more slams. I then said not everyone plays to count slams including some that can and do win them. And some have other interests too. She's very self aware.
Her style of play, and quality will be missed.
She's one of the all time great players. She appears happy.
She'll definitely be missed as she has a complete game with great versatility. It's just unusual for someone to leave a sport they could have dominated for a decade.
And she had plenty of room to get considerably better.
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Marquette’s Jimmy Butler making a latte for WTA current U.S. Open Champion Emma Raducanu at the Miami Open.
“Big Face Coffee” is the official coffee sponsor of this week’s Miami Open, one of the 9 biggest non major events on tour.
https://twitter.com/wta/status/1506710555461136385?s=21
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Boris Becker is going to jail for 2 and 1/2 years
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10767757/Boris-Becker-sentencing-Tennis-star-jailed-two-years-bankruptcy-offences.html
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Boris Becker is going to jail for 2 and 1/2 years
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10767757/Boris-Becker-sentencing-Tennis-star-jailed-two-years-bankruptcy-offences.html
Wow!
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Uhhhh......Bam? Double Bam?? This Alcaraz kid is coming. He just beat the Djoker after taking out Nadal at the Madrid Open. He turned 19 years old a few days ago.
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Uhhhh......Bam? Double Bam?? This Alcaraz kid is coming. He just beat the Djoker after taking out Nadal at the Madrid Open. He turned 19 years old a few days ago.
First player to beat Rafa and Novak in consecutive matches in 12 years.
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It’s good to see Carlos Alcaraz put it together after his loss to Sebi Korda recently in Monte Carlo.
Ons Jabeur became the first WTA Arab and African player to win a WTA 1000 event.
Iga Swiatek became the 4th WTA player to win the Sunshine Double. (Indian Wells and Miami)
Jess Pegula just missed a top 10 World Ranking by falling in the WTA Madrid Final. 3 American Women in the top 15)
She has made the Round of 16 in 10 of her last 11 events. (Only Iga Swiatek (29) has won more WTA 1000 matches the past two years than Pegula (28).
Paula Badosa is now ranked number 2 in the world.
Taylor Townsend won the singles title in her first tourney since maternity leave.
Coco Gauff is ranked in the top 15 in doubles with two different players.
Jon Isner won the Sunshine Doubles titles with two different partners.
Taylor Fritz won Indian Wells is now ranked 13th in the World.
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It’s good to see Carlos Alcaraz put it together after his loss to Sebi Korda recently in Monte Carlo.
Ons Jabeur became the first WTA Arab and African player to win a WTA 1000 event.
I see he destroyed Zverev. Not a shabby tournament for the young man.
Iga Swiatek became the 4th WTA player to win the Sunshine Double. (Indian Wells and Miami)
Jess Pegula just missed a top 10 World Ranking by falling in the WTA Madrid Final. 3 American Women in the top 15)
She has made the Round of 16 in 10 of her last 11 events. (Only Iga Swiatek (29) has won more WTA 1000 matches the past two years than Pegula (28).
Paula Badosa is now ranked number 2 in the world.
Taylor Townsend won the singles title in her first tourney since maternity leave.
Coco Gauff is ranked in the top 15 in doubles with two different players.
Jon Isner won the Sunshine Doubles titles with two different partners.
Taylor Fritz won Indian Wells is now ranked 13th in the World.
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It isn't just a one off tourney for Alacaraz. He's around to stay at the age of 19.
He'll skip Rome for Paris.
Drop shot clinic between the two Madrid Title winners Jabeur and Alcaraz.
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It isn't just a one off tourney for Alacaraz. He's around to stay at the age of 19.
He'll skip Rome for Paris.
Drop shot clinic between the two Madrid Title winners Jabeur and Alcaraz.
Nice. I enjoy the drop shot. Very difficult to execute consistently. I assume Zverev was pissed.
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On court after the match, Zverev told Alcaraz:
"I want to congratulate Carlitos. Right now you are the best player in the world. It is great for tennis that we have such a new superstar that is going to win so many grand slams, that is going to be world number one and I think is going to win this tournament many more times."
I think it'll be great, too. As much as I've loved watching Fetterer, Djokovic and especially Rafa dominate men's tennis these last 2 decades, it's time for some others to step up. And that doesn't mean occasionally pulling off an upset, it means taking the baton. We'll see if Alcaraz can do it.
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On court after the match, Zverev told Alcaraz:
"I want to congratulate Carlitos. Right now you are the best player in the world. It is great for tennis that we have such a new superstar that is going to win so many grand slams, that is going to be world number one and I think is going to win this tournament many more times."
I think it'll be great, too. As much as I've loved watching Fetterer, Djokovic and especially Rafa dominate men's tennis these last 2 decades, it's time for some others to step up. And that doesn't mean occasionally pulling off an upset, it means taking the baton. We'll see if Alcaraz can do it.
Zverev got throttled and he has shown poor sportsmanship in the past.
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Zverev got throttled and he has shown poor sportsmanship in the past.
Zverev's a pretender. Perhaps Alcaraz will be the real deal.
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Zverev's a pretender. Perhaps Alcaraz will be the real deal.
I haven't seem Alcaraz play that much. I woukd think his best surface is clay right now? How's his pop on his serve? I wish Rafa could play another 10 yrs but obviously that's not realistic.
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I haven't seem Alcaraz play that much. I woukd think his best surface is clay right now? How's his pop on his serve? I wish Rafa could play another 10 yrs but obviously that's not realistic.
I know little about him except the few highlights I’ve seen. Looking forward to watch him at Roland Garros.
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It isn't just a one off tourney for Alacaraz. He's around to stay at the age of 19.
He'll skip Rome for Paris.
Drop shot clinic between the two Madrid Title winners Jabeur and Alcaraz.
No one has won more ATP matches thus far this season that Alacaraz. (28) After making the U.S. Open Quarterfinals last year, he has won Miami, Barcelona, Madrid. He’s now ranked 6th in the world.
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French Open is underway.
Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz are all in the top half of the draw, with Nadal and Djokovic having to meet in the quarterfinals if both get that far.
Battling a foot injury that has been dogging him, Rafa lost to Shapovalov in Rome, and that decision dropped him to the 5th seed -- the lowest the King of Clay and 13-time French Open champion has been seeded since 2013. It also moved him into Djokovic's bracket.
Djokovic won in Rome to claim the top seed at Roland Garros ... and here's a mind-boggling fact:
Not since Andy Roddick was the No. 1 seed at the 2004 Australian Open has the top seed at a Grand Slam been named something other than Nadal, Djokovic, Federer or Murray.
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Dumb question here: Why does Tennis not use the standard seedings of 1 vs 16, 2 vs 5, etc?
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Dumb question here: Why does Tennis not use the standard seedings of 1 vs 16, 2 vs 5, etc?
I don’t know.
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French Open is underway.
Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz are all in the top half of the draw, with Nadal and Djokovic having to meet in the quarterfinals if both get that far.
Battling a foot injury that has been dogging him, Rafa lost to Shapovalov in Rome, and that decision dropped him to the 5th seed -- the lowest the King of Clay and 13-time French Open champion has been seeded since 2013. It also moved him into Djokovic's bracket.
Djokovic won in Rome to claim the top seed at Roland Garros ... and here's a mind-boggling fact:
Not since Andy Roddick was the No. 1 seed at the 2004 Australian Open has the top seed at a Grand Slam been named something other than Nadal, Djokovic, Federer or Murray.
22?
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22?
I'd love to see it. I'm hoping Rafa's healthy and he can survive the gauntlet just to get to the finals.
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Dumb question here: Why does Tennis not use the standard seedings of 1 vs 16, 2 vs 5, etc?
Tennis seeds the top 32 players, has wild card entries and qualifiers.
The top seeded players are placed so that they don't have to play ome another. In theory, the reasoms for randomizing the rest of the draw after that is to avoid the same matchups, and to avoid some players trying to game the draw.
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Tennis seeds the top 32 players, has wild card entries and qualifiers.
The top seeded players are placed so that they don't have to play ome another. In theory, the reasoms for randomizing the rest of the draw after that is to avoid the same matchups, and to avoid some players trying to game the draw.
Thanks. Makes sense, my OCD doesn't like it, though.
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Thanks. Makes sense, my OCD doesn't like it, though.
Yep. All four majors have 128 player draws for Men and Women. 104 of them are direct entries. 16 are qualifiers.
Qualifiers are invited to play a mini tourney prior to the main event. You must win 3 straight matches to win your mini tourney and qualify. If you win your mini tourney but get injured or can’t continue, the last person you defeat takes your spot. Hence the name you may hear once in a while, “Lucky Loser.” Once in a while a Lucky Loser makes a run in the main draw. Qualifiers are placed randomly into the main draw against top players.
There are 8 Wild Cards chosen by the tourney. Some events have “Reciprocal Wild Cards” with one another. And within that, a country will sometimes base their WC on recent event performance. (We are now really getting into the weeds)
Top 32 players are seeded.
In non 128 player draws, top players sometimes get byes early in events.
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Playing against a Frechman/woman at Roland Garros has got to be hellish. The crowd is beyond grating. They fly pass raucous and passionate to the boorish. It sounds like the crowd at a medieval execution. Constant mocking and jeering. Hell of a home court advantage though.
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Alcaraz absolutely eviscerated Seb Korda today. We may have a young superstar coming to dethrone the Big 3.
You do have to wonder how high the people making the draw at the French Open were? Let’s put Djoker, Nadal, Zverev, and Alcaraz on the same side. Great idea! Smh.
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For the first time in almost 20 years, 5 American Women made the French Open Round of 16:
Jessie Pegula
Coco Gauff
Amanda Anisimova
Madison Keys
Sloane Stephens
3 of those also made the doubles. (Pegula, Gauff, Keys) along with Townsend, Muhammed, McNally.
(Anisimova lost a 3 set thriller to Canadian Leylah Fernandez in Rd of 16)
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Djoker rolled guy Diego. That's a bummer.
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Rafa in a dogfight with FAA. Not good with the Djoker waiting after cruising today.
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For the first time in almost 20 years, 5 American Women made the French Open Round of 16:
Jessie Pegula
Coco Gauff
Amanda Anisimova
Madison Keys
Sloane Stephens
3 of those also made the doubles. (Pegula, Gauff, Keys) along with Townsend, Muhammed, McNally.
(Anisimova lost a 3 set thriller to Canadian Leylah Fernandez in Rd of 16)
Super high level from Coco Gauff and Sloane Stephens, as they advance to the French Open Quarterfinals, where, they will face each other.
Jessie Pegula and Madison Keys can join with wins tomorrow.
Keys and Taylor Townsend are into the doubles quarterfinals.
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Rafa in a dogfight with FAA. Not good with the Djoker waiting after cruising today.
I’m a little ticked off that the Nadal-Djokovic match won’t be available except on Tennis Channel, which I don’t get.
Rafa will have to play his best match of the year.
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I’m a little ticked off that the Nadal-Djokovic match won’t be available except on Tennis Channel, which I don’t get.
Rafa will have to play his best match of the year.
Unacceptable/Inexcusable. I wonder if you can get it on Peacock with a temp subscription?
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Unacceptable/Inexcusable. I wonder if you can get it on Peacock with a temp subscription?
I'll have to look into that. I'm out of town for the weekend, but will see what my options are when I get home. I might have to settle for watching the full-match highlights on YouTube, and if so I'll live with it.
I sure want Rafa to win. Would love to see him get a 2-majors lead. But Djokovic apparently has been playing really, really well. Tough task.
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I'll have to look into that. I'm out of town for the weekend, but will see what my options are when I get home. I might have to settle for watching the full-match highlights on YouTube, and if so I'll live with it.
I sure want Rafa to win. Would love to see him get a 2-majors lead. But Djokovic apparently has been playing really, really well. Tough task.
It's gonna be tough for anyone on that side of the draw to win three more. Medvy or Tsisipas could have an advantage in the Final. I wouldn't count Rafa out but I don't think he's playing near his top level. After Rafa I'll be rooting for Alcaraz.
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Coco Gauff and Leylah Fernandez became the first teenagers to make their 2nd Grand Slam Quarterfinal since Caroline Wozniacki did it in 2009/2010.
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Nice couple of years for Ben Shelton. He won the NCAA Men’s Singles Title this past week, after helping lead Florida to the team title last season.
Good recruiting from Florida Coach Bryan Shelton, who also happens to be Ben’s dad.
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Everything seems to favor Djoker tomorrow. Heavier conditions, night match. He is apparently playing better than Rafa and has been in the court much less time. That said I expert the crowd to be very, very, pro Rafa. I wouldn't count Rafa out, especially on that court.
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See ya Tsisipas!! Danish teen just took him to school!
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Wow....Medvy got whacked by Ciilic.
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Should woulda been nice for Rafa to have been in that part of the bracket, Muggs.
But I guess he only can blame himself for not winning a little more in the events leading up to the French Open.
It's still a shame to have 2 of the 3 greatest players ever -- guys who are still winning majors -- meeting in the quarters.
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New Mom Taylor Townsend won her first singles tourney event back from maternity leave, ans now she and Madison Keys are into the Semifinals of the French Open Doubles.
Newly turned 18 year old, Coco Gauff, is into the French Open Singles Semifinals with a win over Sloane Stephens, who also had a strong tourney.
Gauff and Jessie Pegula (who is still alive in the singles quarters tomorrow) will play some dubs in an hour for a spot in the doubles quarters.
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Should woulda been nice for Rafa to have been in that part of the bracket, Muggs.
But I guess he only can blame himself for not winning a little more in the events leading up to the French Open.
It's still a shame to have 2 of the 3 greatest players ever -- guys who are still winning majors -- meeting in the quarters.
I think the way to get the match today MU82 is the FuboTV trial. Unless you can get it through your cable service which I do on my phone. .
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So I guess Djoker/Rafa have split sets and it's early in the 3rd. Of course they have ready been playing 2.5 hrs.
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VAMOS RAFA!!! On the verge of taking the 3rd.
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VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!
BAM!
HAMMER DROPPED!!
14 and 22 are still in play!
Now you know why I said I wouldn't count Rafa out!
:)
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Just watched full-match highlights on YouTube. Wow ... what a performance by Rafa!!
Had an answer to everything Djokovic did. I think Rafa only missed a couple of Djokovic's drop shots all game, but Novak kept trying 'em. And Djokovic had no answer to those amazing cross-court winners off Rafa's serve.
A little bummed that Zverev beat Alcaraz, but now Rafa will have no mixed emotions (not that he would have anyway) -- and he can take down Zverev on Thursday.
Way to go, King of Clay!!!!
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Just watched full-match highlights on YouTube. Wow ... what a performance by Rafa!!
Had an answer to everything Djokovic did. I think Rafa only missed a couple of Djokovic's drop shots all game, but Novak kept trying 'em. And Djokovic had no answer to those amazing cross-court winners off Rafa's serve.
A little bummed that Zverev beat Alcaraz, but now Rafa will have no mixed emotions (not that he would have anyway) -- and he can take down Zverev on Thursday.
Way to go, King of Clay!!!!
It sounds like the Zverev/Alcaraz match was also very high quality. Zverev certainly has the talent to win a GS. When his serve is on he's quite dangerous. We're talking about a 6'6 guy with power and underrated court coverage. That said I'm thrilled Rafa will get two full days of rest. Imao, what Rafa has done on clay, is as impressive as any sports accomplishment in history. The possibility of him snagging 14 French Open titles is beyond normal human thought. It's more unbreakable than a 56 game hitting streak.
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It sounds like the Zverev/Alcaraz match was also very high quality. Zverev certainly has the talent to win a GS. When his serve is on he's quite dangerous. We're talking about a 6'6 guy with power and underrated court coverage. That said I'm thrilled Rafa will get two full days of rest. Imao, what Rafa has done on clay, is as impressive as any sports accomplishment in history. The possibility of him snagging 14 French Open titles is beyond normal human thought. It's more unbreakable than a 56 game hitting streak.
Thanks for the correction, Muggs. Didn't realize the semis won't be till Friday but it makes sense because the other two QFs are tomorrow. Rafa turns 36 years old Friday ... it will be a great present for himself to beat Zverev.
Like you, I'd love to see Rafa take No. 14 and 22 all in one fell swoop on Sunday. What an amazing career.
And here's something else that's amazing: Even if you took away all of Rafa's French Open titles and said he "only" won 8 majors, just four players in the open era would have had more: Federer, Djokovic, Sampras and Borg.
What an incredible, consistent, dominant athlete.
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Thanks for the correction, Muggs. Didn't realize the semis won't be till Friday but it makes sense because the other two QFs are tomorrow. Rafa turns 36 years old Friday ... it will be a great present for himself to beat Zverev.
Like you, I'd love to see Rafa take No. 14 and 22 all in one fell swoop on Sunday. What an amazing career.
And here's something else that's amazing: Even if you took away all of Rafa's French Open titles and said he "only" won 8 majors, just four players in the open era would have had more: Federer, Djokovic, Sampras and Borg.
What an incredible, consistent, dominant athlete.
That's correct. But think about this for a moment: I think he's 110-3 at the French Open. There's really not much more one can say but my contention is that clay is the most true tennis surface. Wimbledon is the most important tournament but unlike the hard court or grass you can't simply overpower an opponent with the serve on clay and often endurance plays a role because the points are much longer. I saw that one game today took nearly 19 mins. My take is that his domimance on clay should get significantly more recognition.
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That's correct. But think about this for a moment: I think he's 110-3 at the French Open. There's really not much more one can say but my contention is that clay is the most true tennis surface. Wimbledon is the most important tournament but unlike the hard court or grass you can't simply overpower an opponent with the serve on clay and often endurance plays a role because the points are much longer. I saw that one game today took nearly 19 mins. My take is that his domimance on clay should get significantly more recognition.
I think Rafa gets pretty good "recognition." Most observers of the game consider him to be one of the top three men's players ever, and quite a few "experts" rate him No. 1. As a fan, I'm pretty satisfied with that level of recognition. At the end of his and Djokovic's careers, the numbers will be what they are.
And yes, his record at Roland Garros is insane. Looking forward to it being even more insane -- 112-3!!
I also really like watching events on clay, Muggs. There's so much strategy in the way Rafa or any other accomplished clay player sets up his or her opponent. Rafa was like a maestro out there today, drawing Djokovic out wide and then smashing those beautiful forehand winners.
I used to play quite a bit of tennis from my teens into my 40s, but I never got to play on clay. Have you ever played on the surface, Muggs?
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I think Rafa gets pretty good "recognition." Most observers of the game consider him to be one of the top three men's players ever, and quite a few "experts" rate him No. 1. As a fan, I'm pretty satisfied with that level of recognition. At the end of his and Djokovic's careers, the numbers will be what they are.
And yes, his record at Roland Garros is insane. Looking forward to it being even more insane -- 112-3!!
I also really like watching events on clay, Muggs. There's so much strategy in the way Rafa or any other accomplished clay player sets up his or her opponent. Rafa was like a maestro out there today, drawing Djokovic out wide and then smashing those beautiful forehand winners.
I used to play quite a bit of tennis from my teens into my 40s, but I never got to play on clay. Have you ever played on the surface, Muggs?
I've played on true clay three times in Belgium but quite a bit on hard tru which is the lame American version. I've also been fortunate to play on grass but not pro tournament quality grass. Anyway, clay is the great equalizer because even for the pros they don't get a ton of free points on the serve. It helps those who can run balls down and also in particular the drop shot which was part of my game. I believe it requires far more strategy and overall thinking on the court and rewards consistency over sheer power. I'm also a fan of those who can hit wicked top spin which works best on clay.
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All ‘Merica Women’s Doubles Semifinals at The French.
Keys/Townsend will face Gauff/Pegula.
But first Coco Gauff will play her singles semifinals tomorrow.
5 of the top 12 World players in the live 2022 WTA Singles Points Race are from ‘Merica.
Pegula, Collins, Keys, Gauff, Anisimova.
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I've played on true clay three times in Belgium but quite a bit on hard tru which is the lame American version. I've also been fortunate to play on grass but not pro tournament quality grass. Anyway, clay is the great equalizer because even for the pros they don't get a ton of free points on the serve. It helps those who can run balls down and also in particular the drop shot which was part of my game. I believe it requires far more strategy and overall thinking on the court and rewards consistency over sheer power. I'm also a fan of those who can hit wicked top spin which works best on clay.
Sounds fun. I know I sure like watching the French Open. It's cool when they have to run down a shot, hit the ball and then slide several feet.
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Coco Gauff will get to go 2nd on Chatrier tomorrow in her singles semifinal. That’s helpful as her close doubles thriller win with Pegula went deep into the evening. The 3rd set didn’t start until close to 8pm.
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Marin Colic is one match away from the French Open Final. The former U.S. Open champion can complete the accomplishment of making the finals of all 4 slam events in his career with a win. Took out Rublev in 5.
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Sounds fun. I know I sure like watching the French Open. It's cool when they have to run down a shot, hit the ball and then slide several feet.
It's so much fun. Longer rallies, the ability to cover more ground with the traction plus the slide, hitting whipping top spin shots, drop shots, and in Belgium you can't beat a local brew after a major workout. I miss watching Justine Henin. Loved her versatility.and that amazing one handed backhand.
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Marin Colic is one match away from the French Open Final. The former U.S. Open champion can complete the accomplishment of making the finals of all 4 slam events in his career with a win. Took out Rublev in 5.
But the Davis Cup Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist, 20 title winning Cilic will have to get past World top 10, Casper Ruud, who advances to his first slam semifinal with his win over Rune.
And, Ruud used his his post match interview time of the biggest moment in his young career thus far to promote fellow Norwegian, Ulrikke Eikeri, who advanced to the Mixed Doubles Final. Well done.
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1532133127262547970?s=21&t=x0pvzku9wil-gCjCKFhmnA
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But the Davis Cup Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist, 20 title winning Cilic will have to get past World top 10, Casper Ruud, who advances to his first slam semifinal with his win over Rune.
And, Ruud used his his post match interview time of the biggest moment in his young career thus far to promote fellow Norwegian, Ulrikke Eikeri, who advanced to the Mixed Doubles Final. Well done.
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1532133127262547970?s=21&t=x0pvzku9wil-gCjCKFhmnA
Has there ever been a Scandinavian QF in a GS tournament? Maybe it's me but it's extremely disappointing that USA men's tennis has been basically non-existent since Roddick. And frankly Roddick was obviously nowhere near American greats the generation before. Any theories on what we're doing wrong?
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Good article in The Guardian:
On Tuesday night in Paris, in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic contested yet another epic contest in their immortal rivalry. It was a thrilling affair full of ferocious offensive firepower and jaw-dropping defensive escapes with Nadal emerging as the victor in four grueling sets, making the Spaniard a heavy favorite to claim his 14th French Open title.
This current generation of tennis fans is perhaps the most spoiled, entitled lot of followers of any sport ever, having been gifted the remarkable array of matches between Nadal, Djokovic and, of course, Roger Federer. For nearly 20 years whenever one of them is playing in a major tournament, it’s been appointment viewing.This current generation of tennis fans is perhaps the most spoiled, entitled lot of followers of any sport ever, having been gifted the remarkable array of matches between Nadal, Djokovic and, of course, Roger Federer. For nearly 20 years whenever one of them is playing in a major tournament, it’s been appointment viewing.
Yet for many fans in the United States during this French Open, there has been a bit of confusion and frustration when attempting to figure out where exactly to view the matches. And even when it was clear which network would be broadcasting the event on a given day, many millions of Americans were still left out due to limitations within their cable/streaming TV lineup.
Most of the matches during the French Open have been carried by Tennis Channel, including the Nadal-Djokovic encounter. For the more serious tennis fan, having Tennis Channel at home is a must and since the channel’s inception it’s been an extraordinary network that fills almost all the fan’s needs with comprehensive coverage of most tour events.
Tennis Channel is now in approximately 60m households, according to the latest estimates, and that is indeed a sizable number. The network has seen tremendous growth. But that’s still 20m to 30m fewer households than ESPN reaches (the network which carries wall-to-wall coverage of the other three slams). Which means many millions of casual tennis fans in the United States were robbed of watching the brilliance of Nadal and Djokovic on Tuesday, as well as the all-American women’s quarter-final between teenage sensation Coco Gauff and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens. Shouldn’t a goal of tennis and other niche sports to bring in the more casual sports fans? It’s crucial to the growth of the sport to showcase the best it has to offer – and it clearly doesn’t get any better than Nadal v Djokovic.
Even more frustrating, several day and night sessions were carried exclusively via streaming on Peacock, the NBC-owned streaming service, which counts 13m paid subscribers, a fraction of those reached by either Tennis Channel or ESPN. Among Peacock’s offerings was the fourth-round match between Carlos Alcaraz and Karen Khachanov. No player not named Nadal received as much attention during the lead-up to the French than Carlos Alcaraz who, until he lost to Alexander Zverev on Tuesday, was among the pre-tournament favorites. But since relatively few consumers have Peacock, many were deprived of seeing Alcaraz and others. Contrast the situation with tennis programming in Europe, where most of the French Open is broadcast over one channel: Eurosport.
This issue cuts to the core of a central dilemma when trying to increase a sport’s popularity: namely, shouldn’t the powers at be within a sport’s governing body make an effort to ensure that they can get the most eyes on their sport at any given time? This is especially relevant in the United States where, after years of slow tennis growth and a paucity of high-ranked American players, the country is in the middle of a minor tennis boom. Participation has soared since the onset of the Covid pandemic with a 46% increase in dollars spent on racquets in 2021 and nearly 25m Americans having taken the court, according to the Tennis Industry Association. Further, this splintered media system is showcasing corporate avarice, forcing the consumer to constantly spend more money to tweak their channel lineup. Yes, the fan has greater access than ever, but at what price?
This leads to an even larger, more existential topic. As a populace we are offered more choices than ever, a bewildering supply of options in almost every facet of life. And no more so than in the media universe. But there’s a rather nasty irony involved; even though we have an infinite number of possibilities available to us, there are fewer unifying events because everything is so splintered and dispersed. One is constantly preached to that we inhabit a polarized era, that we’re a divided nation that shares different values depending on where one lives. The one area where there is still a sense of universal, shared experience is via sports.
For this weekend at least, tennis viewing will be available to everyone since NBC will be broadcasting the semi-finals and finals. The next step is fixing everything before it.
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Has there ever been a Scandinavian QF in a GS tournament? Maybe it's me but it's extremely disappointing that USA men's tennis has been basically non-existent since Roddick. And frankly Roddick was obviously nowhere near American greats the generation before. Any theories on what we're doing wrong?
Men?
There were 2 this year.
Borg, Edberg, Wilander, Soderling, Bjorkman, Enqvist etc….
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Has there ever been a Scandinavian QF in a GS tournament? Maybe it's me but it's extremely disappointing that USA men's tennis has been basically non-existent since Roddick. And frankly Roddick was obviously nowhere near American greats the generation before. Any theories on what we're doing wrong?
I mean ... Bjorn freakin' Borg?
Wilander and Edberg were pretty good, too.
It doesn't matter to me that there's been a long down cycle for male American tennis players. If they're great enough to compete for slams, wonderful. If not, I enjoy watching those who are great enough. I enjoyed McEnroe and Connors not because they were Americans but because they were great at tennis and had interesting games and personalities. I love watching Rafa, and I'd root for him against any American because he's my favorite.
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Men?
There were 2 this year.
Borg, Edberg, Wilander, Soderling, Bjorkman, Enqvist etc….
Oh...right. There was Swedish dominance for awhile. But Borg retired before those other guys.
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Has there ever been a Scandinavian QF in a GS tournament? Maybe it's me but it's extremely disappointing that USA men's tennis has been basically non-existent since Roddick. And frankly Roddick was obviously nowhere near American greats the generation before. Any theories on what we're doing wrong?
It also gives you an opportunity to enjoy more aspects to the sport. Women’s Tennis, doubles, mixed, juniors, college, etc….and it also can broaden your interest of more than just the top handful of Men’s players.
Isner for example went 10 straight years ranked in the top 20, which is a pretty big accomplishment. He advanced to the finals of 3 big doubles events this year with 3 different partners. (Sock, Hurkacz, Schwartzman)
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Recently turned 18, Coco Gauff becomes the youngest player to make a WTA Grand Slam Final since…………..Maria Sharapova in 2004.
She will play her doubles semifinals with new top 10 American singles player Jessie Pegula, against fellow Americans Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend.
She will then meet World number one Iga Swiatek the next day for the Roland Garros singles title. (Gauff also graduated high school while in Paris)
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Recently turned 18, Coco Gauff becomes the youngest player to make a WTA Grand Slam Final since…………..Maria Sharapova in 2004.
She will play her doubles semifinals with new top 10 American singles player Jessie Pegula, against fellow Americans Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend.
She will then meet World number one Iga Swiatek the next day for the Roland Garros singles title. (Gauff also graduated high school while in Paris)
Swiatek is a machine. I hope it's a good final.
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Swiatek is a machine. I hope it's a good final.
She's very solid on both wings. Coco will have a big challenge.
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Looks like NBC, at least in the Charlotte area, won't start showing the Nadal-Zverev match until 11 a.m. ET.
Jerks.
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Looks like NBC, at least in the Charlotte area, won't start showing the Nadal-Zverev match until 11 a.m. ET.
Jerks.
On Tennis Channel live now.
Very strong start for Zverv. Thwacking winners all over the place. Hopefully he cools off.
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11 winners in 6 games for Zverev. He's absolutely cracking the ball right now and serving at a crazy high percentage. 15/16 first serves.
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On Tennis Channel live now.
Very strong start for Zverv. Thwacking winners all over the place. Hopefully he cools off.
Unfortunately, I do not get Tennis Channel.
I just read that NBC will be offering its telecast on delay, so now I might have to try to avoid seeing any updates so it doesn't get ruined for me.
Oh well, it was my decision to not pay for every streaming service under the sun.
Thankfully, ESPN has the other 3 majors.
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Unfortunately, I do not get Tennis Channel.
I just read that NBC will be offering its telecast on delay, so now I might have to try to avoid seeing any updates so it doesn't get ruined for me.
Oh well, it was my decision to not pay for every streaming service under the sun.
Thankfully, ESPN has the other 3 majors.
I'll likely miss the meat of the match.
Zverev just choked away his break! :)
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The loooooong term NBC Contract is inching closer to the end (2024) for French Open.
NBC will never go against Today Show ad money. And they never decided to show all matches first ball last ball on peacock.
Their coverage is tape delay, weekends, holidays, and anything that happens live during their air time. The rest is Tennis Channel and TC plus.
I would suggest TC Plus as an option but it is ideally for people that are interested in more than the top few players at slams a few days a year. (so basically me) It’s 12 months, not month to month and its shows all tour events and matches outside of 3 slams and other tennis things. The app connection quality has occasional challenges.
You don’t get TC with TC Plus. It’s often International Feed matches, and some matches are without broadcast pxp. So it varies.
Another advantage with the ESPN app is I can and do watch entire college baseball, college soccer, college basketball, seasons, along with other pro and college sports, with their app for $7 extra a month. It rarely has technical issues.
Tennis Channel is mostly for people that still have DirecTV or cable, and, that is at least to me, still an eye brow raising amount of people. We were slow to switch to streaming only years ago. Apparently we weren’t that slow.
The other issue is that Sinclair also owns 22 Sports Regional channels. Their many year rumored direct to consumer app is now rumored for this Fall, $16-20 a month for only one market of sports regionals for those that need it for NHL, MLB, NBA. But it is not likely to include TC.
There have been MLB teams this season (and NHL) that have played 3-4 games a week on national networks and all games on things such as TBS, MLB Network etc all blacked out every time. Only Sunday night baseball, apple, peacock games not blacked out.
Regional Sports Network ad money is good so Sinclair and those pro leagues don’t seem to care that access is more and more limited to see the games. And contracts are deep into the 2030’s.
Some TC people and opinions vary greatly depending on the person. Some on air people completely get it. Others are defensive defend at all costs. Some execs and EP’s there have extremely out of touch defensive argumentative head in sand positions.
It isn’t difficult to acknowledge the app is bad, needs fixing, needs month to month flexibility. And TC needs better distribution.
ESPN may not promote tennis enough, and switched to 3 slams only, but what they do have, they cover well. Hope they scoop up the French after 2024.
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Gauff/Pegula over Keys/Townsend 6-4, 7-6 in yet another fun, close, well played doubles match.
Gauff is now in both the singles and doubles finals at Roland Garros four years after she won the French Open Junior singles title.
In that French Junior tourney Iga Swiatek made the French Open Junior doubles final with long time Gauff bestie and doubles partner Caty McNally.
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incredible drama to end this 1st set. Nadal saves 4 set points in the TB. At 4-6 he's getting hit off the court and hits this ridiculous whipping forehand crosscourt passing shot. Finishes the tb with another spectacular forehand pass up the line. Incredible stuff with Rafa taking it 10-8. Zverev absolutely threw away the set twice. Vamos Rafa!!
What a shame I have to go-to work soon. 😞
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incredible drama to end this 1st set. Nadal saves 4 set points in the TB. At 4-6 he's getting hit off the court and hits this ridiculous whipping forehand crosscourt passing shot. Finishes the tb with another spectacular forehand pass up the line. Incredible stuff with Rafa taking it 10-8. Zverev absolutely threw away the set twice. Vamos Rafa!!
I couldn't resist so I had to keep refreshing the score. Happy with what I saw! Sounds like Rafa did what he had to do, and did it with his usual aplomb.
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I couldn't resist so I had to keep refreshing the score. Happy with what I saw! Sounds like Rafa did what he had to do, and did it with his usual aplomb.
Absolutely incredible point when Zverev served at 6-4 in the breaker. Sasha was rolling early but then hit a bunch of unforced errors and also double faulted. He was up 6-2 in the breaker but Rafa.....well is Rafa. No one could have won that point at 4-6 other than Nadal. . The get before the "did that just happen?" flick passing shot was amazing as well.
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Sad ending to what was looking like another classic Rafa match at Roland Garros.
Despite his mistakes, Zverev was playing very well. That injury looked extremely painful. Rafa couldn't have handled the situation with more class.
One thing that struck me was how much smaller Rafa is than Zverev, who towered over him.
Anyway ...
Another French Open final for the King of Clay. One more win to #22!
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Sad ending to what was looking like another classic Rafa match at Roland Garros.
Despite his mistakes, Zverev was playing very well. That injury looked extremely painful. Rafa couldn't have handled the situation with more class.
One thing that struck me was how much smaller Rafa is than Zverev, who towered over him.
Anyway ...
Another French Open final for the King of Clay. One more win to #22!
What a shame.
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What a shame.
It was a shame that it ended that way.
But looking at the big picture and being pragmatic ...
If Rafa wins Sunday, when folks are looking back at the careers of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer years from now, nobody with a brain is gonna say, "Rafa won 22 majors, but he might have had only 21 if Zverev hadn't hurt his ankle in the 2022 semifinal." I mean, there's no asterisk next to 21 because Djokovic was a vaccine denier and had to miss the Australian Open, nor are there asterisks about the many injuries that kept Rafa from winning even more majors.
The fact was that Rafa won the first set and was in good position to win the second, too. (At least as good position as Zverev, as it was headed to a tiebreaker.) I rather doubt Zverev would have won the match.
Hoping for a great final, with our guy winning!
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It was a shame that it ended that way.
But looking at the big picture and being pragmatic ...
If Rafa wins Sunday, when folks are looking back at the careers of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer years from now, nobody with a brain is gonna say, "Rafa won 22 majors, but he might have had only 21 if Zverev hadn't hurt his ankle in the 2022 semifinal." I mean, there's no asterisk next to 21 because Djokovic was a vaccine denier and had to miss the Australian Open, nor are there asterisks about the many injuries that kept Rafa from winning even more majors.
The fact was that Rafa won the first set and was in good position to win the second, too. (At least as good position as Zverev, as it was headed to a tiebreaker.) I rather doubt Zverev would have won the match.
Hoping for a great final, with our guy winning!
You just hate to see someone get injured in a GS semi. It doesn't change that 22 and 14 are in play. :)
I believe Rafa is 154-3 in five set matches on clay. :)
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I was hoping Cilic would win because I thought Rafa would crush him.
I will admit that I didn't know who Casper Ruud was until a couple days ago, but I guess Ruud used to train at Rafa's academy and idolizes Rafa. He looked real good against Cilic, but Cilic was toast by midway through the second set.
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I was hoping Cilic would win because I thought Rafa would crush him.
I will admit that I didn't know who Casper Ruud was until a couple days ago, but I guess Ruud used to train at Rafa's academy and idolizes Rafa. He looked real good against Cilic, but Cilic was toast by midway through the second set.
It's gotta be nice for Casper and the Norwegians but I will be rooting for Rafa to drop the hammer with zero mercy. As I've stated many times, Rafa's complete dominance on clay is probably the greatest single achievement in sports in my lifetime. And that's not hyperbole. Imagine having a best of five sets record of 154-3 in the same era with two other players that are thought of as top 5 ever? It's not like he's been throttling chumps for 18 yrs. And the fact is, if he finishes Ruud on Sunday, he will be two clear of Djokovic.
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And the fact is, if he finishes Ruud on Sunday, he will be two clear of Djokovic.
Would love that!
And he'd be able to needle Djokovic about it.
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I didn't realize Swiatek is only 21. I just don't think Coco can out hit Iga on this surface.
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Nerves understandably got the better of Coco today. And, that happens to everyone in every sport. Her execution was significantly below her current level, and it was mostly unforced. Tactically there could have been a few minor tweaks but it was mostly nerves. She’ll be fine.
Opportunity was there in the first set especially as Iga was solid but not elite. Iga improved as match went on in 2nd set, and that is when Gauff started settling in more, but sill not playing anywhere Gauff’s good level.
Credit to Iga for playing solid tennis with flashes of great at times. I think Coco would like to start the match over. She’ll get another opportunity as soon as tomorrow in the doubles final w/Pegula.
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I didn't realize Swiatek is only 21. I just don't think Coco can out hit Iga on this surface.
I was rooting for the teenage underdog, but she could barely stay on the court for an hour with the best player in the world.
Swiatek is simply better at everything than Gauff is, and I always appreciate excellence in sport. It was an effen clinic, especially in the second set. A pleasure to watch.
Swiatek is efficient but also capable of spectacular shots. Has the baton officially been passed from Serena to Iga? All the others had better improve a lot, and quickly.
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I was rooting for the teenage underdog, but she could barely stay on the court for an hour with the best player in the world.
Swiatek is simply better at everything than Gauff is, and I always appreciate excellence in sport. It was an effen clinic, especially in the second set. A pleasure to watch.
Swiatek is efficient but also capable of spectacular shots. Has the baton officially been passed from Serena to Iga? All the others had better improve a lot, and quickly.
I don’t agree with this.
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Nerves understandably got the better of Coco today. And, that happens to everyone in every sport. Her execution was significantly below her current level, and it was mostly unforced. Tactically there could have been a few minor tweaks but it was mostly nerves. She’ll be fine.
Opportunity was there in the first set especially as Iga was solid but not elite. Iga improved as match went on in 2nd set, and that is when Gauff started settling in more, but sill not playing anywhere Gauff’s good level.
Credit to Iga for playing solid tennis with flashes of great at times. I think Coco would like to start the match over. She’ll get another opportunity as soon as tomorrow in the doubles final w/Pegula.
Definitely some nerves but she'll have to elevate her game to beat Iga on clay. Gauff isn't consistent enough right now. Also, I don't think her fairly easy draw helped her as she didn't face a top 25 player until today.
It's also quite possible Swiatek is a future 10 majors player although it's too soon to really know for sure. She' has an all court game and has excellent wheels, especially on clay. I expect Gauff will get there but she definitely needs to improve her 2nd serve and overall consistency. I actually think clay might be her worst surface when she puts it all together. She has great pop with her 1st serve and both wings.
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"The opportunity was there in the first set". Sorry, but that's completely inaccurate.
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Definitely some nerves but she'll have to elevate her game to beat Iga on clay. Gauff isn't consistent enough right now. Also, I don't think her fairly easy draw helped her as she didn't face a top 25 player until today.
It's also quite possible Swiatek is a future 10 majors player although it's too soon to really know for sure. She' has an all court game and has excellent wheels, especially on clay. I expect Gauff will get there but she definitely needs to improve her 2nd serve and overall consistency. I actually think clay might be her worst surface when she puts it all together. She has great pop with her 1st serve and both wings.
No offense, but the two of you are forming very definitive conclusions based on very limited viewing experience.
It would be more effective if you said in this one match only or in these few matches you have seen.
As for draws, no player has had tougher draws the past few years than Gauff. It’s a common topic of discussion in tennis so much so that it is a statistic of how many times she loses to an eventual title winner or finalist. Draws isn’t it.
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Swiatek and Gauff are both incredibly likable. Hard not to root for both of them.
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No offense, but the two of you are forming very definitive conclusions based on very limited viewing experience.
It would be more effective if you said in this one match only or in these few matches you have seen.
As for draws, no player has had tougher draws the past few years than Gauff. It’s a common topic of discussion in tennis so much so that it is a statistic of how many times she loses to an eventual title winner or finalist. Draws isn’t it.
So, I can't have an opinion because of my limited "viewing experiences"? I was a very good high school tennis player and know the game pretty well. What I saw is someone totally overmatched and essentially blown off the court. I understand you watch a lot more tennis, especially women's tennis, but that doesn't mean you're right when you deny reality. Gauff was never remotely close to being in this match, period.
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So, I can't have an opinion because of my limited "viewing experiences"? I was a very good high school tennis player and know the game pretty well. What I saw is someone totally overmatched and essentially blown off the court. I understand you watch a lot more tennis, especially women's tennis, but that doesn't mean you're right when you deny reality. Gauff was never remotely close to being in this match, period.
No one said you can’t have an opinion. But your opinion is limited to your viewing experience, which is a few matches a year at most correct, as opposed to week to week etc….I believe in the past you have even said that you aren’t interested in Women’s tennis and Women’s sports.
And that’s perfectly fine. We like what we like.
I don’t think a person can make effective in depth long term evaluations of someone’s play or level based on very few experiences annually, no. You can have an opinion on anything sure, but that doesn’t necessarily make it well informed.
It would be easier and more productive to say, let’s both watch one match and discuss what we think of that one match. But that isn’t what you said or did.
You made conclusive definitive statements about a player’s level, and even specifics about their game based on teeny tiny sample sizes. And unsurprisingly there was a chance someone might disagree a little bit with some of your conclusions.
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No one said you can’t have an opinion. But your opinion is limited to your viewing experience, which is a few matches a year at most correct, as opposed to week to week etc….I believe in the past you have even said that you aren’t interested in Women’s tennis and Women’s sports.
And that’s perfectly fine. We like what we like.
I don’t think a person can make effective in depth long term evaluations of someone’s play or level based on very few experiences annually, no. You can have an opinion on anything sure, but that doesn’t necessarily make it well informed.
It would be easier and more productive to say, let’s both watch one match and discuss what we think of that one match. But that isn’t what you said or did.
You made conclusive definitive statements about a player’s level, and even specifics about their game based on teeny tiny sample sizes. And unsurprisingly there was a chance someone might disagree a little bit with some of your conclusions.
I don't watch as much as you but that doesn't mean I don't know the game or follow it. And one can make a definitive statement about a specific match even if they aren't well versed in the sport. That's like saying people who don't follow soccer, can't state after Brazil beats the crap out of some team, that they didn't dominate the match.
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I don't watch as much as you but that doesn't mean I don't know the game or follow it. And one can make a definitive statement about a specific match even if they aren't well versed in the sport. That's like saying people who don't follow soccer, can't state after Brazil beats the crap out of some team, that they didn't dominate the match.
Again, that isn’t what you said. Maybe re-read your 9:31am post here today. I responded to that post. Your comments weren’t specific to one match.
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Again, that isn’t what you said. Maybe re-read your 9:31am post here today. I responded to that post. Your comments weren’t specific to one match.
I stated Swiatek completely outplayed Gauff and that's what happened. Then I stated where I believe Gauff needs to improve to get to the next level. I also opined that Swiatek may have the potential to be a 10 time major champion. There is literally nothing that I wrote that is out of the realm of possibility or suggests "my viewing experience" shouldn't allow me to render an opinion. And as far as my comment about Gauff's draw? McEnroe and Carillo said the same thing.
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And with regards to this one match, I don’t think I am saying anything overly astute when I say CG self imploded with nerves the first four games of the match before Iga raised her level later. CG player well below her own level. Iga was solid but not even her best level in the first set. Iga improved as the match progressed and she showed flashes of why she has been a dominant player this Spring.
But the biggest takeaway is CG not playing to her own level. CG is now ranked 13th in the world and you don’t get there by not playing at a level much higher than she played today. And that happens. She lost as a 13 year old in the slam final, got smoked, and returned as a 14 year old to win it. She’ll be fine.
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A true scoop spectacular-o
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Definitely some nerves but she'll have to elevate her game to beat Iga on clay. Gauff isn't consistent enough right now. Also, I don't think her fairly easy draw helped her as she didn't face a top 25 player until today.
It's also quite possible Swiatek is a future 10 majors player although it's too soon to really know for sure. She' has an all court game and has excellent wheels, especially on clay. I expect Gauff will get there but she definitely needs to improve her 2nd serve and overall consistency. I actually think clay might be her worst surface when she puts it all together. She has great pop with her 1st serve and both wings.
This was your post.
The first part seemed to downplay the nerves aspect. I disagree there, but that is at least about this one match.
I don’t agree that she will have to elevate her game to beat Iga on clay. She would have to play much better than she played today, yes. But her game, in my opinion is good enough now to beat Iga on clay, yes. Today’s version of her game? No. Her current overall level and ability on clay, yes. That is based on a lot more than today.
I couldn’t disagree more that Gauff is too inconsistent. She is one of the most consistent players on tour. Remarkably so. It wouldn’t take much of a search to see pieces written on her very steady climb and progress. Her results week in and week out are very consistent in comparison to the tour.
I don’t believe clay is her worst surface. Not at all. Again, this is based on a lot more than today’s match.
Again, I believe you are making very strong conclusions of more than just this match when this match is what you saw.
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This was your post.
The first part seemed to downplay the nerves aspect. I disagree there, but that is at least about this one match.
I don’t agree that she will have to elevate her game to beat Iga on clay. She would have to play much better than she played today, yes. But her game, in my opinion is good enough now to beat Iga on clay, yes. Today’s version of her game? No. Her current overall level and ability on clay, yes. That is based on a lot more than today.
I couldn’t disagree more that Gauff is too inconsistent. She is one of the most consistent players on tour. Remarkably so. It wouldn’t take much of a search to see pieces written on her very steady climb and progress. Her results week in and week out are very consistent in comparison to the tour.
I don’t believe clay is her worst surface. Not at all. Again, this is based on a lot more than today’s match.
Again, I believe you are making very strong conclusions of more than just this match when this match is what you saw.
And perhaps you're making a far bigger deal about nerves and downplaying that she was thoroughly outplayed? When she got into extended rallies Iga got the best of her. In fact , when she won a few games early in the 2nd, it was primarily because Iga had a series of unforced errors.
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And perhaps you're making a far bigger deal about nerves and downplaying that she was thoroughly outplayed? When she got into extended rallies Iga got the best of her. In fact , when she won a few games early in the 2nd, it was primarily because Iga had a series of unforced errors.
See, here, you are discussing one match and you are making conclusions about just this match. That's easier to discuss.
I haven't downplayed that Gauff was outplayed. What I said was and is that Gauff's execution today was nowhere near her current level. I think even a novice casual tennis fan would say Gauff was visibly overly nervous more than usual for her. I think that would be fair to say. And it is something she will need to improve in similar situations. And she has in other matches and events on tour week to week. So i think it is reasonable that she will improve upon that in slam singles finals too.
I also even said at times, Iga's level wasn't her best either. Other times she played better.
And even if Gauff had plaued at a much higher level, she may well have lost, but it's reasonable to say that Gauff didn't giverself a chance to be in it. And that's okay for today. She's doing well overall.
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See, here, you are discussing one match and you are making conclusions about just this match. That's easier to discuss.
I haven't downplayed that Gauff was outplayed. What I said was and is that Gauff's execution today was nowhere near her current level. I think even a novice casual tennis fan would say Gauff was visibly overly nervous more than usual for her. I think that would be fair to say. And it is somethjng she will need to improve in similar situations. And she has in other matches and events on tour week to week. So i think it is reasonable that she will improve upon that in slam singles finals too.
I also even said at times, Iga's level wasn't her best either. Other times she played better.
Excuse me, but did you not state something to the effect that Gauff had her chances in the 1st set? You seriously believe this? Answer a simple question: Was Gauff thoroughly outplayed today or not?
Gauff hadn't played a player close to Swiatek's level the entire French Open. Her "execution", "nerves", "level of play", or what have you might have something to do with the fact that she was playing the #1 player in the world? And a woman who's won like 34 straight matches? Guess what shoothoops? Nerves are part of the sport. It happens for all sorts of reasons not just inexperience. Again, was Gauff completely outplayed or not?
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A true scoop spectacular-o
shoot and Muggs. ::)
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shoot and Muggs. ::)
Says the poster who has posted 26 times in the gun thread in the month of June alone. (and go right ahead and discuss guns in the gun thread)
This is the tennis thread and most of the people in it are discussing tennis.
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Says the poster who has posted 26 times in the gun thread in the month of June alone. (and go right ahead and discuss guns in the gun thread)
This is the tennis thread and most of the people in it are discussing tennis.
Are you this thin-skinned in person, or is this just part of your online persona?
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Are you this thin-skinned in person, or is this just part of your online persona?
What you are doing is called psychological projecting.
And you are perhaps a little lonely today seeking for social validation.
We’d like to keep the tennis thread about tennis, thanks.
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What you are doing is called psychological projecting.
And you are perhaps a little lonely today seeking for social validation.
We’d like to keep the tennis thread about tennis, thanks.
Well then stop responding.
And thanks for the answer. Obviously you are just as tiresome in person.
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I don’t agree with this.
That's heartbreaking for me, but I think I'll recover.
I stated Swiatek completely outplayed Gauff and that's what happened. Then I stated where I believe Gauff needs to improve to get to the next level. I also opined that Swiatek may have the potential to be a 10 time major champion. There is literally nothing that I wrote that is out of the realm of possibility or suggests "my viewing experience" shouldn't allow me to render an opinion. And as far as my comment about Gauff's draw? McEnroe and Carillo said the same thing.
You're 100% correct, Muggs.
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Faints
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Rafa with a pretty average 1st set but he still came through 6-3. He's not near the top of his game right now. Hopefully be wakes up. VAMOS RAFA!!
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2 down, 1 to go!
Ruud had a glimmer of hope but Rafa ended that quickly.
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Turn out the lights …
Paul Ruud has as good a chance to win this match as the #8 seed does.
What a display of shotmaking by the King of Clay!
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Turn out the lights …
Paul Ruud has as good a chance to win this match as the #8 seed does.
What a display of shotmaking by the King of Clay!
He decided to kick it up a bit to end the 2nd. :)
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Imagine being one of the best clay courters in the world right now and having no chance against a 36 yr old battling all sorts of injuries? Nadal = Legend.
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Imagine being one of the best clay courters in the world right now and having no chance against a 36 yr old battling all sorts of injuries? Nadal = Legend.
McEnroe just had a good line, something like: “Ruud is discouraged and he’s gotta overcome that …. (pause for emphasis) … for the next 3 hours.”
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McEnroe just had a good line, something like: “Ruud is discouraged and he’s gotta overcome that …. (pause for emphasis) … for the next 3 hours.”
LOL. Not that it would have mattered but I think you have to play more aggressively to have any chance vs Rafa. Zverev did that quite well on Fri.
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He decided to kick it up a bit to end the 2nd. :)
I had to do some yard work this morning before it got too hot here, and I didn’t get to tune in until it was 6-3, 1-3.
So I haven’t seen Rafa lose a game yet. Ruud’s toast … but Rafa’s still been brilliant.
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Focus Rafa. Inexcusable backhand unforced error!! :)
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(https://realwarriorsdotlife.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/vamos-rafa.jpg?w=810&h=580&crop=1)
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14
112-3
:)
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I had to do some yard work this morning before it got too hot here, and I didn’t get to tune in until it was 6-3, 1-3.
So I haven’t seen Rafa lose a game yet. Ruud’s toast … but Rafa’s still been brilliant.
McEnroe before the match said something like: "Other than maybe his first serve, there isn't a single thing Rudd does on the court better than Nadal." Ouch.
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You've touched on this in the past, Muggs, but the enormity of what Nadal has accomplished is really almost impossible to fathom.
What individual-sport athlete has accomplished more? Certainly not Tiger. Maybe Michael Phelps?
I can't "prove" that Rafa is the greatest individual-sport athlete ever -- and a top-10 athlete ever, period -- but it sure wouldn't be easy to convince me that somebody else deserves such an accolade.
And you know what? By the end of January, Djokovic could have 23 majors! It's mind-boggling that tennis fans have gotten to enjoy watching three athletes of this magnitude in their prime in one era.
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You've touched on this in the past, Muggs, but the enormity of what Nadal has accomplished is really almost impossible to fathom.
What individual-sport athlete has accomplished more? Certainly not Tiger. Maybe Michael Phelps?
I can't "prove" that Rafa is the greatest individual-sport athlete ever -- and a top-10 athlete ever, period -- but it sure wouldn't be easy to convince me that somebody else deserves such an accolade.
And you know what? By the end of January, Djokovic could have 23 majors! It's mind-boggling that tennis fans have gotten to enjoy watching three athletes of this magnitude in their prime in one era.
There isn't any. I suppose if we're talking total domination you could make a case for Ledecky in her swimming events. Possibly Eric Heiden or Edwin Moses but I don't think you can really compare Olympic success. It may sound crazy but we may have to look at non semi-sports like pool or chess. Mosconi was apparently totally unbeatable and sunk 530 shots in a row in straight pool. My contention is that Rafa's dominance on the clay and the French Open is the single greatest accomplishment in sports in my lifetime. Hands down and with no equivocation.
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I can't "prove" that Rafa is the greatest individual-sport athlete ever -- and a top-10 athlete ever, period -- but it sure wouldn't be easy to convince me that somebody else deserves such an accolade.
And you know what? By the end of January, Djokovic could have 23 majors! It's mind-boggling that tennis fans have gotten to enjoy watching three athletes of this magnitude in their prime in one era.
Haha totally. IMO, Nadal's dependence on the French Open puts him at a handicap vs Djoker and Fed, so my order right now would be Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. And at least a part of that is just how much more I like Federer than Djoker. But that is all subject to change over the next 24 months, especially if Nadal can steal another major or two outside of Roland Garros.
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Haha totally. IMO, Nadal's dependence on the French Open puts him at a handicap vs Djoker and Fed, so my order right now would be Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. And at least a part of that is just how much more I like Federer than Djoker. But that is all subject to change over the next 24 months, especially if Nadal can steal another major or two outside of Roland Garros.
I don't agree that his dominance at the French puts "him at a handicap". Remember Fed has one French Open title and that may have been a year Rafa didn't play.
Oh wait....2009 was the year Nadal lost to Soderling in the 4th round. Anyway, Roger has 1 F-Open, Djoker has 2.
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Haha totally. IMO, Nadal's dependence on the French Open puts him at a handicap vs Djoker and Fed, so my order right now would be Federer, Djokovic, Nadal. And at least a part of that is just how much more I like Federer than Djoker. But that is all subject to change over the next 24 months, especially if Nadal can steal another major or two outside of Roland Garros.
Nadal is 24-16 head-to-head against Federer, including 10-4 in majors; Rafa dominated Roger on clay, of course, but also is 8-6 against Roger on outdoor hard courts. Djokovic has a slim 30-29 edge on Nadal head-to-head, but Rafa has the 11-7 advantage in majors. Rafa and Djokovic are the only two players in the open era to win each major at least twice.
So we'll agree to disagree about the "dependence" and the "handicap." Rafa's record speaks for itself.
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I’m not sure I could see Federer ahead of Nadal anymore. I think Federer’s level of competition was far less than Rafa’s/Novak’s. Federer has “only” won 5 majors since 2009. Which is about the time Nadal started being a threat on other surfaces and Novak entered his prime.
I’m mostly shocked at Rafa’s longevity. I remember early in his career, I thought he’d be done by the time he was 30.
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I’m not sure I could see Federer ahead of Nadal anymore. I think Federer’s level of competition was far less than Rafa’s/Novak’s. Federer has “only” won 5 majors since 2009. Which is about the time Nadal started being a threat on other surfaces and Novak entered his prime.
I’m mostly shocked at Rafa’s longevity. I remember early in his career, I thought he’d be done by the time he was 30.
Those are two good points. As for the second, Nadal has been great for a long freakin' time. There were several occasions where it looked like injuries - or even age - might catch up to him. And yet here we are. And he still can make amazing shots running end to end (to end to end). The winners he hit to stay alive in the first-set tiebreaker against Zverev reminded me of shots Rafa would make when he was 20.
There isn't any. I suppose if we're talking total domination you could make a case for Ledecky in her swimming events. Possibly Eric Heiden or Edwin Moses but I don't think you can really compare Olympic success. It may sound crazy but we may have to look at non semi-sports like pool or chess. Mosconi was apparently totally unbeatable and sunk 530 shots in a row in straight pool. My contention is that Rafa's dominance on the clay and the French Open is the single greatest accomplishment in sports in my lifetime. Hands down and with no equivocation.
Some good names mentioned there. Obviously, Serena's another one who needs to be mentioned, as she also excelled at an individual sport for a long, long time. She didn't have to play peers of the same quality of Djokovic and Federer, but that's not her fault.
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Those are two good points. As for the second, Nadal has been great for a long freakin' time. There were several occasions where it looked like injuries - or even age - might catch up to him. And yet here we are. And he still can make amazing shots running end to end (to end to end). The winners he hit to stay alive in the first-set tiebreaker against Zverev reminded me of shots Rafa would make when he was 20.
Some good names mentioned there. Obviously, Serena's another one who needs to be mentioned, as she also excelled at an individual sport for a long, long time. She didn't have to play peers of the same quality of Djokovic and Federer, but that's not her fault.
I agree with Serena. I think Henin held her own and I believe had a winning record against her on clay, but the level of competition really wasn't near men's tennis. There weren't two other top 5 players ever and she absolutely owned Sharapova.
A few other names which should also probably be thown out there are Gretzky, Bolt, and some would put Secretariat into the mix. Of course if we go down that road I can name a few animals that would do just fine vs Bolt and fish that would obliterate Phelps or Ledecky. :) Sailfish can swim 62 mph. :)
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I agree with Serena. I think Henin held her own and I believe had a winning record against her on clay, but the level of competition really wasn't near men's tennis. There weren't two other top 5 players ever and she absolutely owned Sharapova.
A few other names which should also probably be thown out there are Gretzky, Bolt, and some would put Secretariat into the mix. Of course if we go down that road I can name a few animals that would do just fine vs Bolt and fish that would obliterate Phelps or Ledecky. :) Sailfish can swim 62 mph. :)
I stuck with individual-sport athletes because it’s hard enough to pick #1 in that realm. Once we start talking about Gretzky and Jordan and Babe Freakin Ruth, it’s a whole nother conversation.
I’m comfortable saying Rafa’s record puts him in the conversation for best individual-sport athlete ever. And his domination at one venue is otherworldly.
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I stuck with individual-sport athletes because it’s hard enough to pick #1 in that realm. Once we start talking about Gretzky and Jordan and Babe Freakin Ruth, it’s a whole nother conversation.
I’m comfortable saying Rafa’s record puts him in the conversation for best individual-sport athlete ever. And his domination at one venue is otherworldly.
I'm afraid Rafa may need foot surgery. The calendar grand slam is still on the table.
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I'm afraid Rafa may need foot surgery. The calendar grand slam is still on the table.
Yeah, I guess he took an injection just so he could play today. Said he couldn’t feel his foot.
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(https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UFVEFFXFAYI6ZJBCCG53SHNTBM.jpg&w=767)
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(https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/UFVEFFXFAYI6ZJBCCG53SHNTBM.jpg&w=767)
I wonder if Rafa could have been a pro soccer player or pro golfer?
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VAMOS!
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Pretty good first round for the American men, especially if Cressy manages to win the 4th set vs. Auger-Aliassime.
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Serena looks very rusty. Just dropped the first set to a dinker-and-dunker.
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Serena looks very rusty. Just dropped the first set to a dinker-and-dunker.
A dinker at Wimbledon? That ain't working. This isn't junior tennis.
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A dinker at Wimbledon? That ain't working. This isn't junior tennis.
It worked darn well in the first set, when Serena made a bazillion errors. Not well in the second, which Serena dominated.
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It worked darn well in the first set, when Serena made a bazillion errors. Not well in the second, which Serena dominated.
I actually loved playing dinkers . I enjoyed annoying the hell out of them with moon balls, bringing them to the net, and then unloading on them with heavy lumber. :)
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Dinker/dunker beats the greatest ever.
Serena was totally gassed at the end. She made some great shots but had far too many mistakes and misses. She had to be rusty, and her opponent was resolute.
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Dinker/dunker beats the greatest ever.
Serena was totally gassed at the end. She made some great shots but had far too many mistakes and misses. She had to be rusty, and her opponent was resolute.
Whoops. That's not a great loss although Serena is 40.
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Dinker/dunker beats the greatest ever.
Serena was totally gassed at the end. She made some great shots but had far too many mistakes and misses. She had to be rusty, and her opponent was resolute.
She had a quote in the presser leading up about how she expected to perform, and basically rolled her eyes for comedic effect with the implication that she always expects to win any tournament she enters.
But it had a lot of Tiger Woods-esque expectation to it. The GOAT...but quite over the hill by age standards, coming off a long lay off, and hadn't won a major in half a decade. Maybe didn't expect her to lose to an opponent outside of the top 100, but likely would have been easily handled by one of the seeded players she had coming up.
On the mens side, what a full Kyrgios experience. I can't stand when he is a spoiled brat or doesn't try, but my god I love his game. And for his many warts, I do appreciate his refusal to stand for any sort of racism in the sport, which he's experienced for his entire career, and will always shine a light on it.
The 5th set was vintage Kyrgios. Coasting, up a break. Then annoyed with himself that he chokes away a service game for the match, he proceeds to absent mindedly coast through the next 2 games. Nearly gets broken again tied at 5-5 looking like he's going to punt it. Then hits 2 lightning bolt serves from deuce. Then slams the door shut to take it 7-5 and tells a fan to shove it.
"hes a loathsome offensive brute, yet I can't look away"
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She had a quote in the presser leading up about how she expected to perform, and basically rolled her eyes for comedic effect with the implication that she always expects to win any tournament she enters.
But it had a lot of Tiger Woods-esque expectation to it. The GOAT...but quite over the hill by age standards, coming off a long lay off, and hadn't won a major in half a decade. Maybe didn't expect her to lose to an opponent outside of the top 100, but likely would have been easily handled by one of the seeded players she had coming up.
On the mens side, what a full Kyrgios experience. I can't stand when he is a spoiled brat or doesn't try, but my god I love his game. And for his many warts, I do appreciate his refusal to stand for any sort of racism in the sport, which he's experienced for his entire career, and will always shine a light on it.
The 5th set was vintage Kyrgios. Coasting, up a break. Then annoyed with himself that he chokes away a service game for the match, he proceeds to absent mindedly coast through the next 2 games. Nearly gets broken again tied at 5-5 looking like he's going to punt it. Then hits 2 lightning bolt serves from deuce. Then slams the door shut to take it 7-5 and tells a fan to shove it.
"hes a loathsome offensive brute, yet I can't look away"
He's not my cup of tea, but he's got all the shots when he feels like playing hard. I didn't see his match.
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Nice. I see Isner is about to dispose of Andy Murray.
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Nice. I see Isner is about to dispose of Andy Murray.
Good. No one likes the British
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Four American men into the round of 32. Seven more play tomorrow, with one assured to advance since Cressy and Sock play each other.
Would be cool if they could win three others and make up 25% of the last 32.
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Good. No one likes the British
Including the Scottish...
Four American men into the round of 32. Seven more play tomorrow, with one assured to advance since Cressy and Sock play each other.
Would be cool if they could win three others and make up 25% of the last 32.
Opelka pissed away his chance to join them cause he cant, or refuses to, do anything but bomb aces. I am also shocked to see him seeded top 20 in a major, and that he's ranked top 20, considering he's made it past the 3rd round of a major just once, and hasn't even done well in ATP 100 tournaments.
Watch a bit of his match this afternoon. Was absolutely worthless returning serve and any meaningful return to one of his nukes left him absolutely flummoxed.
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Kyrgios is extremely dangerous on this surface. Not a fan of the guy but good luck breaking his serve if he's popping them in at a decent percentage.
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Kyrgios is extremely dangerous on this surface. Not a fan of the guy but good luck breaking his serve if he's popping them in at a decent percentage.
Meh. He'll face a little adversity -- as every player does in every competitive match -- and he'll start his antics. Underhand serves, delays, arguing with the umpire and/or linespeople, trash-talking to the crowd, etc. He'll lose his shyte and then he'll lose his match.
I'll believe another result is possible for him at a major as soon as he proves otherwise.
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Meh. He'll face a little adversity -- as every player does in every competitive match -- and he'll start his antics. Underhand serves, delays, arguing with the umpire and/or linespeople, trash-talking to the crowd, etc. He'll lose his shyte and then he'll lose his match.
I'll believe another result is possible for him at a major as soon as he proves otherwise.
I hope you're right and think that's probably what will happen. But man.......if that dude just played tennis, and cut the other b-ass, he's exceedingly dangerous against anyone on this surface. The ball is zipping off of his racket and it's just too fast on his serve and the grass. We're talking MOAB's MU82, they're not returnable. Hopefully though he has a typical self-inflicted meltdown. :)
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I hope you're right and think that's probably what will happen. But man.......if that dude just played tennis, and cut the other b-ass, he's exceedingly dangerous against anyone on this surface. The ball is zipping off of his racket and it's just too fast on his serve and the grass. We're talking MOAB's MU82, they're not returnable. Hopefully though he has a typical self-inflicted meltdown. :)
Tsitsipas is an interesting matchup for him, cause he's not someone who will slowly and patiently bait him. Should be a fun banger.
Speaking of meltdown, the most frustrating talent on tour, second to only Kyrgios, Shapo did more of his nonsense today. Absolutely handled by an inferior player when he could get absolutely nothing going.
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Tiafoe in a good match right now.
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Great draw for TIafoe. Would be huge if he can get to the Semis.
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Great draw for TIafoe. Would be huge if he can get to the Semis.
Fritz has a pretty open path to the QF, where he'd draw Rafa. Brooksby's draw gives him a shot at the QF too. Paul will be a sizable underdog vs. Norrie but that's not an unwinnable match.
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Great draw for TIafoe. Would be huge if he can get to the Semis.
Happy to see his game coming into form. I always forget how young he is. I love the snap he has on his forward. His follow through motion looks really cool and sharp. Easily my favorite of the young Americans.
Fritz has a pretty open path to the QF, where he'd draw Rafa. Brooksby's draw gives him a shot at the QF too. Paul will be a sizable underdog vs. Norrie but that's not an unwinnable match.
And then you have Brooksby, can't stand that lemon faced brat.
Paul is playing really good tennis, I think he's got a definite shot.
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Look out for Alcaraz in the next few years. He appears to be the real deal with the game tp play on all surfaces. I really hope we see a Djoker/Alcaraz QF.
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Look out for Alcaraz in the next few years. He appears to be the real deal with the game tp play on all surfaces. I really hope we see a Djoker/Alcaraz QF.
In the next few years? More like now. He's already won 2 tournaments in 2022 and has 2 major QFs basically before he was 19. He's top 10 in the world for a reason. He's arrived and a threat in anything he enters
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In the next few years? More like now. He's already won 2 tournaments in 2022 and has 2 major QFs basically before he was 19. He's top 10 in the world for a reason. He's arrived and a threat in anything he enters
What I mean is he may be able to be the next dominant player and win a bunch of slams.
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Gaiff playing now on ESPN. I said at the French I think grass will ultimately be her best surface and clay probably her worst. We'll see what happens but I think her power game is suited for Wimbledon.
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Brooksby got Cooksbyed.
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Wow. Incredibly disappointing performance by Gauff. She didn't handle the wind well and her forehand broke down. She also became very tentative which surprised me. She has to get stronger on her 2nd serve and overall consistency.
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First time there are 4 American men in the R16 at Wimbledon in 26 years. Two are favorites to reach the QF. Paul has a shot. Nakashima is the only guy whose win would be a huge surprise.
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Incredible draw for Kyrgios if he can pull this off. Nakashima and then the winner of Garin and De Minaur who are certainly beatable if he’s got his head in it. Maybe that doubles run in the Aussie put a charge in him
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BUMP
This version of Kyrgios is good enough to win the tourney, Head case breakdown aside. That tiebreak was masterful
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BUMP
This version of Kyrgios is good enough to win the tourney, Head case breakdown aside. That tiebreak was masterful
I mentioned he is dangerous on this surface JWags. Perhaps he's dangerous in general, I dunno. What I do know is if you serve that big on grass, and have a lot of power off the forehand wing, you should be in the mix to win at Wimbledon. His talent has always been there. Can he put it together with a wide open draw until the semis? It's definitely possible. But it's also possible he has an epic meltdown in the S16. :)
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Why on God's green earth is ESPN not showing the Tiafoe match?? He's the only American on the court right now, WTF?? inexcusable.
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I don't get this at all. Extremely disrespectful of ESPN to Tiafoe and the American audience to essentially not show his match. Which btw is 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 with Francis up 2 sets to 1. It's honestly a total embarrassment and they deserved to be vilified. Whoever made this decision is a clown.
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Just a few of the fun stories that first come to mind this Wimbledon so far:
34 year old mother of 2, Tatjana Maria is into the Women’s Quarterfinals (first slam) in her 10th try.
Jack Sock grinding his way back into the singles top 100 and forming a very promising mixed doubles team with Coco Gauff. Jamie Murray and Venus Williams playing well together too.
Harmony Tan into the round of 16 in Women’s singles playing very well.
Heather Watson making her first Wimbledon (and slam) Round of 16.
Several former college tennis players playing as well as qualifying for Wimbledon both Women and Men.
Brandon Nakashima (San Diego/UVA) into his first slam Round of 16.
Iga Swiatek losing after 37 straight wins. Ons Jabeur now a favorite to win it for Tunisia and North Africa.
Frances Tiafoe into his first Wimbledon round of 16. (4th slam overall)
Amanda Anisimova seeking her first slam quarterfinal at age 20.
Vandy having two different singles players in the draw, Astra Sharma and Fern Contreras.
Arizona State’s Desirae Krawczyk seeking her first doubles slam title, playing with Danielle Collins. (she has 3 mixed).
Serena playing for the first time in a year.
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Heartbreaking loss for Tiafoe.
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Heartbreaking loss for Tiafoe.
Yeah. Up 40-15 with a chance to break at 5-5 and Goffin hits four great first serves.
Then he crumbled in his own service game. Goffin was fantastic for large portions of that match. Wasn’t going to beat himself.
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Yeah. Up 40-15 with a chance to break at 5-5 and Goffin hits four great first serves.
Then he crumbled in his own service game. Goffin was fantastic for large portions of that match. Wasn’t going to beat himself.
Goffin earned it but that really hurts.
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Knee injury, out of the top 70, past ankle, back, leg injuries, former World number 7, David Goffin, into his 4th slam quarterfinal. Another good, strong top 25 level performance from Frances.
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Weird body language from Kyrgios. Hopefully Nakashima takes him out.
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I saw it coming! Kyrgios looks like he's faking a shoulder injury. Nakashima takes the 1st set.
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Damn. Nakashima can still win this in 5 but really let Kyrgios off the hook. Lots of doubles snd unforced errors.
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Nice to see Fritz rolling. Nakashima forces a 5th! If he maintains focus I think he can pull this off. He can't let Kyrgios' nonsense bother him.
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Kyrgios is always gonna be a roller coaster, but man it looks like he's got the goods right now.
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Sinner is handling himself quite well vs the Djoker. What a cool background. Tennis was his 3rd sport as a child, he was an elite junior skier. He didn't solely focus on Tennis until he was 13.
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Wow just wow! Sinner up 2 sets on Djokovic! Obviously you never count the Djoker out but he's going to really have to did deep to get this match. He looks frustrated and lost out there. VAMOS Jannik!!
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Wow just wow! Sinner up 2 sets on Djokovic! Obviously you never count the Djoker out but he's going to really have to did deep to get this match. He looks frustrated and lost out there. VAMOS Jannik!!
Novak comfortably won Set 3 and is now up 4-0 in the 4th. He's always been unreal when down substantially
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Novak comfortably won Set 3 and is now up 4-0 in the 4th. He's always been unreal when down substantially
Ya...he woke up. I'm off to work, you need to turn this around for Sinner JWags.
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Goffin up 2 sets to 1 on Norrie. Shame that Tiafoe couldn't pull out the match on Sunday. I think he would have had a great shot against Norrie today.
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About midway through the 3rd Djokovic went into human backboard mode. He's so tough to beat in a match of extended rallies and his mental toughness is extraordinary. He's able to control points more easily on grass and a hardcourt as opposed to clay. I sadly will say it's a longshot he doesn't win this and get #21. Now, if Rafa meets him in the Final it will be absolutely epic with all that is at stake. But Rafa has likely two really tough matches to get there.
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About midway through the 3rd Djokovic went into human backboard mode. He's so tough to beat in a match of extended rallies and his mental toughness is extraordinary. He's able to control points more easily on grass and a hardcourt as opposed to clay. I sadly will say it's a longshot he doesn't win this and get #21. Now, if Rafa meets him in the Final it will be absolutely epic with all that is at stake. But Rafa has likely two really tough matches to get there.
Rafa's next couple matches are interesting. Fritz actually beat him to win Indian Wells a few months ago. And then Kyrgios has actually faired decently against him off of clay. So provided Kyrgios gets past Garin, its definitely a brutal stretch for Rafa to get either Joker or the local favorite Norrie.
Another amusing potential matchup ancedote...Kyrgios is one of the few players who can say they are undefeated against Novak. 2-0, though they haven't played in 5 years.
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Rafa's next couple matches are interesting. Fritz actually beat him to win Indian Wells a few months ago. And then Kyrgios has actually faired decently against him off of clay. So provided Kyrgios gets past Garin, its definitely a brutal stretch for Rafa to get either Joker or the local favorite Norrie.
Another amusing potential matchup ancedote...Kyrgios is one of the few players who can say they are undefeated against Novak. 2-0, though they haven't played in 5 years.
I haven't gotten a chance to watch Fritz much so perhaps I'm underestimating him. Based on my calculations Rafa has a 33.7% chance to beat Djoker at Wimbledon. Kyrgios 11.3%, Norrie 2.2%. :)
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Hoping my guy, Rajeev Ram, gets another Major. Into the quarters.
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I haven't gotten a chance to watch Fritz much so perhaps I'm underestimating him. Based on my calculations Rafa has a 33.7% chance to beat Djoker at Wimbledon. Kyrgios 11.3%, Norrie 2.2%. :)
As a big Rafa fan, I’m not sure I see him having more than a 10% chance against Djokovic on grass. Their last final at Wimbledon wasn’t all that close. I think Djokovic would need to bring his “C” game.
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I'm trying to talk myself into Fritz tomorrow. He hasn't lost a set all tournament. He did beat Rafa in their last head to head but Rafa was pretty banged up.
Fritz has a lot going for him right now. He's playing great. But I can't fully get there.
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As a big Rafa fan, I’m not sure I see him having more than a 10% chance against Djokovic on grass. Their last final at Wimbledon wasn’t all that close. I think Djokovic would need to bring his “C” game.
I'll admit I'm very biased towards Rafa. Although I do think he has more than a 10% chance. He's played quite well Cheebs the last few rounds. No doubt Novak has the advantage and his best on grass beats Rafa's best. That said I think we should cut our differences and agree that if it's a Rafa vs Djoker Final Djoker's B game will lose to Rafa's A game?
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I'll admit I'm very biased towards Rafa. Although I do think he has more than a 10% chance. He's played quite well Cheebs the last few rounds. No doubt Novak has the advantage and his best on grass beats Rafa's best. That said I think we should cut our differences and agree that if it's a Rafa vs Djoker Final Djoker's B game will lose to Rafa's A game?
You’ve been watching closer than I have, so you have a better read. Just looking at scores, it doesn’t look like Djokovic has been dominant. So I would agree with that.
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You’ve been watching closer than I have, so you have a better read. Just looking at scores, it doesn’t look like Djokovic has been dominant. So I would agree with that.
Djokovic dropped a single set total through 3 matches before Sinner pushed him. And once he took control in the 3rd, he was utterly dominant.
I'll admit I'm very biased towards Rafa. Although I do think he has more than a 10% chance. He's played quite well Cheebs the last few rounds. No doubt Novak has the advantage and his best on grass beats Rafa's best. That said I think we should cut our differences and agree that if it's a Rafa vs Djoker Final Djoker's B game will lose to Rafa's A game?
I'm actually not sure of that. You know when the last time Nadal beat Djokovic on a non-clay surface? 2013. Grass is a place where Novak thrives, as evidenced by making at least the QFs 11 out of his last 12 tournaments at Wimbledon, and a surface that is easily Rafa's weakest.
In the last 10 years, Djokovic is 10-2 vs Nadal on grass/hard surface. That doesn't bode well from Rafa if they meet in a final.
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Djokovic dropped a single set total through 3 matches before Sinner pushed him. And once he took control in the 3rd, he was utterly dominant.
I'm actually not sure of that. You know when the last time Nadal beat Djokovic on a non-clay surface? 2013. Grass is a place where Novak thrives, as evidenced by making at least the QFs 11 out of his last 12 tournaments at Wimbledon, and a surface that is easily Rafa's weakest.
In the last 10 years, Djokovic is 10-2 vs Nadal on grass/hard surface. That doesn't bode well from Rafa if they meet in a final.
They have very few matches on grass or a hardcourt the last 5 yrs.
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Djokovic dropped a single set total through 3 matches before Sinner pushed him. And once he took control in the 3rd, he was utterly dominant.
That’s fair. I haven’t really watched, but just tracked scores. In some cases he hasn’t dropped a set at this point, so that was my thought regarding being less dominant. I still think he’s the overwhelming favorite.
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Nadal is in big trouble. Give Fritz a lot of credit. The young man has worked hard on his game and is just solid all over the court. Rafa is a little off but Fritz is not allowing him to control the points and hitting his spots on his serve. Rafa needs to dig in right now.
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They have very few matches on grass or a hardcourt the last 5 yrs.
It doesn't matter what time frame you choose. Nadal hasn't held a candle to Djokovic off of clay since they were both in their early/mid 20s.
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Nadal is in big trouble. Give Fritz a lot of credit. The young man has worked hard on his game and is just solid all over the court. Rafa is a little off but Fritz is not allowing him to control the points and hitting his spots on his serve. Rafa needs to dig in right now.
I don't think he's in big trouble yet, but definitely a great first set from Fritz. We'll see if he can maintain as Rafa adjusts.
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I don't think he's in big trouble yet, but definitely a great first set from Fritz. We'll see if he can maintain as Rafa adjusts.
I was a bit hyperbolic but Rafe needs to get it together. :)
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It doesn't matter what time frame you choose. Nadal hasn't held a candle to Djokovic off of clay since they were both in their early/mid 20s.
I would differentiate grass from a hardcourt. He's 1-2 vs Djoker at Wimbledon including a 10-8 in the 5th loss in 2018.
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Ughhh. Rafa has an abdominal problem. Smh.
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Random fact. Three of the four men playing today Nadal, Kyrgios, and Garin are listed at 187 pounds on ESPN.
Oh, and Ram onto the semis!
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Terrible. He looked fine early in the match. Well, have a good day everyone.
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Terrible. He looked fine early in the match. Well, have a good day everyone.
If he can pull out this set and then the meds kick in, he's got a shot. Important for Fritz to take the 2nd.
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If he can pull out this set and then the meds kick in, he's got a shot. Important for Fritz to take the 2nd.
I hope you're right. Anyway, I'll miss it.
:( Hopefully you can will Rafa to a victory. :)
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I hope you're right. Anyway, I'll miss it.
:( Hopefully you can will Rafa to a victory. :)
I'd prefer Fritz wins but I'll be cheering for Rafa going forward if he can pull it out.
Edit: Rafa seems to be moving just fine now. It's only the serve that doesn't look right.
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Im too young to have seen McEnroe, but I wonder how similar he and Kyrgios are on court. Cause I know all the negatives against him but my god I LOVE watching him play when he's on
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Im too young to have seen McEnroe, but I wonder how similar he and Kyrgios are on court. Cause I know all the negatives against him but my god I LOVE watching him play when he's on
I really hate that Kyrgios has the domestic violence thing going on, becuase otherwise I LOVE his villain persona.
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Fritz is rattled and Nadal is playing great.
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Im too young to have seen McEnroe, but I wonder how similar he and Kyrgios are on court. Cause I know all the negatives against him but my god I LOVE watching him play when he's on
I would say FOR HIS TIME McEnroe was like Kyrgios is now. But if judged side-by-side, McEnroe wasn't nearly the "bad boy" that Kyrgios is.
McEnroe was a very popular player in his era. A brash, but "common man" type aura about him.
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I really hate that Kyrgios has the domestic violence thing going on, becuase otherwise I LOVE his villain persona.
The timing is weird. Not meant to be victim shaming, but its just sort of odd. Its the same Ex that went HAM on social media when they broke up, so who knows. He doesn't have a history of it. Almost all of his black marks are related to on court/in sport stuff.
But otherwise, I agree. He's nothing if not authentic. And it balances so interestingly cause off the court he's fairly charitable and kind of an interesting cat. His favorite athlete I believe is KG, which kind of matches with that.
I would say FOR HIS TIME McEnroe was like Kyrgios is now. But if judged side-by-side, McEnroe wasn't nearly the "bad boy" that Kyrgios is.
McEnroe was a very popular player in his era. A brash, but "common man" type aura about him.
Thanks, makes sense. I do wonder if social media and mics/cameras were everywhere in the late 70s/early 80s how it would have matched up.
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But otherwise, I agree. He's nothing if not authentic. And it balances so interestingly cause off the court he's fairly charitable and kind of an interesting cat. His favorite athlete I believe is KG, which kind of matches with that.
I didn't know the KG thing, but that 10000% tracks. Rooting interests for Americans aside, I really want to see a Kyrgios-Djokovic final where Kyrgios decides going in that he has to get in Joker's head. I could see that being an absolute riot.
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Thanks, makes sense. I do wonder if social media and mics/cameras were everywhere in the late 70s/early 80s how it would have matched up.
I don't think McEnroe had a reputation of being an pretty boy off the court though. He would just lose his temper in some insane ways when he played.
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I don't think McEnroe had a reputation of being an pretty boy off the court though. He would just lose his temper in some insane ways when he played.
I meant more every little thing Kyrgios does on court is picked up and shared/reposted/etc...
Meanwhile, this is an INCREDIBLY gutty performance by Nadal. But also really gritty and resilient from Fritz. Just an awesome match
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Wow. Somehow Rafa gutted that match out? Did he look injured? I thought he couldn't muster any pop on his serve about midway through the first set.
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Wow. Somehow Rafa gutted that match out? Did he look injured? I thought he couldn't muster any pop on his serve about midway through the first set.
His serve improved slightly but Fritz was able to break him more than a few times. Fritz wasn’t able to capitalize on his service games and Rafa’s defense and movement were fantastic.
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His serve improved slightly but Fritz was able to break him more than a few times. Fritz wasn’t able to capitalize on his service games and Rafa’s defense and movement were fantastic.
But will he be okay for Fri?
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But will he be okay for Fri?
Too early to tell. If Rafa plays/moves like he did today, given Kyrgios' current form, he'd likely handle Rafa pretty easily. Kyrgios was up and down at times, but he shut the door repeatedly on his serve. His serve and forehand pace will give Rafa tons of issues if his abs aren't right
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Ram and Salisbury in the midst of a MASSIVE choke. Up 2-0 and had multiple match points in the 3rd.
Ram's doubles career revitalization has been an amazing story but he's been pretty terrible down the stretch today. Age is clearly showing.
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Matthew Ebden will exit his 5th set Men’s Doubles Semifinal win and play the Mixed Doubles Finals. (Had a super close 3 set semi win over Gauff/Sock) He had never made it past the 2nd round at Wimbledon prior.
Elena Rybakina, born in Moscow, trained in Russia, represented Russia until four years ago, (took some cash to reprsent Kazhatstan) lives in Moscow, is into the Women’s Singles final at a high level. Interesting since Russia and Belarus players not allowed in the event.
Arizona State’s Desirae Krawczyk and Virginia’s Danielle Collins are into the dubs semifinals (Desirae is also in the mixed final.)
Ons Jabeur gets the chance to win Wimbledon during first day of Eid Al Adha where many eyes will be turned to Ons.
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Nadal is out
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Nadal is out
Damn. He couldn't withdraw before knocking Fritz out?
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Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Smh.
No one to root for. :(
Norrie shocks the world?
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Saves the shame of getting rolled by Kyrgios, due to his health more than anything. Sucks for the winner of Djokovic-Norrie to face someone on 3+ days rest
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Is Nadal soft?
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Darn shame for Rafa. If healthy, he had a legit shot at winning the 3rd leg of the Grand Slam.
Nadal's win over Fritz was one for his all-time highlight reel. At the end, he often wasn't even hitting 100 on his first serves, and a decent club player could have returned his second serves. But he kept battling, kept making ground strokes and great plays at the net, kept moving Fritz all over the court. Used every ounce of his experience, savvy and talent he could muster.
Looked to me like Fritz got swept up in the moment and the pressure. Too bad. Would have liked to have seen someone take on Kyrgios today.
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I hope I'm wrong but I can't see Djoker not rolling this dude in straights. Norrie looks terrified to me. Terrible Rafa is injured.
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Norrie with the early break!! :)
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Norrie
Norrie
Norrie
Norrie
Norrie
:)
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I hope I'm wrong but I can't see Djoker not rolling this dude in straights. Norrie looks terrified to me. Terrible Rafa is injured.
@FreezingColdTakes
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There are going to be so many people unhappy with the Djokovic-Kyrgios final.
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An insane amount of unforced errors in the women's final right now. Could be nerves.
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Rybakina settled down. Her groundstrokes are totally overpowering Jabeur. She's either going to hit her off the court or unforced errors will prevent her from getting the win.
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Kyrgios with an early break. He looks very composed thus far.
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Kyrgios may be insane? Hard to tell.
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Kyrgios may be insane? Hard to tell.
Immature and mentally weak. He pretty much talked himself into losing the 3rd set.
I want Rafa to have the record for major titles when it’s all said and done, so while I really appreciate Djokovic’s talent and consistency, I usually root against him.
But I sure can’t pull for the baby on the other side of the net today.
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I'm really rooting for Kyrgios. We've been so spoiled with Federer, Rafa, and Djokovic but I think its refreshing to see a guy who openly struggles with himself out there. And he's been pretty honest about tennis not being his whole life and that he's not ever going to put enough into it to raise his game to the level of those other guys, which I also can appreciate.
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Immature and mentally weak. He pretty much talked himself into losing the 3rd set.
I want Rafa to have the record for major titles when it’s all said and done, so while I really appreciate Djokovic’s talent and consistency, I usually root against him.
But I sure can’t pull for the baby on the other side of the net today.
I just don't understand his constant running commentary. I mean it's like every point so it appears to be done for attention? He threw away two service games because of it, it seems rather nonsensical. What's truly embarrassing is that we're talking about a guy with top 5 talent in the world, easily. And on grass he probably should have a few Wimbledons under his belt. I think it goes beyond being immature but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like intentional and masochistic.
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I just don't understand his constant running commentary. I mean it's like every point so it appears to be done for attention? He threw away two service games because of it, it seems rather nonsensical. What's truly embarrassing is that we're talking about a guy with top 5 talent in the world, easily. And on grass he probably should have a few Wimbledons under his belt. I think it goes beyond being immature but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like intentional and masochistic.
Someone on the broadcast compared him to a basketball player (and Wags mentioned his love of basketball earlier in the thread) and the more I watch, the more I think that's apt. He's kind of a tragic (in the Greek sense) figure to me because he's got this out of this world talent for a sport that just doesn't match his psychology.
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I just don't understand his constant running commentary. I mean it's like every point so it appears to be done for attention? He threw away two service games because of it, it seems rather nonsensical. What's truly embarrassing is that we're talking about a guy with top 5 talent in the world, easily. And on grass he probably should have a few Wimbledons under his belt. I think it goes beyond being immature but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like intentional and masochistic.
You might be right … but NK’s head is too dark and scary a place for me to contemplate all that stuff.
Great serving to stay in the match. I admire Djokovic’s focus.
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21. Not a well played tb by Kyrgios.
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You can’t just concede in the middle of a tiebreaker. Good riddance.
A shame that Rafa wasn’t physically right.
Anyway, very impressive performance by Djokovic. In addition to his superior shotmaking, just incredible concentration and mental toughness.
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'82 - hot take question for you. What do you see as different between Kyrgios and Osaka?
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21. Not a well played tb by Kyrgios.
Yup. The moment really overwhelmed him there. Too bad, but that's what makes the big 3 the big 3, I suppose.
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'82 - hot take question for you. What do you see as different between Kyrgios and Osaka?
I don’t know, and I don’t have any guesses.
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You can’t just concede in the middle of a tiebreaker. Good riddance.
A shame that Rafa wasn’t physically right.
Anyway, very impressive performance by Djokovic. In addition to his superior shotmaking, just incredible concentration and mental toughness.
There's no doubt that the mental toughness of Djokovic and Rafa are at the highest possible level. Tremendous competitors and they rarely beat themselves. Federer may actually be the most gifted with his all court game but he's not as tough. He threw away a few huge GS Finals against the Djoker and Nadal.
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I don’t know, and I don’t have any guesses.
Okay, but like, would you also say these things about Osaka?
Immature and mentally weak. He pretty much talked himself into losing the 3rd set.
But I sure can’t pull for the baby on the other side of the net today.
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Okay, but like, would you also say these things about Osaka?
I haven’t, so I guess not.
Anyway, funny comments by Djokovic about Kyrgios after match.
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Say what you want about Djokovic, and I'm 100% a Rafa guy, but you have to admire his tenacity and focus. Also, he's always been the least liked of the Big 3 but the guy just keeps coming. If he winds up #1 all-time in G-Slams he will have definitely earned it.
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Say what you want about Djokovic, and I'm 100% a Rafa guy, but you have to admire his tenacity and focus. Also, he's always been the least liked of the Big 3 but the guy just keeps coming. If he winds up #1 all-time in G-Slams he will have definitely earned it.
Totally agree, Muggs.
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i'm just glad kyrgios didn't win...he's a major league cack sacker
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i'm just glad kyrgios didn't win...he's a major league cack sacker
Hard to dispute that analysis.
I didn't realize that as of now Djoker can't play in the USOpen or Australian. I'm wondering if that's gonna be upheld in NY? it's conceivable his next G-Slam won't be until May of 2023. Advantage Rafa if that's the case. 15 French Opens are on the table btw. :)
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I'm also going to predict Kyrgios does not make another GS Final. :)
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I'm also going to predict Kyrgios does not make another GS Final. :)
I think the answer to that will show itself in the next 12-18 months. If this invigorates him and he starts playing with focus, I don't agree. He was the clear second best player the past fortnight in London. He's not a kid, but he's still just entering his prime. Its all how he handles mentals and his stress.
For all the justified criticism, he handled losing with grace and class today.
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I think the answer to that will show itself in the next 12-18 months. If this invigorates him and he starts playing with focus, I don't agree. He was the clear second best player the past fortnight in London. He's not a kid, but he's still just entering his prime. Its all how he handles mentals and his stress.
For all the justified criticism, he handled losing with grace and class today.
His best surface is grass but he should also be dangerous on a fast USOPEN hard court. That said I think he had a fortuitous draw and Tsisipas lost his composure by most accounts. Remember JWags Zverev is out and Medvy, Berratini, and Rublev didn't play. What I'm saying is I don't trust Nick Kyrgios to get his act together so to speak. In fact I would not be surprised at all if he has a complete meltdown within a year. :)
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I think the answer to that will show itself in the next 12-18 months. If this invigorates him and he starts playing with focus, I don't agree. He was the clear second best player the past fortnight in London. He's not a kid, but he's still just entering his prime. Its all how he handles mentals and his stress.
For all the justified criticism, he handled losing with grace and class today.
At the risk of getting lost in semantics, I'll somewhat disagree that Kyrgios was "clearly" the second best player. Rafa had been playing great till he got hurt. The American kid Rafa played in the quarters, Taylor Fritz, hadn't lost a single set before he ran into Rafa and was playing awesome tennis. Kyrgios, meanwhile, was taken to 5 sets by two different unranked opponents. I'd say Rafa was playing at least as well as Kyrgios, and Fritz was at the very least close rather than "clearly" outclassed. Just my opinion.
Totally agree with the way he handled the loss today. There were a couple of times during the match that I thought he was seconds away from going ballistic, but he held it together, and he couldn't have been more gracious afterward. His willingness to stick up for Djokovic before the Australian Open obviously melted the iceberg that had been between them.
I also agree that Kyrgios now has a chance to show how good he really can be because, as you said, he's entering what should be his prime. He has all the shots, and goodness knows he has the serve. But a champion doesn't just throw away multiple points during a tiebreaker in the final of a major because he's upset with himself. It will be interesting to see if this was just a fart in the wind or the first step toward a meaningful career.
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Sometimes internal demons that drives you to excel can also be your undoing.
Regarding Nick Kyrgios, his antics must be pretty well known on the circuit.
If you know you were going to play him, I would have my practice partner do his antics to try to rattle me during practice.
While you have to have the skills at that level, during a match, focus is what will allow you to win or lose.
Kyrgios clearly got to Tsitsipas and we know what the results were.
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His best surface is grass but he should also be dangerous on a fast USOPEN hard court. That said I think he had a fortuitous draw and Tsisipas lost his composure by most accounts. Remember JWags Zverev is out and Medvy, Berratini, and Rublev didn't play. What I'm saying is I don't trust Nick Kyrgios to get his act together so to speak. In fact I would not be surprised at all if he has a complete meltdown within a year. :)
His draw was only fortuitous that he didn't face a healthy Rafa. You want a fortuitous draw...Fritz didn't play as single top 50 player until Rafa.
I know that some big names were out, but at his peak, Kyrgios can compete with all of them. This wasn't a cinderella story. This was an elite talent who seemingly put it together for the first time in a major in his career.
At the risk of getting lost in semantics, I'll somewhat disagree that Kyrgios was "clearly" the second best player. Rafa had been playing great till he got hurt. The American kid Rafa played in the quarters, Taylor Fritz, hadn't lost a single set before he ran into Rafa and was playing awesome tennis. Kyrgios, meanwhile, was taken to 5 sets by two different unranked opponents. I'd say Rafa was playing at least as well as Kyrgios, and Fritz was at the very least close rather than "clearly" outclassed. Just my opinion.
Totally agree with the way he handled the loss today. There were a couple of times during the match that I thought he was seconds away from going ballistic, but he held it together, and he couldn't have been more gracious afterward. His willingness to stick up for Djokovic before the Australian Open obviously melted the iceberg that had been between them.
I also agree that Kyrgios now has a chance to show how good he really can be because, as you said, he's entering what should be his prime. He has all the shots, and goodness knows he has the serve. But a champion doesn't just throw away multiple points during a tiebreaker in the final of a major because he's upset with himself. It will be interesting to see if this was just a fart in the wind or the first step toward a meaningful career.
Thats fair. I wouldn't say he was consistently the 2nd best, cause thats the Kyrgios experience. He even admitted to conceding the 4th against Nakashima to save himself for the 5th. But, IMO, his top level, that he repeatedly showed in crucial moments in a number of matches, was the second best in the tourney. Not a hill I would die on, but just my take.
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Thats fair. I wouldn't say he was consistently the 2nd best, cause thats the Kyrgios experience. He even admitted to conceding the 4th against Nakashima to save himself for the 5th. But, IMO, his top level, that he repeatedly showed in crucial moments in a number of matches, was the second best in the tourney. Not a hill I would die on, but just my take.
Reasonable. We certainly agree that he's a talented tennis player. We'll see what that means for his future when his future becomes his present!
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I'm probably as big a Kyrgios-stan as you'll find, and I am very bearish on his future. I would bet significant money that this weekend was the best result of his career. Yes, he has his explosive personality and his emotions get away from him, but I think his real career ceiling is that he just doesn't want it bad enough. And again, that's coming from a huge fan. Even in his very gracious and funny post-match comments yesterday he responded to questions about whether this will motivate his game going forward with "Eh, we'll see. I'm going on vacation next." I think winning Wimbledon would have been a dream come true for Kyrgios, but not the dream come true.
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I'm probably as big a Kyrgios-stan as you'll find, and I am very bearish on his future. I would bet significant money that this weekend was the best result of his career. Yes, he has his explosive personality and his emotions get away from him, but I think his real career ceiling is that he just doesn't want it bad enough. And again, that's coming from a huge fan. Even in his very gracious and funny post-match comments yesterday he responded to questions about whether this will motivate his game going forward with "Eh, we'll see. I'm going on vacation next." I think winning Wimbledon would have been a dream come true for Kyrgios, but not the dream come true.
Totally fair. I think part of my optimism, if you will, is this coming on the heels of the Aussie Open doubles run where he was having an absolute blast.
He's never going to be an obsessive winner laser focused on the next great tennis feat. But aging a bit, some success, perhaps settling down a bit with his fiancee, could be something.
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Federer out of the rankings for the first time since 1997.
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Federer out of the rankings for the first time since 1997.
I give him a 50/50 chance to win this week at St. Andrews.
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Wim Fissette is on the market. He has coached 5 different players to a GS Semis or better. (parting ways with Naomi Osaka)
Serena Williams will play Toronto, Cincinnati, and New York.
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High level performance from Coco Gauff over Naomi Osaka at Silicon Valley Classic 6-4, 6-4. Big hitting, smart point crafting, elite movement. Won 93% first serve points in first set. Electric match with a late Osaka push. Gauff will likely enter the World Top 10 next week, for the first time, after sitting at 11 for a while.
Some good tennis in the U.S. this week in San Jose and Washington D.C.
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Serena hanging them up.
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Pretty big week for Daria Kasatkina.
Daria, Russia’s top player, recently revealed she is gay, still unfortunately a big difficult thing to do, anywhere, let alone Russia. Then she immediately wins the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose. Wins included: Rogers, Badosa, Sabalenka, Townsend, Rybakina. With it, she moved into the World’s top 10. Then she hopped on a 7am flight to Toronto for the Canadian Open, to gamely lose a close match to a top level player.
…………..
Serena retiring is only surprising in the sense that she doesn’t like to do these types of announcements, to always keep a door open. Tickets will be hard to come by and expensive in Queens for anyone else going. Sold 17k tix within an hour of her announcement. She’ll get a tough 2nd opponent in Toronto in Bencic. And she’ll play Cincinnati too.
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Serena hanging them up.
Must be using a strong crane, aina?
#freerocket2022v2
#freeziggy2022
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The new number 1 ranked WTA Doubles player is…..18 year old Coco Gauff, the 2nd youngest top ranked doubles player ever. Both she and fellow Canadian Open Doubles Champion Jessie Pegula, are also both top 8 for year end WTA World Tour Finals in both singles and doubles.
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In 2021 Ben Shelton won the deciding match to help the University of Florida win the NCAA Title.
In 2022, Ben won the NCAA Singles Title.
He has since reached 2 ATP Challenger Finals, and 2 semifinals.
This week he has won his first ATP 1000 match, and he had his first win over a top 100 player, moving into the World Top 200. And now, he has added a win over the 5th ranked player in the World.
Ben, 19, is the son of former tour player Bryan, who has long been the Women’s coach at Georgia Tech and most recently, the Men’s coach at Florida.
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good discussion on First Take this morning (Dan Patrick Show is off this week so, ugh, I came across Screamin' A Smith): Serena or Martina, who is the real "GOAT?" Martina won more and had better competition (Chrissy, Seles, Graf, among others). Serena dominated her era and won a Slam nine weeks pregnant but there isn't another real great besides Venus (Sharapova isn't an all-time great) she overcame. Thoughts?
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/118578/espn-sports-analyst-explains-why-martina-navratilova-is-goat-and-not-serena-williams/
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good discussion on First Take this morning (Dan Patrick Show is off this week so, ugh, I came across Screamin' A Smith): Serena or Martina, who is the real "GOAT?" Martina won more and had better competition (Chrissy, Seles, Graf, among others). Serena dominated her era and won a Slam nine weeks pregnant but there isn't another real great besides Venus (Sharapova isn't an all-time great) she overcame. fThoughts?
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/118578/espn-sports-analyst-explains-why-martina-navratilova-is-goat-and-not-serena-williams/
Seles probably would have won another 8+ if she wasn't stabbed. I think people forget what she did as a very young player. To your point I do think Martina and Graf faced better competition at the top. Henin caused Serena a lot of problems and was better on clay. Now all that said I still slot Serena #1 because she had the best serve by far and her court coverage was elite. There have been other players that have been more consistent, including power players like Davenport, but Serena's serve was just so dominant. I still would have loved to see Seles or Graf against Serena at their peak. Because I do think both of them were far and away better than her main competitors as were Martina and Evert.
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good discussion on First Take this morning (Dan Patrick Show is off this week so, ugh, I came across Screamin' A Smith): Serena or Martina, who is the real "GOAT?" Martina won more and had better competition (Chrissy, Seles, Graf, among others). Serena dominated her era and won a Slam nine weeks pregnant but there isn't another real great besides Venus (Sharapova isn't an all-time great) she overcame. Thoughts?
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/118578/espn-sports-analyst-explains-why-martina-navratilova-is-goat-and-not-serena-williams/
“Good discussion on First Take this morning,” is not a phrase I have uttered.
There is no such thing as GOAT because all players cannot play in all eras under the same circumstances. The best anyone can be is the best or among the best of his or her era. And therefore, they would be among the all time best or greats.
It’s silly and not a serious discussion to try compare players from different eras. The list of different circumstances is vast. Travel, Money, Fitness, Coaching, Technology, Gear, Physios, Priorities, tourney organization, scheduling, on and on and on are not the same.
Pete Sampras, one of the best players of his era, said it well when he was asked this question:
What would you do if you had played in this or that era? His answer: I’d think I’d adjust.
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good discussion on First Take this morning (Dan Patrick Show is off this week so, ugh, I came across Screamin' A Smith): Serena or Martina, who is the real "GOAT?" Martina won more and had better competition (Chrissy, Seles, Graf, among others). Serena dominated her era and won a Slam nine weeks pregnant but there isn't another real great besides Venus (Sharapova isn't an all-time great) she overcame. Thoughts?
https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Serena_Williams/118578/espn-sports-analyst-explains-why-martina-navratilova-is-goat-and-not-serena-williams/
The answer is Serena Williams. It's not close.
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“Good discussion on First Take this morning,” is not a phrase I have uttered.
There is no such thing as GOAT because all players cannot play in all eras under the same circumstances. The best anyone can be is the best or among the best of his or her era. And therefore, they would be among the all time best or greats.
It’s silly and not a serious discussion to try compare players from different eras. The list of different circumstances is vast. Travel, Money, Fitness, Coaching, Technology, Gear, Physios, Priorities, tourney organization, scheduling, on and on and on are not the same.
Pete Sampras, one of the best players of his era, said it well when he was asked this question:
What would you do if you had played in this or that era? His answer: I’d think I’d adjust.
You may think it's silly or not a serious discussion but people generally like to partake in these hypotheticals and Serena called herself the GOAT which probably piqued some interest in this particular topic.
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Seles probably would have won another 8+ if she wasn't stabbed. I think people forget what she did as a very young player. To your point I do think Martina and Graf faced better competition at the top. Henin caused Serena a lot of problems and was better on clay. Now all that said I still slot Serena #1 because she had the best serve by far and her court coverage was elite. There have been other players that have been more consistent, including power players like Davenport, but Serena's serve was just so dominant. I still would have loved to see Seles or Graf against Serena at their peak. Because I do think both of them were far and away better than her main competitors as were Martina and Evert.
Reasonable take, Muggs.
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You may think it's silly or not a serious discussion but people generally like to partake in these hypotheticals and Serena called herself the GOAT which probably piqued some interest in this particular topic.
I do think it is silly and not serious. That’s great that Serena called herself the goat, good for her. She was the best tennis player in her era. I know people who called themselves the goat at making coffee this morning too.
Serena, by her own admission, has only been playing the past few years to break a non open era record set by a player who played in the 1960’’s, mostly on grass. And Serena only started doing that because of the “silly” “small” percentage of media and fans who strangely started playing a “counting slams” game. Imagine if she had started counting slams 10 or 15 years ago. Tennis is about much more than counting slams.
At one point Chris Evert didn’t play 10 out of 11 straight Australian Opens. This of course was very common in her time with other players too.
The United States Open has been played on 3 different surfaces, and, that doesn’t even count for type of grass, type of clay, type of hard court in different eras.
You are trying to guess how many more slams a (terribly unfortunate) stabbed 19 year old would have won.
You are also trying to compare different eras not accounting for the opportunity of the former older era players to be given the same advantages and circumstances. That automatically favors more modern era players. And you limit your inclusion of past players to one or two dominant players, which is also short sighted.
Serena was the best player of her era, and therefore an all time great, one of the best to ever do it. That was short and easy to say. Enjoy lots and lots of great players and all time greats.
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I do think it is silly and not serious. That’s great that Serena called herself the goat, good for her. She was the best tennis player in her era. I know people who called themselves the goat at making coffee this morning too.
Serena, by her own admission, has only been playing the past few years to break a non open era record set by a player who played in the 1960’’s, mostly on grass. And Serena only started doing that because of the “silly” “small” percentage of media and fans who strangely started playing a “counting slams” game. Imagine if she had started counting slams 10 or 15 years ago. Tennis is about much more than counting slams.
At one point Chris Evert didn’t play 10 out of 11 straight Australian Opens. This of course was very common in her time with other players too.
The United States Open has been played on 3 different surfaces, and, that doesn’t even count for type of grass, type of clay, type of hard court in different eras.
You are trying to guess how many more slams a (terribly unfortunate) stabbed 19 year old would have won.
You are also trying to compare different eras not accounting for the opportunity of the former older era players to be given the same advantages and circumstances. That automatically favors more modern era players. And you limit your inclusion of past players to one or two dominant players, which is also short sighted.
Serena was the best player of her era, and therefore an all time great, one of the best to ever do it. That was short and easy to say.
With all do respect I think your take of never comparing players in eras, because of your list of reasons, makes for really dull conversation. People do it because it's fun for starters but additionally, great players in all sports have a legacy. They are keenly aware of the history of their craft and are driven by things like grand slam titles and other records. Lastly, I just executed the finest, most dominant, and utterly indisputable all-time best, 4 cup French press coffee carafe with my Kona Peaberry beans. You're damn fking right I'm the 🐐. :)
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I do think it is silly and not serious. That’s great that Serena called herself the goat, good for her. She was the best tennis player in her era. I know people who called themselves the goat at making coffee this morning too.
Serena, by her own admission, has only been playing the past few years to break a non open era record set by a player who played in the 1960’’s, mostly on grass. And Serena only started doing that because of the “silly” “small” percentage of media and fans who strangely started playing a “counting slams” game. Imagine if she had started counting slams 10 or 15 years ago. Tennis is about much more than counting slams.
At one point Chris Evert didn’t play 10 out of 11 straight Australian Opens. This of course was very common in her time with other players too.
The United States Open has been played on 3 different surfaces, and, that doesn’t even count for type of grass, type of clay, type of hard court in different eras.
You are trying to guess how many more slams a (terribly unfortunate) stabbed 19 year old would have won.
You are also trying to compare different eras not accounting for the opportunity of the former older era players to be given the same advantages and circumstances. That automatically favors more modern era players. And you limit your inclusion of past players to one or two dominant players, which is also short sighted.
Serena was the best player of her era, and therefore an all time great, one of the best to ever do it. That was short and easy to say. Enjoy lots and lots of great players and all time greats.
I’m not reading this. I’m glad it happened to you or very sad for your predicament
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With all do respect I think your take of never comparing players in eras, because of your list of reasons, makes for really dull conversation. People do it because it's fun for starters but additionally, great players in all sports have a legacy. They are keenly aware of the history of their craft and are driven by things like grand slam titles and other records. Lastly, I just executed the finest, most dominant, and utterly indisputable all-time best, 4 cup French press coffee carafe with my Kona Peaberry beans. You're damn fking right I'm the 🐐. :)
Fun for me, is enjoying tennis, not just the top few Men’s players and counting slams.
Fun is watching yesterday the grind of 179th ranked Caty McNally, in her home town of Cincinnati, getting a 1000 win, and, taking top 5 World player Ons Jabeur to the limit, earning multiple match points in a 3 set thriller before falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9). Equally fun has been the rise of Ons.
Fun is watching how well Taylor Townsend is playing, push herself back into singles after having a kid last year. She won 3 straight qualifying matches before going the distance with a top 45 player. This on the heels of a great run in San Jose. Worthy of discussion is the U.S. Open not giving her a deserved wild card this year.
Borna Cornic’ win over Rafa Nadal last night was fun, as was Korda over Tiafoe after the great Tiafoe win over Berrettini.
Fun is watching Shelby Rogers playing the best tennis of her life at age 29. Top 30 player.
Fun is Daria Kasatkina bravely coming out as gay and then defeating Wimbledon champ Rybakina, Badosa, Sabalenka, Rogers and Townsend to win San Jose and move into the top 10.
Fun is Gauff and Pegula trying to finish in the top 8 in both singles and doubles to qualify for the WTA finals.
Fun is watching 34 year old married mom Tatjana Maria make the Wimbledon semifinals in singles.
Lots and lots of fun things are going on right now in tennis.
Take the LIRR or 7 train the week before the U.S. Open and watch mini qualifying tourneys. (It’s free) That’s fun.
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Rafa's the men's GOAT, as everyone knows.
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Another top 10 win for Taylor Fritz, (his 3rd this year) n 3 sets over Rublev. He has a chance to enter the World Top 10 this week.
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Rafa's the men's GOAT, as everyone knows.
Tennis or Coffee Brewer??
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Tennis or Coffee Brewer??
Soccer-playing, golfing tennis star.
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Soccer-playing, golfing tennis star.
Am I allowed to state that he and the Djoker would have beaten Connors like a drum?
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Speaking of top 10 wins and Taylor Fritz….fellow American Madison Keys gets a well earned 22nd top 10 win of her career, and, her 2nd win over a World Number 1 player (Iga Swiatek) to move on in Mason, Ohio.
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Summer fun:
The most WTA singles tour wins the past 3 months is....is....28 year old France's Caro Garcia.
In the last 3 months:
4-0 vs top 10.
3 Singles titles on 3 different surfaces. (clay, grass, hard)
Also won a doubles Grand Slam title in tbat time frame.
Your Cincy 1000 singles champ.
Back in the top 20.
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And Borna Coric says move over. More turning back the clock. Wow.
Not ranked within the top 150, Coric gets 4 top 10 seeded wins, and takes the title in Cincinnati. The former top 12 player will move to the top 30 (29) and be seeded at the United States Open.
Two great stories.
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Rafa's the men's GOAT, as everyone knows.
Interesting comparison here:
https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/nadal-vs-djokovic-goat-head-to-head-stats-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-rivalry-81292.html (https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/nadal-vs-djokovic-goat-head-to-head-stats-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-rivalry-81292.html)
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Interesting comparison here:
https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/nadal-vs-djokovic-goat-head-to-head-stats-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-rivalry-81292.html (https://www.tennismajors.com/atp/nadal-vs-djokovic-goat-head-to-head-stats-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-rivalry-81292.html)
Really interesting stuff, lawdog. Thanks for posting.
We've gotten to witness the 3 best tennis players ever, all in their primes, all at the same time. I can't think of anything else like that in the history of individual sports. It would be like Tiger, Nicklaus and Hogan all being in their primes at the same time.
One could look at each man's record and place him #1. Rafa owning the most grand slam titles, combined with him having a winning record against both Djokovic and Federer in slams, gives Rafa a slight edge IMHO. But of course, the story's not finished yet.
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Really interesting stuff, lawdog. Thanks for posting.
We've gotten to witness the 3 best tennis players ever, all in their primes, all at the same time. I can't think of anything else like that in the history of individual sports. It would be like Tiger, Nicklaus and Hogan all being in their primes at the same time.
One could look at each man's record and place him #1. Rafa owning the most grand slam titles, combined with him having a winning record against both Djokovic and Federer in slams, gives Rafa a slight edge IMHO. But of course, the story's not finished yet.
Wrong. The story is finished because I said it's finished. Rafa = 🐐
:)
In all seriousness we' have been absolutely privileged to essentially watch all three guys play against each other in their primes. They all pushed each other, especially Federer who got a head start on the other two. I personally believe Roger is the most talented but the mental toughness of Nadal and Djoker is beyond extraordinary.
I would also 2nd that these three are the best to have ever played the game regardless of the difficulty of comparing eras. Obviously, it's impossible to compare Tilden to these guys but everyone else in the discussion we can glean quite a bit of information. Remember, Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon when he was 19. The idea that Sampras, Agassi, and Courier would have much success against the Big 3 is honestly laughable to me
Now when I look at the eras that I wasn't able to watch live, Borg stands out as the one guy who would have been extremely dangerous. He had tremendous speed and court coverage with a highly underrated serve. Connors, McEnroe, Wilander, Lendl, and then Becker and Edberg I think would have all gotten throttled. Especially vs Rafa on clay. That would be a total annihilation. :)
As for Laver? I can't realistically give a detailed analysis but we're talking about a guy who's much smaller physically. To me Borg is the only guy I could see coming close to competing with these guys if he was trained in this era with these rackets. :)
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Wrong. The story is finished because I said it's finished. Rafa = 🐐
:)
In all seriousness we' have been absolutely privileged to essentially watch all three guys play against each other in their primes. They all pushed each other, especially Federer who got a head start on the other two. I personally believe Roger is the most talented but the mental toughness of Nadal and Djoker is beyond extraordinary.
I would also 2nd that these three are the best to have ever played the game regardless of the difficulty of comparing eras. Obviously, it's impossible to compare Tilden to these guys but everyone else in the discussion we can glean quite a bit of information. Remember, Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon when he was 19. The idea that Sampras, Agassi, and Courier would have much success against the Big 3 is honestly laughable to me
Now when I look at the eras that I wasn't able to watch live, Borg stands out as the one guy who would have been extremely dangerous. He had tremendous speed and court coverage and a highly underrated serve. Connors, McEnroe, Wilander, Lendl, and then Becker, and Edberg I think would have all gotten throttled. Especially vs Rafa on clay. That would be a total annihilation. :)
As for Laver? I can't realistically give a detailed analysis but we're talking about a guy who's much smaller physically. To me Borg is the only guy I could see coming close to competing with these guys if he was trained in this era with these rackets. :)
It's a fun discussion.
I would think Sampras and Borg in their primes could have hung with these three, especially on each player's favorite surface. Maybe Laver, Agassi and Lendl (after he got his head right), too. So much would depend on the surface. Borg would have had a chance against Nadal on clay, and maybe Lendl as well, but Sampras and Agassi might have had an advantage over Rafa in Australia. That kind of thing.
But like you, I'm quite comfortable saying Rafa, Novak and Roger are the 3 best male tennis players ever, with Rafa having a slight edge over the other 2 for reasons I've already given.
I can't "prove" it, but nobody else can "prove" otherwise, either!
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It's a fun discussion.
I would think Sampras and Borg in their primes could have hung with these three, especially on each player's favorite surface. Maybe Laver, Agassi and Lendl (after he got his head right), too. So much would depend on the surface. Borg would have had a chance against Nadal on clay, and maybe Lendl as well, but Sampras and Agassi might have had an advantage over Rafa in Australia. That kind of thing.
But like you, I'm quite comfortable saying Rafa, Novak and Roger are the 3 best male tennis players ever, with Rafa having a slight edge over the other 2 for reasons I've already given.
I can't "prove" it, but nobody else can "prove" otherwise, either!
I think you're missing a component of this discussion. Sampras imao had/has the greatest serve in the history of tennis. Not necessarily the fastest but when you look at his placement, and his 2nd serve, I would slot him #1. Nevertheless, it's inordinately difficult to serve and volley in this era except on grass. The ball is coming back way too fast, with too much action, in today's game. Therefore while Sampras would cause these guys probs, I just don't think he was consistent enough to truly stay with them.
McEnroe said like 15 yrs ago when he practiced with Nadal that he could not effectively volley vs him in his prime. Now, as for your former baseliners? I don't see it other than Borg on all surfaces. Again it goes back to two main factors: court coverage and consistency. Lendl was fantastic and had a nice one two punch but could not move anywhere near the way the Big 3 can.
Agassi was a poor man's Djoker but hit a far flatter ball. He could out hit and dictate play vs Sampras on baseline rallies but couldn't do that at all vs Djoker or Nadal. Federer would also control the points with his all-court game. As an aside the bludgeoning Nadal would have inflictied on Connors would have been historically ugly and medieval in nature. He would have destroyed his will and turned a tremendous competitor into a helpless infant which would be fitting.
I will reserve judgment on Laver and Bill Tilden. Tilden will never been eliminated from this conversation because I have read he used to "4-Ball" guys. Meaning when serving he would hold four balls in his left hand and proceed to go: BAM, BAM, BAM, and BAM. So we're talking four aces, thanks for playing. That's badass enough for me to speculate about how his game would translate today. :)
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I will reserve judgment on Laver and Bill Tilden.
Yes, we need to see them play a little more!
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Yes, we need to see them play a little more!
333-34.
That's Rafa's sets win/loss at the French Open.
🐐
:)
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333-34.
That's Rafa's sets win/loss at the French Open.
🐐
:)
34 lost sets. What a loser!
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Zverev is out for the USOpen and it looks like Djoker won't be able to play as well.
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I'll give Djokovic credit for having the courage of his convictions. He has sacrificed a lot for the right to not be vaccinated.
Going in, the U.S. Open will seem a little lesser because he won't be playing. But once it gets underway, his absence won't be noticed much (if at all) as the other great pros battle for the title.
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Djokovic officially out, saying on the twits:
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”
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I'll give Djokovic credit for having the courage of his convictions. He has sacrificed a lot for the right to not be vaccinated.
And I’ll give the powers that be credit for sticking to unscientific and discriminatory practices just because they can.
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And I’ll give the powers that be credit for sticking to unscientific and discriminatory practices just because they can.
If you say so. I'll let you enjoy having the last word today.
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Why doesn't he fly to Mexico and then walk into the US like a million other unvaccinated persons have been allowed to do the last year+. He may even get a free cell phone, a box lunch and a free bus ride to NYC out of the deal.
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Why doesn't he fly to Mexico and then walk into the US like a million other unvaccinated persons have been allowed to do the last year+. He may even get a free cell phone, a box lunch and a free bus ride to NYC out of the deal.
My guess is he doesn’t need the cell phone.
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Why doesn't he fly to Mexico and then walk into the US like a million other unvaccinated persons have been allowed to do the last year+. He may even get a free cell phone, a box lunch and a free bus ride to NYC out of the deal.
🚨🚨 CARAVAN ALERT 🚨🚨
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124th ranked Ukrainian Daria Snigur wins her qualifying tourney, and wins her first WTA match, taking out World Top 10 Simona Halep in 3 sets, in the 1st round of the United States Open. Meadow Magic.
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Get to court 10 if you are at the U.S. Open.
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I can't put a finger on why, but I think Brandon Nakashima is becoming my favorite tennis player.
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What is going on with Radacanu?
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What is going on with Radacanu?
Coming back to Earth from last year’s fluke run.
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The final shot of Nadal's win yesterday was representative of every great shot he's made in his incredible career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7gsvR95wTM
I'd say "Unbelievable!" like McEnroe did ... but it actually was very believable.
I mean, it's Rafa! Vamos!
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What is going on with Radacanu?
This is where following more than slam winners and the top few players helps.
Raducanu is doing fine. She’ll be ranked around 80th in the World in two weeks. Pretty impressive at age 19.
Alize Cornet is a good player who this year alone, defeated the World Number 1 at Wimbledon, (Swiatek) number 13 at the French, (Ostapenko) and World Number 3 (Muguruza) in Australia.
Alize Cornet is a good player playing in a record 63 straight grand slam main draw singles. She would have defeated many players with how she played.
(and Raducanu is a two time slam junior quarterfinalist including the U.S. Open. hardly a fluke player)
…………………..
Two time NCAA Singles Champion American Danielle Collins out slugged 4 time slam champion Naomi Osaka a little while later. Osaka played well, but Collins was just too good. Very high level.
………………….
Plenty of time to take the 7 or LIRR this week and next to take in some of the action.
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The final shot of Nadal's win yesterday was representative of every great shot he's made in his incredible career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7gsvR95wTM
I'd say "Unbelievable!" like McEnroe did ... but it actually was very believable.
I mean, it's Rafa! Vamos!
Well said. Once Rafa turned up the forehand, not much to be done. Good effort by Hijikata on AA to provide an entertaining match.
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Pretty amazing that Serena has a legitimate shot to win this thing and has barely played for 2 yrs.
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Pretty amazing that Serena has a legitimate shot to win this thing and has barely played for 2 yrs.
Legit is probably very generous. Last night was lightning in a bottle, but her conditioning is a big question mark. The draw is favorable, but she's still got top 50 opponents much younger than her in the next 2 matches, then some heavy seeded players after that.
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Legit is probably very generous. Last night was lightning in a bottle, but her conditioning is a big question mark. The draw is favorable, but she's still got top 50 opponents much younger than her in the next 2 matches, then some heavy seeded players after that.
I don't see a clear favorite and she did just beat the #2 seed. Her draw looks wide open to me. Obviously winning it all will be difficult, especially with how little she has played. That said I don't think she's an enormous Longshot.
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All’s I know is it’s good fun watching this stuff.
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Rafa is now on ESPN2.
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Horrific 1st set for Rafa.
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That might be the worst set I’ve ever seen Rafa play.
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That might be the worst set I’ve ever seen Rafa play.
This is a complete disaster. He has about 25 mins to find his game or it's over.
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This is a complete disaster. He has about 25 mins to find his game or it's over.
Pretty obvious now that he’s not healthy. He’s barely serving 100 mph and he’s missing shots he rarely does.
Sucks, but that kind of thing can happen to 36-year-old athletes whose bodies are wearing down.
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Well, that was quite a turnaround.
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:)
Still a long way to go. :(
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Rafa was very candid in his interviews. He said it was about the worst hour and a half that he's had. He knew he was fortunate that Fognini just went into the tank. If Rafa had played any of the top 25 players in the world like that, he'd have been rolled.
But he didn't play any of the top 25, he survived, and I like to think he'll play much better in future matches. I was happy to see his serve speed get back to 115+ the last 2 sets, and he made some great forehands (which he hadn't earlier).
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7 years ago Zhang Shuai wanted to retire from tennis and open a coffee shop. Sam Stosur talked her into playing Australia one more time. Makes a quarterfinal run with wins over Halep and others.
With her win today Shuai has now made the 2nd week of all 4 Grand Slams. (and she is one of the World’s best doubles plays too)
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7 years ago Zhang Shuai wanted to retire from tennis and open a coffee shop. Sam Stosur talked her into playing Australia one more time. Makes a quarterfinal run with wins over Halep and others.
With her win today Shuai has now made the 2nd week of all 4 Grand Slams. (and she is one of the World’s best doubles plays too)
Shuai’s next opponent Coco Gauff just completed advancing to the 2nd week of all 4 slams, …………at age 18.
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This is Gauff's best surface. She sent a pretty big message rolling Madison Keys.
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Serena looks dome. Stuck in cement and can't overpower Tomjlonovic.
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Tomljanovic is one cool customer.
Serena sure will be missed. She could barely stand out there but she kept battling, kept saving match point.
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See ya Gasquet. Rafa is rolling this dude. That Kyrgios/Medvy match should be a good one.
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Rafa up 6-0, 3-0 over a guy he’s beaten a bazillion straight times, and the announcer says: “For Gasquet, belief is starting to fade.”
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Rafa up 6-0, 3-0 over a guy he’s beaten a bazillion straight times, and the announcer says: “For Gasquet, belief is starting to fade.”
After Rafa and Tiafoe I'm rooting for Alcaraz. That kid has game and tremendous wheels. He appears to be the total package and has that wicked pop on his ground strokes.
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Poor decision by Gasquet to dropshot Rafa there. :)
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After Rafa and Tiafoe I'm rooting for Alcaraz. That kid has game and tremendous wheels. He appears to be the total package and has that wicked pop on his ground strokes.
Tiafoe is gonna be tough for Nadal. I’d love a Nadal-Alcaraz semifinal.
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52.....FIFTY-TWO winners for Danielle Collins.
87% First Serves won... and Cornet still had set points to force a 3rd set.
6-4, 7-6 (11-9) Collins over Cornet.
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Tiafoe is gonna be tough for Nadal. I’d love a Nadal-Alcaraz semifinal.
I forgot about Nakashima. He's in a tough one right now with Skinner.
As for Tiafoe he's certainly capable of overpowering Rafa on this surface. Can he put together 3 sets? I'm not so sure. He has to serve big and a high percentage.
As for Rafa? He's not 100% and I wouldn't say he's the favorite. The winner of the Medvedev/Kyrgios match is probably the betting favorite. That said Alcaraz has the potential to win this year and could very well take the torch from Nadal and Djoker. You can see that explosiveness and speed. Look the H out if he amps up his serve a bit. He doesn't anticipate yet like Djoker or Nadal but I actually think he's a better mover. Even when they were younger.
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I forgot about Nakashima. He's in a tough one right now with Skinner.
As for Tiafoe he's certainly capable of overpowering Rafa on this surface. Can he put together 3 sets? I'm not so sure. He has to serve big and a high percentage.
As for Rafa? He's not 100% and I wouldn't say he's the favorite. The winner of the Medvedev/Kyrgios match is probably the betting favorite. That said Alcaraz has the potential to win this year and could very well take the torch from Nadal and Djoker. You can see that explosiveness and speed. Look the H out if he amps up his serve a bit. He doesn't anticipate yet like Djoker or Nadal but I actually think he's a better mover. Even when they were younger.
Rafa was the best "mover" I've ever seen, and yes, Alcaraz reminds me of him at that age. It's fun to look at that kind of thing and make projections about a career, but we'll see if Alcaraz can have 1/10th the career that Nadal and Djokovic have had. I hope so - tennis needs young stars and he has a very enjoyable-to-watch game and personality.
Agree about the Medvedev/Kyrgios winner being the favorite - definitely if it's the former and probably if it's the latter.
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Rafa was the best "mover" I've ever seen, and yes, Alcaraz reminds me of him at that age. It's fun to look at that kind of thing and make projections about a career, but we'll see if Alcaraz can have 1/10th the career that Nadal and Djokovic have had. I hope so - tennis needs young stars and he has a very enjoyable-to-watch game and personality.
Agree about the Medvedev/Kyrgios winner being the favorite - definitely if it's the former and probably if it's the latter.
I'm not saying he'll have close to their careers but you can see his talent. Now, Medvy also moves incredibly well and is 6'6 as is Zverev. I'm just excited about the potential of this kid because it would not surprise me if he takes over the sport in a few years. He has a great opportunity right now with Djoker and Zverev out of the draw and with Rafa not near healthy. We all know how important the intangibles and mental focus is in tennis. It takes more than sheer talent. But Alcaraz has all the goods and appears to have that it factor. I'm also impressed with Sinner.
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A few fun facts on Serena from The Athletic:
++ She beat a player born in each year from 1966 to 2001 (35 years), and then one born in 2003 for good measure.
++ She reached a grand-slam semifinal in four separate decades.
++ 6-1 was a more frequent set scoreline in her favor than 6-4 and she won more bagel (6-0) sets than tiebreaks.
++ She won 68 percent of her matches in straight sets. She has a career 85 percent win percentage.
++ She beat 306 players from 50 different countries.
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Super high quality from Coco Gauff and Zhang Shuai. 7-5, 7-6 for Coco. (similar to score in their Miami matcb). Shuai likes rhe fast hard courts. 33 winners, 72% first serve. Really well played from both.
Guaff gets the WTA Tour's best player the past few months in her next round, Caro Garcia. Garcia has won 12 straight matches, and titles on 3 different surfaces this Summer, including Cincinnati. Will be lots of aggressive inside the baseline play from Garcia.
Another electric fun atmosphere in Queens.
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Heck of a 1st set and tiebreaker between Kyrgios/Medvedev. Wow.
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Kyrgios ready ta pop a gasket, hey?
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Kyrgios ready ta pop a gasket, hey?
I have no idea why he threw his racket twice. Then he comes up with this insane dropshot at 11-11 and wins the set (13-11). Medvy in 5?
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Well itz obviously Yonex's fault he fooked up, aina?
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Well itz obviously Yonex's fault he fooked up, aina?
Do you think he's insane? I'm never quite sure.
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Nah, he's just fookin' nutz, hey?
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Nah, he's just fookin' nutz, hey?
Lol. Fair enough.
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I have no idea why he threw his racket twice. Then he comes up with this insane dropshot at 11-11 and wins the set (13-11). Medvy in 5?
It’s how he motivates himself.
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Medvy hasn't played well but Kyrgios is controlling all the points and thumping serves. He's also played a very good match tactically. If he plays at this level he is the favorite to win it imo.
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It’s how he motivates himself.
Jockey, until recently he was displaying these antics and it wasn't helping him win matches at all. I think he'd be fine if he just played tennis.
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Jockey, until recently he was displaying these antics and it wasn't helping him win matches at all. I think he'd be fine if he just played tennis.
Its kind of silly to tell a professional athlete how to motivate themselves or get themselves amped up. He has a unique personality and does what works for him. He may not have majors, but he's still won 7 tourneys as a pro, made QFs, and been a top 50 player most of his career. I think its helped him win plenty of matches. He's far from the only top player to throw a racket repeatedly.
Last night was kind of terrifying if you're a Kyrgios hater. Multiple times during that first tiebreak he looked like he was going to implode, and instead he hit laser serves and INSANE drop shots. Then in the 3rd and 4th set he was just a killer. Absolutely crazy how much he has had Medvedev's number recently. He's just so electric when he's dialed in.
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Its kind of silly to tell a professional athlete how to motivate themselves or get themselves amped up. He has a unique personality and does what works for him. He may not have majors, but he's still won 7 tourneys as a pro, made QFs, and been a top 50 player most of his career. I think its helped him win plenty of matches. He's far from the only top player to throw a racket repeatedly.
Last night was kind of terrifying if you're a Kyrgios hater. Multiple times during that first tiebreak he looked like he was going to implode, and instead he hit laser serves and INSANE drop shots. Then in the 3rd and 4th set he was just a killer. Absoluftely crazy how much he has had Medvedev's number recently. He's just so electric when he's dialed in.
He has had very little success before this year at the USOpen. But to your point he played at a level last night that is scary for the remaining players in the draw. And you're right, it's not just his serve which he popped at a 70% rate in the last set. He was tactically excellent and very consistent in the baseline rallies. What was most impressive is he served and volleyed when Medvy stayed way back and didn't necessarily go for KABOOM serves in this scenario. He also attacked the 2nd serve with tremendous precision off of his backhand wing. The bottom line is if he can maintain that level he's going to be extremely difficult to beat.
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Its kind of silly to tell a professional athlete how to motivate themselves or get themselves amped up. He has a unique personality and does what works for him. He may not have majors, but he's still won 7 tourneys as a pro, made QFs, and been a top 50 player most of his career. I think its helped him win plenty of matches. He's far from the only top player to throw a racket repeatedly.
Last night was kind of terrifying if you're a Kyrgios hater. Multiple times during that first tiebreak he looked like he was going to implode, and instead he hit laser serves and INSANE drop shots. Then in the 3rd and 4th set he was just a killer. Absolutely crazy how much he has had Medvedev's number recently. He's just so electric when he's dialed in.
I remember you and I had a Kyrgios discussion earlier this year and we both agreed that he has a ton of talent and all the shots. Something definitely seems to have clicked for him. In his post-match interview, he talked about training hard; maybe he's finally starting to take his career seriously?
The only thing he did yesterday that was really stupid IMHO was smash the ball against the back wall; had it gone about 3 feet higher, he'd have been DQ'd and we'd be talking right now about what an idiot he is. The other stuff he did was just dopey; the racing to the wrong side of the net to play that one shot was even oddly endearing.
In many ways, he's just a modern-day version of McEnroe. I really, really like McEnroe as an announcer, but it's pretty funny to hear him criticize Kyrgios for antics similar to those he employed himself way back when. All I can think is, "You've GOT to be kidding me!"
Kyrgios isn't my cup of tea. I prefer the ultimate class that a guy like Rafa plays with -- and has won 22 majors with. But I I'm not a "Kyrgios hater." He certainly makes tennis more interesting.
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I remember you and I had a Kyrgios discussion earlier this year and we both agreed that he has a ton of talent and all the shots. Something definitely seems to have clicked for him. In his post-match interview, he talked about training hard; maybe he's finally starting to take his career seriously?
The only thing he did yesterday that was really stupid IMHO was smash the ball against the back wall; had it gone about 3 feet higher, he'd have been DQ'd and we'd be talking right now about what an idiot he is. The other stuff he did was just dopey; the racing to the wrong side of the net to play that one shot was even oddly endearing.
In many ways, he's just a modern-day version of McEnroe. I really, really like McEnroe as an announcer, but it's pretty funny to hear him criticize Kyrgios for antics similar to those he employed himself way back when. All I can think is, "You've GOT to be kidding me!"
Kyrgios isn't my cup of tea. I prefer the ultimate class that a guy like Rafa plays with -- and has won 22 majors with. But I I'm not a "Kyrgios hater." He certainly makes tennis more interesting.
I'm not a fan of the guy but he's always had the talent. He does deserve credit for being much more engaged and trying to get better. His game is certainly fun to watch.
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I remember you and I had a Kyrgios discussion earlier this year and we both agreed that he has a ton of talent and all the shots. Something definitely seems to have clicked for him. In his post-match interview, he talked about training hard; maybe he's finally starting to take his career seriously?
The only thing he did yesterday that was really stupid IMHO was smash the ball against the back wall; had it gone about 3 feet higher, he'd have been DQ'd and we'd be talking right now about what an idiot he is. The other stuff he did was just dopey; the racing to the wrong side of the net to play that one shot was even oddly endearing.
In many ways, he's just a modern-day version of McEnroe. I really, really like McEnroe as an announcer, but it's pretty funny to hear him criticize Kyrgios for antics similar to those he employed himself way back when. All I can think is, "You've GOT to be kidding me!"
Kyrgios isn't my cup of tea. I prefer the ultimate class that a guy like Rafa plays with -- and has won 22 majors with. But I I'm not a "Kyrgios hater." He certainly makes tennis more interesting.
The wall shot I agree was dumb. But otherwise I'm with you. I don't condone all his outbursts, and, as someone who loves his game, its really frustrating to see him get rattled and give away points/games as a result. That being said, there is a refreshing aspect to how unfiltered he is. I personally loved him asking Kokkinakis for input on where to place serves. I loved him sheepishly admitting he didn't realize the net shot was illegal. Its entertaining and a different element.
I get why tennis traditionalists get annoyed by it, but as someone who loves the NBA (and knowing how much Kyrgios loves the NBA), I find his constant chirping to be amusing. Verbal abuse of umpires withstanding, its part of the game. He broke Medvedev in the 4th and walking to the sideline was shaking his head and saying "you're too soft" across the net. Thats vintage Kobe. Also, ironic that Medvedev clearly struggles with Kyrgios and his chatter when he has a reputation as a talker too.
I said after Wimbledon, its either a flash in the pan, or "I can do this sh**" Eureka moment where he starts to gain a bit of consistency. If he gets past KK in the quarters, Beretinni or Ruud would be really fun against him in the Semis.
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Jockey, until recently he was displaying these antics and it wasn't helping him win matches at all. I think he'd be fine if he just played tennis.
McEnroe was very similar. They need to do it for the adrenaline rush.
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Pegula just pummeled Kvitova. It seems to me all 3 American women are on top of their games and have a great chance. Gauff has a tremendous opportunity in particular.
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Nadal does not look sharp early.
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Nadal does not look sharp early.
Definitely nowhere near 100% healthy. No juice on his serve and his ground strokes aren’t sharp. It will be an incredible feat to win this match.
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Definitely nowhere near 100% healthy. No juice on his serve and his ground strokes aren’t sharp. It will be an incredible feat to win this match.
Exactly right. No zip at all on his serve.
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Exactly right. No zip at all on his serve.
The announcers are giving Tiafoe credit for “defending his second serve,” but Rafa has flat missed numerous opportunities to take advantage of second serves.
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The announcers are giving Tiafoe credit for “defending his second serve,” but Rafa has flat missed numerous opportunities to take advantage of second serves.
Couldn't agree more. Fowler also has a tendency with tennis to ramble without making logical points. Often early in matches when there is a feeling out process. Tiafoe is not doing anything different than normal to "defend his 2nd serve".
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Rafa somehow steals the 2nd set. Two rough mental errors by Tiafoe thinking two shots were out. Whoops.
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Rafa somehow steals the 2nd set. Two rough mental errors by Tiafoe thinking two shots were out. Whoops.
Rafa served much better in the 2nd set after getting his wrists taped during the break. Consistently in the 115-120 range. And he finally took advantage of Tiafoe’s poor 1st-serve pct.
But yes, a couple of brain farts by Tiafoe helped a lot.
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Rafa served much better in the 2nd set after getting his wrists taped during the break. Consistently in the 115-120 range. And he finally took advantage of Tiafoe’s poor 1st-serve pct.
But yes, a couple of brain farts by Tiafoe helped a lot.
Rafa is starting to find his range a bit.
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Give Tiafoe a ton of credit. He's in prime position to win this match.
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It hasn’t been what I’d call a “great” match yet. Each player has been largely content to let the other control each service game. Very few long points, too.
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It hasn’t been what I’d call a “great” match yet. Each player has been largely content to let the other control each service game. Very few long points, too.
Agreed. But Tiafoe has had the goods when he has needed them. That said Rafa has not played well at all imo. :(
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Multiple F-bombs from Tiafoe, who was pissed he had to serve while roof was closing.
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Multiple F-bombs from Tiafoe, who was pissed he had to serve while roof was closing.
Terrible service game for Rafa after getting that break. Very uncharacteristic.
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Terrible service game for Rafa after getting that break. Very uncharacteristic.
He might be high
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Big probs. Just not Rafa's day.
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Rafa is just not fit enough.
Happy for Tiafoe, though. Well deserved, and he seems like a good guy. He’s who I’m rooting for now, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile …
I wonder how much longer Rafa plays. I wouldn’t be stunned if he retires before the end of the year. But maybe he’ll want to play one more French Open?
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Rafa is just not fit enough.
Happy for Tiafoe, though. Well deserved, and he seems like a good guy. He’s who I’m rooting for now, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile …
Why would he be satisfied with only 14 French Open titles? 15 sounds much better. :)
I wonder how much longer Rafa plays. I wouldn’t be stunned if he retires before the end of the year. But maybe he’ll want to play one more French Open?
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Frances was able to get to shots on a fast hard court, that many others can’t. Rock solid from both wings, 49 winners, 18 aces. He was able to play on and inside the baseline for 3 of 4 sets. He’s polished many little things since working with Wayne Ferreira.
Danielle Collins’ serve dipped into the 30’s, highly unusual for her, and she couldn’t overcome it in 3 vs Sabalenka
I’ve attended many late night sessions in Queens, into the wee hours of the morning, but 2:47am is a bit much. (End time of the 5 setter between Cilic and Alcaraz)
Caty McNally into both the Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals (Townsend) and Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals (Blumberg)
4 other Americans alive in doubles or mixed.
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Frances was able to get to shots on a fast hard court, that many others can’t. Rock solid from both wings, 49 winners, 18 aces. He was able to play on and inside the baseline for 3 of 4 sets. He’s polished many little things since working with Wayne Ferreira.
Danielle Collins’ serve dipped into the 30’s, highly unusual for her, and she couldn’t overcome it in 3 vs Sabalenka
I’ve attended many late night sessions in Queens, into the wee hours of the morning, but 2:47am is a bit much. (End time of the 5 setter between Cilic and Alcaraz)
Caty McNally into both the Women’s Doubles Quarterfinals (Townsend) and Mixed Doubles Quarterfinals (Blumberg)
4 other Americans alive in doubles or mixed.
Ya....2:47 am seems a bit ridiculous. You have to figure Alcaraz didn't get back to his hotel until well after 4am and who knows when he got to sleep. I would imagine Tiafoe will get the next match tomorrow so it makes it really tough on Alcaraz. Although Sinner played fairly late.
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Ya....2:47 am seems a bit ridiculous. You have to figure Alcaraz didn't get back to his hotel until well after 4am and who knows when he got to sleep. I would imagine Tiafoe will get the next match tomorrow so it makes it really tough on Alcaraz. Although Sinner played fairly late.
Tiafoe is the day match, Alcaraz-Sinner is the night match. I'm sure they'd prefer the young American in primetime but they didn't really have a choice.
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Tiafoe is the day match, Alcaraz-Sinner is the night match. I'm sure they'd prefer the young American in primetime but they didn't really have a choice.
Oh...I guess I was wrong. Ty.
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Damn.....not happy about Gauff.
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Damn.....not happy about Gauff.
I posted the other day that Caroline Garcia has been the WTA Tour's best player this Summer. 3 titles, 3 different surfaces.
This is the list of players she defeated to win a fast hars court in Cincy:
Kvitova, Sabalenka, Pegula, Mertens, Martic, Sakkari, most in lopsided fashion.
She also crushed Bibi Andreescu in NYC this week as well.
Caro tweaked a few things. She' has always been high risk, high reward. She'll have a good chance to win the tourney unless she drops her level a bit. There is an old tennis term called treeing.
Coco is doing well. She has made the 2nd week of all four slams now at only 18. She will move into the World Top 10 next week.
Sometimes you just have to tip your cap.
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Hoo names der sun Karen, hey?
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Kyrgios looks like he’s on sedatives.
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No sooner did I write that … and Kyrgios started trying to win.
Annnnd … there’s the thrown racquet!
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No sooner did I write that … and Kyrgios started trying to win.
Annnnd … there’s the thrown racquet!
It will be interesting if he loses this set.
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Complete wtf shot by Khachanov on that 2nd break point. Wow.
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Complete wtf shot by Khachanov on that 2nd break point. Wow.
Could cost him the match. If KK makes the routine shot there, Kyrgios might have just given up.
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Could cost him the match. If KK makes the routine shot there, Kyrgios might have just given up.
Not a good service game from Kyrgios there. He's in big trouble.
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Not a good service game from Kyrgios there. He's in big trouble.
You got that right, Muggs. Gotta give Khachanov some credit, too.
Kyrgios is screaming at himself during the break.
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Once again I'm hearing pretty dumb comments from McEnroe and Fowler. They're obviously pro Kyrgios.
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Gutsy service game for KK.
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Impressive performance by Khachanov.
And then Kyrgios goes out with … um … class.
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Serena - gone ... Medvedev - gone ... Rafa - gone ... Coco - gone ... Kyrgios - gone.
Results from the last few days certainly have made the U.S. Open less compelling going forward.
Both the U.S. Open people and the TV people will be quietly rooting for Alcaraz and Tiafoe tonight.
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Once again I'm hearing pretty dumb comments from McEnroe and Fowler. They're obviously pro Kyrgios.
McEnroe has been very critical of Kyrgios plenty of times all tourney. There was nothing biased about them last night.
Khachanov was incredible last night. Kyrgios didn't implode, didn't really meltdown, Khachanov just hit every shot he needed, was INSANE when facing break points, and hit some monster serves in key moments. Just a fantastic match all the way through.
Kyrgios haters clutching their pearls cause he broke a few rackets, but I thought his press conference comments were interesting, maybe showed some of the reason he seemed to have more focus the last few months. He's still in his prime, lot of story to be told IMO. Very interesting the crowd support he had last night.
Really a toss up for the field right now, which is great viewing. Bunch of very different players who all have a very real shot at the title.
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McEnroe has been very critical of Kyrgios plenty of times all tourney. There was nothing biased about them last night.
Khachanov was incredible last night. Kyrgios didn't implode, didn't really meltdown, Khachanov just hit every shot he needed, was INSANE when facing break points, and hit some monster serves in key moments. Just a fantastic match all the way through.
Kyrgios haters clutching their pearls cause he broke a few rackets, but I thought his press conference comments were interesting, maybe showed some of the reason he seemed to have more focus the last few months. He's still in his prime, lot of story to be told IMO. Very interesting the crowd support he had last night.
Really a toss up for the field right now, which is great viewing. Bunch of very different players who all have a very real shot at the title.
I didn't care that Kyrgios threw his racquet during the match. Lots of players do that, the umpire warned him, and everybody moved on. After he lost, as Khachanov was waving to the crowd, slamming his racquet several times ... it was like something a 3-year-old would do. (Not really related, but ... I'm not sure why the umpire tolerated Kyrgios constantly shouting f-bombs. Warn him right away and nip it in the bud immediately.)
I didn't see the press conference. Was Kyrgios asked why he seemed almost somnambulant the first couple of sets? His feet weren't moving, he wasn't trying for shots that landed a few feet from him, he showed almost no emotion, he was relying almost exclusively on his serve -- which was so good that it let him win one of the sets and almost win the other. Was he preserving energy because he expected a long match? Was he purposely trying to show no emotion because he wanted to see if he could? What happened to make him flip the switch to become Nick Kyrgios again? It was a weird match from that standpoint.
For most of the match, I was watching the World Feed, with Ted Robinson and Jimmy Arias announcing. (I was having some technical problems with the main ESPN feed for awhile.) Arias thinks Kyrgios might be the most talented men's tennis player in the world, and he said that if Kyrgios were more "engaged" last night "he beats Khachanov 6-3, 6-3, 6-3."
I don't know about that. Like you, I thought Khachanov was darn good most of the night, especially at many of the key junctures in the match. He responded to just about everything Kyrgios threw at him, and really kept his cool when Kyrgios was starting to get more animated and engaged (and the crowd got going).
Definitely an entertaining last 2 1/2 sets after Kyrgios flipped the switch. Kudos to Khachanov.
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I didn't care that Kyrgios threw his racquet during the match. Lots of players do that, the umpire warned him, and everybody moved on. After he lost, as Khachanov was waving to the crowd, slamming his racquet several times ... it was like something a 3-year-old would do. (Not really related, but ... I'm not sure why the umpire tolerated Kyrgios constantly shouting f-bombs. Warn him right away and nip it in the bud immediately.)
I didn't see the press conference. Was Kyrgios asked why he seemed almost somnambulant the first couple of sets? His feet weren't moving, he wasn't trying for shots that landed a few feet from him, he showed almost no emotion, he was relying almost exclusively on his serve -- which was so good that it let him win one of the sets and almost win the other. Was he preserving energy because he expected a long match? Was he purposely trying to show no emotion because he wanted to see if he could? What happened to make him flip the switch to become Nick Kyrgios again? It was a weird match from that standpoint.
For most of the match, I was watching the World Feed, with Ted Robinson and Jimmy Arias announcing. (I was having some technical problems with the main ESPN feed for awhile.) Arias thinks Kyrgios might be the most talented men's tennis player in the world, and he said that if Kyrgios were more "engaged" last night "he beats Khachanov 6-3, 6-3, 6-3."
I don't know about that. Like you, I thought Khachanov was darn good most of the night, especially at many of the key junctures in the match. He responded to just about everything Kyrgios threw at him, and really kept his cool when Kyrgios was starting to get more animated and engaged (and the crowd got going).
Definitely an entertaining last 2 1/2 sets after Kyrgios flipped the switch. Kudos to Khachanov.
Yea I saw the outburst after the match, but it doesn't really faze me much. He just lost a huge 5 set marathon in which he kept it mostly together, it was an emotional dump. He didn't scream at the ump, he left the court fairly subdued after that. He should be better than that, but it is what it is. I would say the same thing about any other player that did it. Provided it remained personal and not at the expense of others.
The F bombs are interesting, cause I think its a judgement call. Especially if its not being directed at the ump, his opponent, or random fans. Its his motivational method, to an extent, YMMV on how much its tolerated.
As for the presser, he said he didn't feel great physically to start the match, his knee was bothering him but he felt great physically as the match progressed and he warmed up. Was really complimentary of Khachanov, dismissed questions about being bothered or distracted by crowd noise or catcalls saying it was unimportant, but then ended with feeling like he let people down and how devastated and heartbroken he was for everyone that supported and is behind him. It was very honest and revealing.
I get all the criticism and distaste about him, plenty of it totally justified, but the evolution of Kyrgios the last 3-4 months, provided it continues, is fascinating. You contrast his on the court explosiveness with the honest he showed there and its just interesting. I thought the anecdotes from Coco Gauff a few days ago about how generous and open he was with time for her when she was younger just kind of further deepens the dichotomy and enigma of Kyrgios.
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"Enigma" is a good word for him, Wags. Thanks for the info on the presser, especially with details about his knee. That might explain some things about the way the match started and then progressed ... though maybe not all of it as far as going from no emotion to full Kyrgios.
Fair enough about the racquet slamming at the end. Personally, I'd prefer that the other player get his "day in the sun" instead of it being all about Nick, but I get it.
I have no problem with a jock letting an f-bomb or 3 slip out. That's what happens in competition. But it went on all night, and many umps wouldn't have tolerated it. As you say, YMMV.
I'm not happy he lost. I'm not sorry he lost. But it will be less entertaining without him from here on out, although Alcaraz and Tiafoe are pretty entertaining in their own way.
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"Enigma" is a good word for him, Wags. Thanks for the info on the presser, especially with details about his knee. That might explain some things about the way the match started and then progressed ... though maybe not all of it as far as going from no emotion to full Kyrgios.
Fair enough about the racquet slamming at the end. Personally, I'd prefer that the other player get his "day in the sun" instead of it being all about Nick, but I get it.
I have no problem with a jock letting an f-bomb or 3 slip out. That's what happens in competition. But it went on all night, and many umps wouldn't have tolerated it. As you say, YMMV.
I'm not happy he lost. I'm not sorry he lost. But it will be less entertaining without him from here on out, although Alcaraz and Tiafoe are pretty entertaining in their own way.
I'm happy he lost and simply disagree with JWags. Now he does deserve credit for better focus and his recent overall training and competitiveness. But you hit the nail on the head: everything has to be about Nick. I've never seen a guy, with unlimited talent, self-implode and seek attention over essentially nothing, time and time again. His game is what's entertaining, not his constant tantrums and antics.
This is a guy who has seemingly dedicated himself more to the game in recent months. Good for him. But it does not change the fact that his acts like a clown constantly. I also don’t buy that his antics motivate him to play better. If Nick dedicated himself and just played tennis he would likely have multiple majors by now.
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I'm happy he lost and simply disagree with JWags. Now he does deserve credit for better focus and his recent overall training and competitiveness. But you hit the nail on the head: everything has to be about Nick. I've never seen a guy, with unlimited talent, self-implode and seek attention over essentially nothing, time and time again. His game is what's entertaining, not his constant tantrums and antics.
This is a guy who has seemingly dedicated himself more to the game in recent months. Good for him. But it does not change the fact that his acts like a clown constantly. I also don’t buy that his antics motivate him to play better. If Nick dedicated himself and just played tennis he would likely have multiple majors by now.
Hard to argue with a lot of that, Muggs. I found myself rooting for Khachanov because he was a decided underdog playing on the "road" and because he handled everything with class and professionalism. But I do enjoy watching Kyrgios -- talent, antics and all.
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Hard to argue with a lot of that, Muggs. I found myself rooting for Khachanov because he was a decided underdog playing on the "road" and because he handled everything with class and professionalism. But I do enjoy watching Kyrgios -- talent, antics and all.
Well hopefully Tiafoe, Alcaraz, and Pegula come through today. Frankly anything can happen in all three of these matched. Tiafoe getting to the semis would be huge. I'm concerned a bit with Alcaraz after that match on Monday night. It would be great for tennis if Tiafoe or Alcaraz find a way to get the title.
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Well hopefully Tiafoe, Alcaraz, and Pegula come through today. Frankly anything can happen in all three of these matched. Tiafoe getting to the semis would be huge. I'm concerned a bit with Alcaraz after that match on Monday night. It would be great for tennis if Tiafoe or Alcaraz find a way to get the title.
Yep, I'm rooting for a Tiafoe-Alcaraz semifinal, that's for sure.
I like the way Swiatek plays, so now that Coco is out I'm pulling for her.
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Oh.....yes. I see Tiafoe took care of business in straights. Huge, huge, win for the young man. HIs family story is pretty cool as well.
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Oh.....yes. I see Tiafoe took care of business in straights. Huge, huge, win for the young man. HIs family story is pretty cool as well.
Depending on who wins, he'll be three or five years older than his semifinal opponent. In my opinion, he's less talented than both Alcaraz and Sinner, but he has a legitimate shot against either of them and then against Rudd or Khachanov if he pulls it off. Looking forward to Friday. Should be a lot of fun.
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One down, one to go. Come on, Alcaraz!
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Depending on who wins, he'll be three or five years older than his semifinal opponent. In my opinion, he's less talented than both Alcaraz and Sinner, but he has a legitimate shot against either of them and then against Rudd or Khachanov if he pulls it off. Looking forward to Friday. Should be a lot of fun.
I hear you and I hope you're right. My gut feeling is the winner of Alcaraz/Sinner will win this thing. Sinner has really impressed me in a number of matches. Anything can happen though. I never thought Casper Rudd would roll to the semis on this surface.
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It would be a lot of fun to be able to thump forehands like these guys.
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OMG! Did you just see that from Alcaraz?
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Some serious drama in the 2nd set.
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The match of the year - 2022!
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The match of the year - 2022!
Absolutely incredible stuff. That level of tennis was off the charts. Props to both guys.
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1. That was one of the best tennis matches I have ever seen. Incredible shot-making, athleticism, endurance, clutch plays.
2. If there are 10 better athletes in the world than Carlos Alcaraz, I'd love to know who they are. That was 5+ hours of non-stop running, and he still had plenty of juice at the end. And as if the running weren't enough, amidst it all he showed an amazing combination of power and touch and creativity and panache. Relentless. Kind of a combo of a young Rafa and a young Becker. How the hell good is this kid gonna be when he gets even better at positioning himself, setting himself up, picking his spots, etc?
3. The thing about Alcaraz's behind-the-back shot was that he needed to do it. And as the crowd went wild, he stayed calm and went on to win the point. This wasn't some gratuitous between-the-legs shot in a one-sided match just to impress the crowd. This was an important play on an important point. Wow. (https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1567716207142514688?s=20&t=3QVNTeBPM5k1JMTZwp7-vA&source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=5003146)
4. Plaudits for Sinner. He had a chance to win and couldn't quite get it done, but he also had several chances to lose and kept pulling himself out of the fire. He was brilliant in both tiebreaks. So many clutch serves. Ultimately, I think he finally ran out of steam against the most relentless player in the world.
5. Is Alcaraz-Sinner the next Nadal-Djokovic?
6. Can't wait for Alcaraz-Tiafoe. Rest up, young man!
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1. That was one of the best tennis matches I have ever seen. Incredible shot-making, athleticism, endurance, clutch plays.
2. If there are 10 better athletes in the world than Carlos Alcaraz, I'd love to know who they are. That was 5+ hours of non-stop running, and he still had plenty of juice at the end. And as if the running weren't enough, amidst it all he showed an amazing combination of power and touch and creativity and panache. Relentless. Kind of a combo of a young Rafa and a young Becker. How the hell good is this kid gonna be when he gets even better at positioning himself, setting himself up, picking his spots, etc?
3. The thing about Alcaraz's behind-the-back shot was that he needed to do it. And as the crowd went wild, he stayed calm and went on to win the point. This wasn't some gratuitous between-the-legs shot in a one-sided match just to impress the crowd. This was an important play on an important point. Wow. (https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1567716207142514688?s=20&t=3QVNTeBPM5k1JMTZwp7-vA&source=pulsenewsletter&campaign=5003146)
4. Plaudits for Sinner. He had a chance to win and couldn't quite get it done, but he also had several chances to lose and kept pulling himself out of the fire. He was brilliant in both tiebreaks. So many clutch serves. Ultimately, I think he finally ran out of steam against the most relentless player in the world.
5. Is Alcaraz-Sinner the next Nadal-Djokovic?
6. Can't wait for Alcaraz-Tiafoe. Rest up, young man!
That's 100% correct on the behind the back shot. This was not running back for a lob on a early point in the match and going between the legs. He had no other option. And then to follow that with a whipping backhand/cross-court pass was phenomenal as well.
The resilency of both players was truly extraordinary. Sinner's serve ultimately let him down but there were stetches of this match where it's not conceivable to play better tennis. He was painting lines like Novak shot free throws.
It was also nice to see no theatrics, fake time-outs, racket throwing, vulgar shouting for no reason, and constant whining and asinine behavior. These guys brought it and gave 100% for 5+ hours on every single point. If this is the future we're in good hands. These are great kids and tremendous competitors.
Hopefully Alcaraz has something left in the tank. As far as his speed/quicks? World class. I believe he is a better mover than anyone I have seen including Djoker or Nadal in their prime. Obviously they and Borg are in the discussion but some of the balls he chases down are beyond ridiculous. I mean there were at least three points where he fell to the ground, got up, and still ran the shot down.
It's super exciting to see what these two will do the next 10 years and that was a true privilege to watch. This is why I love tennis. Nothing like an epic match played at that level.
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He slides as far on hard court as i ever did on clay. Insanely quick.
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He slides as far on hard court as i ever did on clay. Insanely quick.
Ya.....I'm not really sure how he does that. It looks like he's the entire package and yet is not close to his peak potential imo. The fact that he comes forward and loves to volley is something that will serve him well moving forward. RIght now sometimes he goes too big on a shot or zooms to the net at inopportune times. He can get tier 1 pop on his serve but doesn't do it very often. In other words his serve can get a lot better. I would imagine he'll also add a decent slice backhand. When everything comes together for this kid? Uhh....look out. Because he has already shown incredible tenacity and heart.
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I am trying to think who these guys remind me of on the court. One thing that I will say is that Sinner is listed at 6'2 and Alcaraz 6'1. There's no way this can be accurate. Sinner looks three inches taller, 2.5 minimum. I guess I see a little Andy Murray/Del Potro in Jannik's game. Easy and sustained power during their rallies. Murray probably moves slightly better but I could see Sinner developing more of a net game.
As for Alcaraz he appears to be an amalgam of the greats. He moves like a combination of Djokovic and Chang. Very flexible like the Djoker. His game is more like a Nadal/Agassi mix. He has that quick wrist action and can flick a hammer winner seemingly out of nowhere. We're talking about a superior athlete which might give him a leg-up over Sinner the next 10-15 years. He's in the top 1% of athletes in men's tennis and it's not like these guys aren't athletes.
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I am trying to think who these guys remind me of on the court. One thing that I will say is that Sinner is listed at 6'2 and Alcaraz 6'1. There's no way this can be accurate. Sinner looks three inches taller, 2.5 minimum. I guess I see a little Andy Murray/Del Potro in Jannik's game. Easy and sustained power during their rallies. Murray probably moves slightly better but I could see Sinner developing more of a net game.
As for Alcaraz he appears to be an amalgam of the greats. He moves like a combination of Djokovic and Chang. Very flexible like the Djoker. His game is more like a Nadal/Agassi mix. He has that quick wrist action and can flick a hammer winner seemingly out of nowhere. We're talking about a superior athlete which might give him a leg-up over Sinner the next 10-15 years. He's in the top 1% of athletes in men's tennis and it's not like these guys aren't athletes.
He's a top-1% athlete in the world, not just in tennis. Period.
It's scary how much better he can get. He probably already has a very good coach, but he could do a lot worse than Carlos Moya when Rafa finally hangs 'em up.
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He's a top-1% athlete in the world, not just in tennis. Period.
It's scary how much better he can get. He probably already has a very good coach, but he could do a lot worse than Carlos Moya when Rafa finally hangs 'em up.
I can go with that. I'll admit his wheels are better than mine in my prime. :)
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So much for Garcia.
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Good to see Swiatek advance.
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Good to see Swiatek advance.
Gutsy, clutch performance.
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Gutsy, clutch performance.
She's extremely likable as is Jabeur.
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3rd Grand Slam Doubles Title for the team of American Rajeev Ram, and Brit Joe Salisbury. Well earned. High level.
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3rd Grand Slam Doubles Title for the team of American Rajeev Ram, and Brit Joe Salisbury. Well earned. High level.
Does anyone rally care about Doubles other than as a way to give out more trophies?
In reality, it is more fun to play. But I was never interested in watching it.
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Does anyone rally care about Doubles other than as a way to give out more trophies?
In reality, it is more fun to play. But I was never interested in watching it.
Yes is the short answer. Many players and fans care about doubles. Doubles is every bit a part of tennis as is singles. Highly respected part of the sport.
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One more for Americans Taylor Townsend and Caty McNally, into the Women's Doubles Finals. (2nd straight year for McNally) Playing some great ball.
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I looks like Rudd will advance. He's had a relatively easy draw. When I've been able to watch him I've been impressed by his consistency. He also gets a lot of action on the ball.
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I think the first set of this match is absolutely critical for Tiafoe.
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I think the first set of this match is absolutely critical for Tiafoe.
Disagree
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Tiafoe in really good shape.
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This has been some high quality tennis.
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This has been some high quality tennis.
Excellent first set. Tiafoe other than his 1st serve percentage has been superb. Excellent on both wings and dictating play.
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OMG what a point! Two tremendous athletes.
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That get was insane!
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Tiafoe seems to have lost his Mojo. Uh-Oh. He needs to snap out of it. NOW.
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Tiafoe seems to have lost his Mojo. Uh-Oh. He needs to snap out of it. NOW.
He’s done
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He’s done
It's been a very strange 20 mins. He was playing at such a high level. That said Alcaraz is special.
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It's been a very strange 20 mins. He was playing at such a high level. That said Alcaraz is special.
American tennis players are soft and should be in jail
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American tennis players are soft and should be in jail
Absolutely brutal 3rd set for Tiafoe.
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Incredible match point saved by Tiafoe! This is getting intense!
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Here we go, let’s get this tie break!!
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LETS GOOOOOOOOO
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LETS GOOOOOOOOO
My exact scream! Scared the pooch
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Wow! Tiafoe forces a 5th! 8-0 in tiebreakers for the tournament. Alcaraz will remember that forehand miss at 5-5.
This may not be the caliber of Sinner/Alcaraz but there's still been some electric moments.
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BAM!
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Ughhh....
Somehow he needs to shake that off.
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A bit of a shame but props to Alcaraz. Ruud has a big advantage though Sunday.
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I guess Carlos wasn’t spent due to the length and intensity of his previous matches, after all.
What an incredible young star, truly one of the best athletes in the world today.
The kid’s gonna win Sunday — his first of at least 10 major titles.
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I guess Carlos wasn’t spent due to the length and intensity of his previous matches, after all.
What an incredible young star, truly one of the best athletes in the world today.
The kid’s gonna win Sunday — his first of at least 10 major titles.
I hope you're right. I'm just worried he will be about 80% physically. I do agree he has the potential to win 10+ Majors. The crowd will be behind him on Sunday for sure. He's truly a great kid. If he pulls this off after three 5 setters? That's how legends are born.
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I hope you're right. I'm just worried he will be about 80% physically. I do agree he has the potential to win 10+ Majors. The crowd will be behind him on Sunday for sure. He's truly a great kid. If he pulls this off after three 5 setters? That's how legends are born.
First Sunday of NFL season AND a U.S. Open final featuring this kid. It’ll be a great day for sports.
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First Sunday of NFL season AND a U.S. Open final featuring this kid. It’ll be a great day for sports.
I think Sampras is the only teenager who has won the USOpen men's. At least in the modern era.
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Really interesting NYT DealBook newsletter on the state of tennis:
This weekend is the climax of the U.S. Open, as Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek face off in the women’s final today and Casper Ruud plays Carlos Alcaraz for the men’s title tomorrow.
It is also Wall Street’s favorite spectator sports event — a place to see and be seen.
The stands in Flushing Meadows, Queens, are filled with Wall Street titans and corporate America’s top executives. Presiding there is Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the Open’s top sponsor, feting clients who have flown in from Silicon Valley, Miami and practically everywhere in between. Bill Gates, a longtime tennis fan, regularly attends. Virtually every major Wall Street bank has a private suite or courtside seats for entertaining. Hedge fund magnates are also out in force, led by Bill Ackman, who is such a tennis fan that he built a court on the roof of his office and has personally sponsored players. And then there are the power players in attendance like Michelle Obama and Jon Bon Jovi who sat courtside Friday night.
And yet the business of tennis — if judged by Wall Street standards — increasingly looks like a failing enterprise.
If it were a company, activist shareholders would have already descended, calling for a restructuring. In fact, some are — raising the prospect of a turnaround effort or else the risk that a competitor could emerge to steal tennis players the same way LIV Golf has sought to upend the PGA Tour.
With the Open finals upon us, DealBook spoke with some of the top agents, financiers and insiders to capture the state of play for professional tennis, a business that has always been opaque and uneven. We started by getting a lay of the land from Matthew Futterman, a veteran sports journalist who covers tennis and the business behind it for The New York Times.
What’s going on with tennis as an industry?
It really depends on who you are. If you’re a big star, in the top 20 or 30, you have a pretty good life: You’ve got sponsors, you can afford to have a good team around you, coaches, physios, hitting partners.
When you get below that level, it gets a lot more difficult and you start to get worried, especially once you fall below the top 60 or so. “Can I bring in enough money to pay for all of my overhead?” If you’re outside the top 80 and definitely the top 100, you might be breaking even, but there’s a good chance you’re not.
How does that stack up compared with other sports?
It’s kind of a crazy situation given how popular tennis is. In a lot of countries, it’s the second most popular sport, and it has some megastars who are among the most highly paid athletes in the world.
Tennis is roughly a $2 billion business. But the industry can support only 100 or so players. If you’re the 50th- or 60th-best basketball player, you’re probably making $12 million a year at least, assuming you’ve been in the league a few years.
So what’s going on?
There’s a bureaucracy in this sport that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It’s run by seven organizations: the four Grand Slam tournaments; the WTA tour for women; the ATP for men; and the International Tennis Federation, the world governing body, which oversees the Davis Cup and the Olympics and has some involvement with the Slams.
Each of those organizations has its own C.E.O., layers of management and P.R. staff, and there’s a lot of overlap and overhead. You’re supporting a lot of lifestyles there. From a player’s perspective, people are paying money to see them. But the money those players are producing is going to pay for a lot of senior vice presidents. They often wonder: Are these organizations built to serve the players, or to serve themselves?
I was speaking with an executive from BNP Paribas, probably the biggest sponsor of tennis in the world. He said: I’m a banker, so I’m used to dealing with a lot of bureaucracy. But it’s a little like running a bank in the U.S.: You have to deal with the Fed and S.E.C. and F.D.I.C. and this whole alphabet soup of organizations. You can sort of justify it in banking, but in a sport do you really need all that bureaucracy?
What are the chances of disruption like we’ve seen in golf, with a rival league funded by the Saudis?
It’s certainly possible, but it would be more difficult.[/b]
You might need a lot of players to say they no longer care about playing the four most important tournaments. Or the top 10 players decide they want to play only each other.
As soon as you stop playing top-level tournaments, your ranking plummets. It affects where you’re seeded, who you play in the first round. It would be possible to have some events, but I don’t know if it’s possible to pick off enough top players every year and create a rival tennis tour.
Is there a better way?
The industry is still heavily reliant on ticket sales, with the U.S. Open bringing in about 85 percent of the United States Tennis Association’s revenue last year. (Ticket resale prices soared above $9,000 for a seat this year.) The sport brings in only 1.3 percent of total global media sports rights, even though the value of televised sports is booming, according to a report compiled by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
“The players are doing their part, but the sport itself is not helping,” said Stuart Duguid, who started the management company Evolve with the Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, his longtime client. “It hasn’t really innovated as much as it needs to do to keep that next generation engaged.”
Critics say some tennis quirks turn off the younger generation — take the U.S. Open’s irregular starting times, or five-set men’s matches that can stretch into early morning.
“It’s hard to pinpoint whether we’re actually growing the sport in terms of adding new fans,” Mr. Duguid said. “And I think that the fan base has to get younger — and I think we need to come up with better ways of sharing the content.” (He says he hopes a docuseries that Netflix is working on to track tennis stars will amp up interest; his client Nick Kyrgios is featured in the series.)
Others pushing for change include Mr. Ackman, the billionaire investor, who has thrown his support behind the Professional Tennis Players Association, which would negotiate on behalf of the players over money, scheduling and other matters.
“Why should players be required to play until 3am, let alone in an individual sport?” Mr. Ackman wrote on Twitter on Thursday after the U.S. Open match between Mr. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner lasted more than five hours. “Imagine if boxers had 5-hour bouts, and then get one day off before they must box again. This is why we need the @ptpaplayers.” (Our Andrew Ross Sorkin interviewed Mr. Ackman on CNBC this week.)
Like other sports, such as basketball’s W.N.B.A., the women’s tennis tour has faced its own financial challenges. Despite equality in the major championships, equal pay is still a struggle. The WTA suspended tournaments in China after the disappearance of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. It is reportedly in talks for an investment from the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, its first outside capital.
“Raising a lot of money in order to give equal prize money is to be applauded, but it also needs to be sustained,” Mr. Duguid said. “There needs to be further investment in growing the game. There needs to be further investment in promoting these young stars.”
Balancing on- and off-court success
Unlike players in other major sports like basketball and baseball, tennis players do not have multiyear contracts, and pay isn’t guaranteed. (A study by the I.T.F., the governing body, found that 14,000 players who participated in pro tournaments around the world in 2013 made less than $1 doing so.) A tennis player’s payday comes from sponsorships and endorsement deals. Roger Federer, who is recovering from an injury and hasn’t played competitively in over a year, is still the highest-paid tennis player in 2022, according to Forbes, bringing in $90 million off the court. In second place is Ms. Osaka, with $55 million in off-court income. (Mr. Federer has endorsement deals with Uniqlo, Credit Suisse and Rolex, and Mr. Osaka has deals with the likes of Sweet Green, Louis Vuitton and Nike.)
With so many branding opportunities, Tony Godsick, the longtime agent for Mr. Federer, said he had seen players accept whatever deal was placed in front of them, because “you never know if you’re going to be back in the winner circle again.”
“But if you chase every dollar and you chase every opportunity, you’ll have a short career that probably won’t turn out to be as good and successful as you would like,” he said.
Mr. Godsick, who spent 20 years at IMG before leaving in 2012 to start the boutique agency Team8 with Mr. Federer, believes the days of big agencies representing marquee players are coming to an end, pointing to Ms. Osaka and Rafael Nadal as other tennis stars who have their own agencies.
“People are looking for equity deals, and people are looking to do deals that are unique, and maybe they’re one of one as opposed to one of many,” he said. At the largest agencies, he said, “it’s just constant transactional goals.”
“If tennis was a stock, I’d go long on it.”
+++
I didn't realize that all those organizations were separate. The only way a LIV-like tennis operation could succeed IMHO would be if they got the organizations that run the majors to go with them. If they were to "steal" the backing of them, I definitely could see it happening.
As the article says, tennis is a tough sell for a TV audience that has trouble sitting still for hours on end. I love love love the majors, and I really like watching the likes of Nadal, Alcaraz, Tiafoe, Serena, Swiatek and Kyrgios, yet I didn't sit down and watch any of the matches from first toss to final point. Nor did I stay up until 2:30 or 3 a.m. (I watched the final 3 sets of Alcaraz-Sinner the following morning, fast-forwarding through commercials and even some of the play.) MLB is desperately trying to get its games to be under 3 hours long because young people won't watch the current marathons; so who's watching a 5-hour tennis match?
I figured the sport was super-profitable for the best players and a struggle for those ranked lower (similar to golf), but I didn't realize it was so brutal to those outside the top 80.
Frankly, given everything else in the article, the final line surprised me a little. Continuing the investing metaphor, it was as if they said: "Company XYZ faces extreme challenges, and its industry (to borrow a phrase from the article) increasingly looks like a failing enterprise. But I say, Buy Buy Buy."
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Really interesting NYT DealBook newsletter on the state of tennis:
This weekend is the climax of the U.S. Open, as Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek face off in the women’s final today and Casper Ruud plays Carlos Alcaraz for the men’s title tomorrow.
It is also Wall Street’s favorite spectator sports event — a place to see and be seen.
The stands in Flushing Meadows, Queens, are filled with Wall Street titans and corporate America’s top executives. Presiding there is Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the Open’s top sponsor, feting clients who have flown in from Silicon Valley, Miami and practically everywhere in between. Bill Gates, a longtime tennis fan, regularly attends. Virtually every major Wall Street bank has a private suite or courtside seats for entertaining. Hedge fund magnates are also out in force, led by Bill Ackman, who is such a tennis fan that he built a court on the roof of his office and has personally sponsored players. And then there are the power players in attendance like Michelle Obama and Jon Bon Jovi who sat courtside Friday night.
And yet the business of tennis — if judged by Wall Street standards — increasingly looks like a failing enterprise.
If it were a company, activist shareholders would have already descended, calling for a restructuring. In fact, some are — raising the prospect of a turnaround effort or else the risk that a competitor could emerge to steal tennis players the same way LIV Golf has sought to upend the PGA Tour.
With the Open finals upon us, DealBook spoke with some of the top agents, financiers and insiders to capture the state of play for professional tennis, a business that has always been opaque and uneven. We started by getting a lay of the land from Matthew Futterman, a veteran sports journalist who covers tennis and the business behind it for The New York Times.
What’s going on with tennis as an industry?
It really depends on who you are. If you’re a big star, in the top 20 or 30, you have a pretty good life: You’ve got sponsors, you can afford to have a good team around you, coaches, physios, hitting partners.
When you get below that level, it gets a lot more difficult and you start to get worried, especially once you fall below the top 60 or so. “Can I bring in enough money to pay for all of my overhead?” If you’re outside the top 80 and definitely the top 100, you might be breaking even, but there’s a good chance you’re not.
How does that stack up compared with other sports?
It’s kind of a crazy situation given how popular tennis is. In a lot of countries, it’s the second most popular sport, and it has some megastars who are among the most highly paid athletes in the world.
Tennis is roughly a $2 billion business. But the industry can support only 100 or so players. If you’re the 50th- or 60th-best basketball player, you’re probably making $12 million a year at least, assuming you’ve been in the league a few years.
So what’s going on?
There’s a bureaucracy in this sport that doesn’t exist anywhere else. It’s run by seven organizations: the four Grand Slam tournaments; the WTA tour for women; the ATP for men; and the International Tennis Federation, the world governing body, which oversees the Davis Cup and the Olympics and has some involvement with the Slams.
Each of those organizations has its own C.E.O., layers of management and P.R. staff, and there’s a lot of overlap and overhead. You’re supporting a lot of lifestyles there. From a player’s perspective, people are paying money to see them. But the money those players are producing is going to pay for a lot of senior vice presidents. They often wonder: Are these organizations built to serve the players, or to serve themselves?
I was speaking with an executive from BNP Paribas, probably the biggest sponsor of tennis in the world. He said: I’m a banker, so I’m used to dealing with a lot of bureaucracy. But it’s a little like running a bank in the U.S.: You have to deal with the Fed and S.E.C. and F.D.I.C. and this whole alphabet soup of organizations. You can sort of justify it in banking, but in a sport do you really need all that bureaucracy?
What are the chances of disruption like we’ve seen in golf, with a rival league funded by the Saudis?
It’s certainly possible, but it would be more difficult.[/b]
You might need a lot of players to say they no longer care about playing the four most important tournaments. Or the top 10 players decide they want to play only each other.
As soon as you stop playing top-level tournaments, your ranking plummets. It affects where you’re seeded, who you play in the first round. It would be possible to have some events, but I don’t know if it’s possible to pick off enough top players every year and create a rival tennis tour.
Is there a better way?
The industry is still heavily reliant on ticket sales, with the U.S. Open bringing in about 85 percent of the United States Tennis Association’s revenue last year. (Ticket resale prices soared above $9,000 for a seat this year.) The sport brings in only 1.3 percent of total global media sports rights, even though the value of televised sports is booming, according to a report compiled by the Association of Tennis Professionals.
“The players are doing their part, but the sport itself is not helping,” said Stuart Duguid, who started the management company Evolve with the Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, his longtime client. “It hasn’t really innovated as much as it needs to do to keep that next generation engaged.”
Critics say some tennis quirks turn off the younger generation — take the U.S. Open’s irregular starting times, or five-set men’s matches that can stretch into early morning.
“It’s hard to pinpoint whether we’re actually growing the sport in terms of adding new fans,” Mr. Duguid said. “And I think that the fan base has to get younger — and I think we need to come up with better ways of sharing the content.” (He says he hopes a docuseries that Netflix is working on to track tennis stars will amp up interest; his client Nick Kyrgios is featured in the series.)
Others pushing for change include Mr. Ackman, the billionaire investor, who has thrown his support behind the Professional Tennis Players Association, which would negotiate on behalf of the players over money, scheduling and other matters.
“Why should players be required to play until 3am, let alone in an individual sport?” Mr. Ackman wrote on Twitter on Thursday after the U.S. Open match between Mr. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner lasted more than five hours. “Imagine if boxers had 5-hour bouts, and then get one day off before they must box again. This is why we need the @ptpaplayers.” (Our Andrew Ross Sorkin interviewed Mr. Ackman on CNBC this week.)
Like other sports, such as basketball’s W.N.B.A., the women’s tennis tour has faced its own financial challenges. Despite equality in the major championships, equal pay is still a struggle. The WTA suspended tournaments in China after the disappearance of the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. It is reportedly in talks for an investment from the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, its first outside capital.
“Raising a lot of money in order to give equal prize money is to be applauded, but it also needs to be sustained,” Mr. Duguid said. “There needs to be further investment in growing the game. There needs to be further investment in promoting these young stars.”
Balancing on- and off-court success
Unlike players in other major sports like basketball and baseball, tennis players do not have multiyear contracts, and pay isn’t guaranteed. (A study by the I.T.F., the governing body, found that 14,000 players who participated in pro tournaments around the world in 2013 made less than $1 doing so.) A tennis player’s payday comes from sponsorships and endorsement deals. Roger Federer, who is recovering from an injury and hasn’t played competitively in over a year, is still the highest-paid tennis player in 2022, according to Forbes, bringing in $90 million off the court. In second place is Ms. Osaka, with $55 million in off-court income. (Mr. Federer has endorsement deals with Uniqlo, Credit Suisse and Rolex, and Mr. Osaka has deals with the likes of Sweet Green, Louis Vuitton and Nike.)
With so many branding opportunities, Tony Godsick, the longtime agent for Mr. Federer, said he had seen players accept whatever deal was placed in front of them, because “you never know if you’re going to be back in the winner circle again.”
“But if you chase every dollar and you chase every opportunity, you’ll have a short career that probably won’t turn out to be as good and successful as you would like,” he said.
Mr. Godsick, who spent 20 years at IMG before leaving in 2012 to start the boutique agency Team8 with Mr. Federer, believes the days of big agencies representing marquee players are coming to an end, pointing to Ms. Osaka and Rafael Nadal as other tennis stars who have their own agencies.
“People are looking for equity deals, and people are looking to do deals that are unique, and maybe they’re one of one as opposed to one of many,” he said. At the largest agencies, he said, “it’s just constant transactional goals.”
“If tennis was a stock, I’d go long on it.”
+++
I didn't realize that all those organizations were separate. The only way a LIV-like tennis operation could succeed IMHO would be if they got the organizations that run the majors to go with them. If they were to "steal" the backing of them, I definitely could see it happening.
As the article says, tennis is a tough sell for a TV audience that has trouble sitting still for hours on end. I love love love the majors, and I really like watching the likes of Nadal, Alcaraz, Tiafoe, Serena, Swiatek and Kyrgios, yet I didn't sit down and watch any of the matches from first toss to final point. Nor did I stay up until 2:30 or 3 a.m. (I watched the final 3 sets of Alcaraz-Sinner the following morning, fast-forwarding through commercials and even some of the play.) MLB is desperately trying to get its games to be under 3 hours long because young people won't watch the current marathons; so who's watching a 5-hour tennis match?
I figured the sport was super-profitable for the best players and a struggle for those ranked lower (similar to golf), but I didn't realize it was so brutal to those outside the top 80.
Frankly, given everything else in the article, the final line surprised me a little. Continuing the investing metaphor, it was as if they said: "Company XYZ faces extreme challenges, and its industry (to borrow a phrase from the article) increasingly looks like a failing enterprise. But I say, Buy Buy Buy."
Ya....that last sentence seems to contradict the entire article. I had heard Tennis is a bureaucratic mess but I guess I didn't realize the extent of it. There's definitely something wrong if players outside the top 50 are just getting by or breaking even. It sounds like they need to completely revamp their leadership
Tennis is a much bigger sport internationally than I think Americans realize. It is also still, with all its problems, the most lucrative women's sport in the world among the top players. The drama of a an epic high quality match, 3 out of 5 sets, is really unlike anything in sports.
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How did someone write a long tennis business piece without discussing Sinclair, ESPN, TC, TC Plus, international TV? People can't watch something if they don't have access to it.
Unlike say golf, 3 of the 4 slams and most of the tour are not in the U.S.
The money thing varies. I'm affiliated with a few top 125 Women's players for example. They bring in roughly $600k annually before expenses, minus endorsements and perks.
The 10 highest paid female athletes in recent years are Women's tennis players. This is because top level players make millions, and sometimes tens of millions in endorsemenrs.
One of the highest paid Men's players is Kei Nishikori, who has been out with injury often the past few years. Osaka is getting $50 million a year.
There needs to be more money for the players not in the top 100.
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How did someone write a long tennis business piece without discussing Sinclair, ESPN, TC, TC Plus, international TV? People can't watch something if they don't have access to it.
Unlike say golf, 3 of the 4 slams and most of the tour are not in the U.S.
The money thing varies. I'm affiliated with a few top 125 Women's players for example. They bring in roughly $600k annually before expenses, minus endorsements and perks.
The 10 highest paid female athletes in recent years are Women's tennis players. This is because top level players make millions, and sometimes tens of millions in endorsemenrs.
One of the highest paid Men's players is Kei Nishikori, who has been out with injury often the past few years. Osaka is getting $50 million a year.
There needs to be more money for the players not in the top 100.
The article strongly suggests the same thing you say in your last sentence, and it also discusses how top-heavy the sport is when it comes to compensation (including endorsements).
It was a pretty comprehensive piece, though I agree that at least one segment talking about where TV fits into all of this would have been a good addition.
If you'd be willing to share, what do you mean you're "affiliated with a few top 125 Women's players"?
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How did someone write a long tennis business piece without discussing Sinclair, ESPN, TC, TC Plus, international TV? People can't watch something if they don't have access to it.
Unlike say golf, 3 of the 4 slams and most of the tour are not in the U.S.
The money thing varies. I'm affiliated with a few top 125 Women's players for example. They bring in roughly $600k annually before expenses, minus endorsements and perks.
The 10 highest paid female athletes in recent years are Women's tennis players. This is because top level players make millions, and sometimes tens of millions in endorsemenrs.
One of the highest paid Men's players is Kei Nishikori, who has been out with injury often the past few years. Osaka is getting $50 million a year.
There needs to be more money for the players not in the top 100.
The top women's tennis players have always been the highest paid athletes. The only women who can make that much are Olympic stars. If women or men outside the top 100 are struggling to make a living it's completely ridiculous.
On a side note I do think the women should play 3 out of 5 sets at the majors.
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The top women's tennis players have always been the highest paid athletes. The only women who can make that much are Olympic stars. If women or men outside the top 100 are struggling to make a living it's completely ridiculous.
On a side note I do think the women should play 3 out of 5 sets at the majors.
I couldn’t disagree more. It’s entertainment value not equal pay for equal quantity of sets. If anything, many believe the Men’s game would be better moving to 2 out of 3 sets for the slams as it is every other tourney but those four.
Women athletes, similar to Women in other professions, are vastly underpaid.
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I couldn’t disagree more. It’s entertainment value not equal pay for equal quantity of sets. If anything, many believe the Men’s game would be better moving to 2 out of 3 sets for the slams as it is every other tourney but those four.
Women athletes, similar to Women in other professions, are vastly underpaid.
I guess we disagree. Endurance is part of the sport. Not to mention you have time to find your rhythm in 3 out of 5, whereas in 2 out of 3 it's much more difficult. In the last two Alcaraz matches there was tremendous excitement in the 4th and 5th sets.
I'm not familiar enough about the revenues of men's/women's tennis other than I know they increased the prize money for women In gs events. I would imagine the women are underpaid as a general rule. But if you're saying WNBA players and female soccer players should get the same salaries as the men I'm not sure that's remotely possible based on the revenue of the sports.
If you are the CEO of a 100 billion dollar conpany, your salary isn't going to be the same as if you're the CEO of a 100 million dollar company. Regardless of gender. For the rare cases where the top female athletes make more than their male counterparts (figure skating/gymnastics), I would think it's because they are way more marketable and more people want to watch them? I also never stated or intimated women should play 3 out of 5 because of "equal pay for equal work".
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Congratulations to Alex Eala for becoming the first Filipina Woman to win the U.S. Open Junior Grand Slam Singles Title.
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Crazy UE"s in this 2nd set tiebreaker.
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Congrats to Swiatek.
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Best women’s player in the world shows why.
It was important to prove she could win on hard courts, too.
But that racquet change on championship point thing’s gotta go!
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Best women’s player in the world shows why.
It was important to prove she could win on hard courts, too.
But that racquet change on championship point thing’s gotta go!
That was nuts as well.
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Bummer for Ons. She didn’t have her A or B game today. Yet, she still found a way to be a point or two from a 3rd set. She wasn’t feeling well and was on a practice court 10 minutes before the match started, which is pretty unusual.
Two straight slam finals on two different surfaces for Ons. Great season.
Credit to Iga, who played solid, not her best either but solid.
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That was nuts as well.
Swiatek’s game reminds me some of what I remember about Evert’s game.
She’s not gonna overpower anybody, but she is accurate, relentless, tough-minded, and a good athlete.
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Swiatek’s game reminds me some of what I remember about Evert’s game.
She’s not gonna overpower anybody, but she is accurate, relentless, tough-minded, and a good athlete.
Ya think? Before my time but I always thought Evert was more of a human backboard? Swiatek is a great athlete and mover. She also has some sneaky pop on her shots.
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Ya think? Before my time but I always thought Evert was more of a human backboard? Swiatek is a great athlete and mover. She also has some sneaky pop on her shots.
When Swiatek is going well, she's a human backboard, too. She will take more chances. though. Evert also could surprise opponents with the pace of her two-handed back-hand, which she helped popularize.
I'm certainly not saying Iga is a carbon-copy of Chrissie. I just think their games have similarities.
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Both players playing a really spotty 1st set. Hopefully Alcaraz has enough in the tank.
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Alcaraz may have won the 1st set but he's spraying errors all over the place and his court position has been a bit wild. Hopefully he finds his game.
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You can just see Alcaraz doesn't have it. He'll be fine long run but it still sucks.
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You can just see Alcaraz doesn't have it. He'll be fine long run but it still sucks.
He obviously doesn’t have as much energy today. It’s pretty amazing that it’s 3-3 in the 3rd.
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Stop with the effen drop shots already!!!
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Stop with the effen drop shots already!!!
His decision making has been off the entire match. He's also running around his backhand too much. Part of the reason is he doesn't want long points.
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Ughhh. There it is again. Crazy running around the backhand there.
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VAMOS. ALCARAZ!!
He has to win this tb.
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VAMOS!
VAMOS!
VAMOS!
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He’s energized now! One more game!!
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VAMOS!! SLAM THE DOOR!!
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KABOOM!!!
Amazing kid.
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Impressed … amazed … enthralled … whatever.
Words can’t really describe how one feels watching this wonderful young player.
So good already. And he’s nowhere near as good as he’s gonna be.
Carlos Alcaraz, #1 Player In The World - that has a nice ring to it.
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Impressed … amazed … enthralled … whatever.
Words can’t really describe how one feels watching this wonderful young player.
So good already. And he’s nowhere near as good as he’s gonna be.
Carlos Alcaraz, #1 Player In The World - that has a nice ring to it.
That's what greatness is all about. And he's 19. He had nowhere near his A game. But he battled to get the 3rd to a tiebreaker and then went to work by going for his shots. In the 4th he served lights out knowing full well he didn't have much left. Just a phenomenal achievement after three five set wins and his first gs final.
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Impressed … amazed … enthralled … whatever.
Words can’t really describe how one feels watching this wonderful young player.
So good already. And he’s nowhere near as good as he’s gonna be.
Carlos Alcaraz, #1 Player In The World - that has a nice ring to it.
Two outstanding champions. Alvarez and Swiatek showed great class as well as talent.
Great personalities and great representatives for the future of tennis.
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The biggest winner over the last two weeks was tennis.
Ruud and Sinner and Jabeur and Tiafoe would have been worthy U.S. Open champions, but with Serena Williams retiring and men's Big 3 fading, what the game really needs is young, charismatic, exciting stars to emerge. And if that emergence could take place in New York, all the better.
Enter Iga Swiatek and, especially, Carlos Alcaraz.
It is impossible for anybody who has even slight interest in tennis to not be taken by the teen sensation, Alcaraz, who has the look of an athlete who will dominate the men's game for a decade or more.
Nick Kyrgios apparently deciding to become at least a semi-serious tennis player in 2022, rather than the clown show he had been for years, also has added a lot of spice to the game. In the coming years, one could see him wearing the black hat against "good guy" Alcaraz. That would be cool, and great for tennis. Djokovic, who looked wonderful at Wimbledon, also will still have his say if he's allowed to play all the majors again in the next 2-3 years.
Swiatek might not be the same kind of dynamo as Alcaraz, but she is skilled and personable and driven. One could argue that a win by Coco Gauff would have been better for tennis, and I wouldn't dispute that. If Coco can continue to improve and if she and Iga can create a kind of Evert-Navratilova dynamic, that would be spectacular.
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The biggest winner over the last two weeks was tennis.
Ruud and Sinner and Jabeur and Tiafoe would have been worthy U.S. Open champions, but with Serena Williams retiring and men's Big 3 fading, what the game really needs is young, charismatic, exciting stars to emerge. And if that emergence could take place in New York, all the better.
Enter Iga Swiatek and, especially, Carlos Alvaraz.
It is impossible for anybody who has even slight interest in tennis to not be taken by the teen sensation, Alvaraz, who has the look of an athlete who will dominate the men's game for a decade or more.
Nick Kyrgios apparently deciding to become at least a semi-serious tennis player in 2022, rather than the clown show he had been for years, also has added a lot of spice to the game. In the coming years, one could see him wearing the black hat against "good guy" Alvaraz. That would be cool, and great for tennis. Djokovic, who looked wonderful at Wimbledon, also will still have his say if he's allowed to play all the majors again in the next 2-3 years.
Swiatek might not be the same kind of dynamo as Alcaraz, but she is skilled and personable and driven. One could argue that a win by Coco Gauff would have been better for tennis, and I wouldn't dispute that. If Coco can continue to improve and if she and Iga can create a kind of Evert-Navratilova dynamic, that would be spectacular.
you only misspelled his name three times. Aside from that, you are 100% correct.
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WTA World Singles Rankings Top 50:
Jessica Pegula 5
Coco Gauff 8
Danielle Collins 16
Madison Keys 17
Amanda Anisimova 22
Alison Riske Amritraj 23
Shelby Rogers 33
Sloane Stephens 49
12 Americans in the Top 100
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you only misspelled his name three times. Aside from that, you are 100% correct.
Damn! I guess it was an upset that I spelled it right the fourth time!
Corrected. Thanks for being a good editor.
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Alcaraz is the #1 player in the world (youngest of all-time) and while tennis has major issues with their ranking system , I think he's definitely earned it. In fact I think if Nadal or Djoker were asked they would give Alcaraz his due for the incredible season he has had. I do think Zverev when he comes back will be extremely hungry and Djoker and Nadal are definitely not done. Sinner is also the real deal and perhaps Kyrgios will actually play tennis and be relevant at the majors from now on.
I'm just going to say this: by 2025 I think a 22 year old Alcaraz will be in prime position to dominate men's tennis. I think what's really scary for these other players is that his serve has the potential to be lethal and he already volleys quite well. When this kid figures out shot-selection and court positioning, particularly when to unload or go for winners, and play better percentage shots on returns, cancel Christmas. His game is also totally adaptable on all surfaces. It's fantastic we have a young man that clearly can take the mantle from the Big 3.
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U.S. Open attendance was 888,044 for the 3 weeks including the free week of qualifying.
The 2 week event had 776,120.
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The United States has defeated Great Great Britain in Glasgow, finishing at 1am.
2 out of 3.
Ram/Sock over A Murray/Salisbury
5-7, 6-4, 7-5.
(Norrie over Fritz, Paul over Evans)
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Federer announced his retirement.
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Federer announced his retirement.
He had been "retired" for some time now, but he now makes it official.
“I am 41 years old, I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years,” Federer said in an audio clip posted on social media. “Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamed and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career.”
And what a career it was. Loved watching his surgical precision and his will to win on display.
Rafa is on the clock. It wouldn't stun me if he announces his retirement this year or next.
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He had been "retired" for some time now, but he now makes it official.
“I am 41 years old, I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years,” Federer said in an audio clip posted on social media. “Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamed and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career.”
And what a career it was. Loved watching his surgical precision and his will to win on display.
Rafa is on the clock. It wouldn't stun me if he announces his retirement this year or next.
Rafa was at about 66% at the USOpen. I still think he's got one more French Open in him. 15 just sounds better than 14. The Djoker could still very well catch him but my hope is Alcaraz kicks up his level a year earlier than I expect. Ideally the way for Rafa to go out would be for him to throttle both Alcaraz and Djokovic at Roland Garros, snag #15, and for the organizers of the French Open to print Vamos fifteen times with Rafa's image at the back of the center court. There are no guarantees in life.....except that 15 with a record of 119-3 will never be touched. :)
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Rafa was at about 66% at the USOpen. I still think he's got one more French Open in him. 15 just sounds better than 14. The Djoker could still very well catch him but my hope is Alcaraz kicks up his level a year earlier than I expect. Ideally the way for Rafa to go out would be for him to throttle both Alcaraz and Djokovic at Roland Garros, snag #15, and for the organizers of the French Open to print Vamos fifteen times with Rafa's image at the back of the center court. There are no guarantees in life.....except that 15 with a record of 119-3 will never be touched. :)
All of that would be cool.
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Federer announced his retirement.
Definitely open to discussion, but I think Federer is #1 all-time. Although, if Borg had played till age 40, He would have enough titles to never be caught.
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Definitely open to discussion, but I think Federer is #1 all-time. Although, if Borg had played till age 40, He would have enough titles to never be caught.
FWIW, fun fact, at the same age/period of his life when Borg retired, Fed actually had more grand slams. Borg's run was dominant, but I think his relative lack of hard court Grand Slam success would have prevented "uncatchable" major totals.
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Definitely open to discussion, but I think Federer is #1 all-time. Although, if Borg had played till age 40, He would have enough titles to never be caught.
My take is he's the most complete and talented player of all time but both Djoker and Nadal are better. They're mentally tougher imo. There are a handful of results that may have changed my point of view, matches where Federer absolutely should have won against both players, but the bottom line is he didn't. I will also add that Nadal exploited Fed's backhand on clay and he was never the same player on that surface. He could not handle the heavy (and also bad-ass) top-spin Rafa put on the ball in extended rallies. I stand by my opinion that clay is the most pure tennis surface because you get way fewer free points on serve and can cover the most ground with great footwork.
I will say that Borg winning 6 French, and 5 Wimbledons by age 25, some of them back to back (and a week or two weeks apart ) is extraordinary. This can't just be glossed over when discussing the all-time greats. That said, when three guys completely eviscerate their competition for 17-20 yrs, so much so that you could pencil them in to get to GS semis, and their opponents visibly knew that had no chance whatsoever, it's impossible for me not to conclude they are the three greatest players to have ever stepped on the court.
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FWIW, fun fact, at the same age/period of his life when Borg retired, Fed actually had more grand slams. Borg's run was dominant, but I think his relative lack of hard court Grand Slam success would have prevented "uncatchable" major totals.
You’re probably right, though I was referring to all titles won - not just majors.
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ATP Challenger Tour Press Release of increased money and improvements:
https://twitter.com/atpchallenger/status/1570759455809093633?s=21&t=IrABYbkVlNgmNhp1or9fDw
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First ATP Singles Title for Brandon Nakashima, and, he does it in his hometown of San Diego. Tomorrow he will be the 9th American currently ranked in the ATP Top 50.
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Reem is very good and reliable. Would like to see the numbers:
https://twitter.com/reemabulleil/status/1575808049348251648?s=21&t=ehLucKL3dOmvGoPprcJ_SQ
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The new Number 1 Ranked ATP World Doubles Player is……………….
Rajeev Ram.
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Qualifying tourney winner, wins over Collins, Sabalenka, Pliskova, Sakkari, Davis, to the final for Donna Vekic. She’s back in top 20 form in rainy, chilly San Diego. Nice to see.
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Coco Gauff becomes 1 of the first 5 of 8 to qualify for the WTA Singles Finals, becoming the youngest player to do so in 18 years.
She is joined in both singles and doubles by Jessie Pegula, as they also made the WTA Finals as a doubles team.
They will also be 2 of 5 Americans playing for the United States, in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, along with Danielle Collins, Madison Keys, and Taylor Townsend.
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United States loses in Davis Cup Quarterfinals to Italy.
The deciding match was doubles. The USA Team chose not to take Rajeev Ram even after his strong season, and recent US. Open Title put him at number 1 in the world at the time. The team is allowed to take 5 players. They took 4.
https://twitter.com/RajeevRam/status/1595800942250807296?t=a56LH55VkAzN5GymYx8jKw&s=19
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World Number 7 Coco Gauff wins the first singles event of the year without losing a set, the ASB New Zeal 250.
The United States has won the inaugural United Cup (18 countries) Jessie Pegula, Madison Keys, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, (Alycia Parks, Desirae Krawczyk, Dennis Kudla, Hunter Reese. also on the team)
Almost a 3 event American Sweep but Sebi Korda fell to Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, in the Adelaide 1 Final.
Among the many highlights, Pegula over Swiatek, Fritz over Berrettini, USA won 22 of 24 matches.
Lots of rain in so far in both New Zealand and Australia.
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Unfortunately, Kyrgios pulled out of the Australian Open with a knee injury. I don't like him ... but I do like to root against him, and he is a great entertainer who relishes his role as foil. He had his best season last year, and the Aussie is his home tournament, so it could have been real interesting. That his withdrawal happened on the heels of Alcaraz and Osaka also not being able to compete hurts the luster of this year's event a little. Having Djokovic back helps, though.
In the first day of play, Nadal labored through the first three sets of his match against Jack Draper of England, who finally succumbed to the all-time men's majors leader in the fourth set after battling through his own injuries. Rafa is seeded #1 but he's had an injury-filled (and loss-filled) last couple of months, and it's probably the least confident I've been of his chances in any major he's entered as top seed. He looked all of his 36 years old.
Numerous times in their match, Nadal and Draper complained about the tennis balls being flat, and the umpire took several out of play.
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Congratulations to Taylor Townsend for already winning 2 WTA Doubles titles in 2023 with two different partners.
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Congratulations to Taylor Townsend for already winning 2 WTA Doubles titles in 2023 with two different partners.
And the first main draw slam singles win for mom Tay in 3 years. Nice little January.
Speaking of Atlanta, the pride of Georgia Tech, Giraffe, Chris Eubanks, gained his first ever AO main draw slam singles win.
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More important than any match - Chris Evert says she’s now cancer-free.
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Rafa is out. He's obviously banged up.
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Rafa is out. He's obviously banged up.
Mackie McDonald was the better player.
Mackke also defeated Brandon Nakashima the previous round.
5 recent American wins over Nadal. Fritz twiice, Tiafoe, and Paul.
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Yes, Mackie was the better player against a 36-year-old guy who entered the tournament unfit and who could barely move at the end.
It was a sad day for tennis. Rafa has battled back before, but he looks done.
I'm guessing that if he can move at all he'll give the French one more try. If the result is similar, he'll hang it up.
As a fan, I'm grateful for the hundreds of hours of enjoyment I've gotten from watching the most accomplished (and perhaps greatest) tennis player of the modern era play the sport as nobody before him ever did and nobody after him ever will.
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End of the AO singles road for Caty McNally. Great job working her way into the WTA Top 100 and, into the Round of 64 at the AO. Still has dubs with Stefani.
Collins with a 1:13am local time win over Muchova to round 3, even though she forgot the deciding breaker goes to 10 and not 7. What a moment there.
Pegula, Keys and Gauff were all business advancing into singles round 3. Gauff over Raducanu.
Korda and Tiafoe eased into round 3 singles as well.
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Yes, Mackie was the better player against a 36-year-old guy who entered the tournament unfit and who could barely move at the end.
It was a sad day for tennis. Rafa has battled back before, but he looks done.
I'm guessing that if he can move at all he'll give the French one more try. If the result is similar, he'll hang it up.
As a fan, I'm grateful for the hundreds of hours of enjoyment I've gotten from watching the most accomplished (and perhaps greatest) tennis player of the modern era play the sport as nobody before him ever did and nobody after him ever will.
Until Djoker passes him
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Until Djoker passes him
If he stays healthy, I'd be surprised if Djokovic isn't the all-time majors winner by the end of this year. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic ... incredible that the three best ever each was in his prime at the same time. What a privilege to watch as a tennis fan.
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8 of the remaining 32 Men’s Singles players are from ‘Merica.
Atlanta Australian Opem continues as Atlanta native Ben Shelton advanced. NCAA Team Title, NCAA Singles Title, ATP Top 100, AO 3rd round. Nice couple of years for now Florida based Ben Shelton.
6 of the remaining 32 Women’s singles players are from ‘ Merica.
20 year old qualifier from Walnut Creek, CA, Katie Volynets defeats top 10 Veronika Kudermetova, and is into the 3rd round.
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Nice win for Korda.
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2018 NCAA Singles champion JJ Wolf (Ohio State) will play 2021 NCAA Singles Champion Ben Shelton for a place in the Australian Open Quarterfinals.
Recently, Ben Shelton was the number 3 player on his University of Florida team. This is his first trip ever outside of the United States.
Tommy Paul, JJ Wolf, Ben Shelton, have a 3 out of 4 chance to make the AO Singles semifinals.
Coco Gauff is the youngest player to 100 wins since Caro Woz in 2009.
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Coco better wake up.
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Extremely disappointing performance by Gauff. Tactically she was given poor advice against a player who loves pace.
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Extremely disappointing performance by Gauff. Tactically she was given poor advice against a player who loves pace.
Gauff was fine. Ostapenko, was better. Sometimes you have to tip your cap. Penko is a streaky player who is as good as anyone when she's on a good one. Top 15 world player right now. 30 winners. Missed opportunities converting 1 of 8 on break points for Gauff through the beginning of the 2nd. Gotta serve at a higher percentage on frst serves in the 2nd. Margins were small.
Gauff won 16 straight sets prior to that.
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Gauff was fine. Ostapenko, was better. Sometimes you have to tip your cap. Penko is a streaky player who is as good as anyone when she's on a good one. Top 15 world player right now. 30 winners. Missed opportunities converting 1 of 8 on break points for Gauff through the beginning of the 2nd. Gotta serve at a higher percentage on frst serves in the 2nd. Margins were small.
Gauff won 16 straight sets prior to that.
Of course she's fine but I disagree with your take on the match. You have to move a player like Ostapenko around the court and change pace. Especially when she was feeling it like last night. There was no tactical game plan from Gauff (or her camp) and therefore she got blown off the court. She was also getting thumped on her 2nd serve the final set plus. It was a very poor match strategically and quite disappointing imo.
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Of course she's fine but I disagree with your take on the match. You have to move a player like Ostapenko around the court and change pace. Especially when she was feeling it like last night. There was no tactical game plan from Gauff (or her camp) and therefore she got blown off the court. She was also getting thumped on her 2nd serve the final set plus. It was a very poor match strategically and quite disappointing imo.
Maybe you’re just a Negative Nancy?
I must have watched a different match.
She didn’t get blown off of the court. She lost the first set 5-7 after failing to convert multiple games of 0-40 and 15-40 on Penko’s serve. She was the better player much of the first set, holding easily much of the time, while forcing long games on Penko’s serve.
At minimum it would be fair to say the first set could have gone either way. Super small margins. And Penko came up big in big points. Credit to her.
Gauff had a lot of success moving Penko wide on deuce serves and ad side backhand kick serves. Penko is known more for her forehand but her backhand was elite last night up against Coco, who has one of the best backhands in the game.
An opportunity for improvement for Coco, is 2nd sets after she loses the first set. She is something like 1-19 in her last 20 against top level players after losing the first set. This is where some things broke down in execution and some tactics were changed. Much of Gauff's undefeated 2023 was in large part due to her success moving forward. JO took some lf that away.
You’ve now posted twice about this particular match without once giving credit to Ostapenko for playing well. Maybe start with that.
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I appears the Djoker is just gonna roll dudes in Melbourne on his way to another Aussie title.
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As of today, 10 of the ATP World Top 50 Singles players are from ‘Merica.
9 of the them are age 25 or younger.
2 of them might face one another in the AO Singles semifinals.
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I appears the Djoker is just gonna roll dudes in Melbourne on his way to another Aussie title.
Can't believe you're talking about Djoker without giving credit to Penko. And Mackie.
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As of today, 10 of the ATP World Top 50 Singles players are from ‘Merica.
9 of the them are age 25 or younger.
2 of them might face one another in the AO Singles semifinals.
Two Americans can’t face one another in the semi finals. Shelton/Paul are on one side, Korda is on the other side.
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Can't believe you're talking about Djoker without giving credit to Penko. And Mackie.
Mackie McDonald outplayed Rafa Nadal.
Jelena Ostapenko outplayed Coco Gauff.
Maybe start a new thread about a different topic.
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Two Americans can’t face one another in the semi finals. Shelton/Paul are on one side, Korda is on the other side.
Yep. Should say finals.
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Elena Rybakina is the first player since 2001 to defeat 3 former grand slam singles champions (Swiatek, Ostapenko, Azarenka) in the same Australian Open. In 2001, Capriati defeated Hingis, Seles, Davenport).
Rybakina had 53% (!!!) of her tourney first serves not returned prior to the semis.
Rybakina will be ranked in the World top 10 next week despite getting ZERO points for winning 2022 Wimbledon.
Self described “Boring Tiger” Aryna Sabalenka has won 20 straight sets to start 2023.
Big serves, big hitting, lots of movement from both.
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Elena Rybakina is the first player since 2001 to defeat 3 former grand slam singles champions (Swiatek, Ostapenko, Azarenka) in the same Australian Open. In 2001, Capriati defeated Hingis, Seles, Davenport).
Rybakina had 53% (!!!) of her tourney first serves not returned prior to the semis.
Rybakina will be ranked in the World top 10 next week despite getting ZERO points for winning 2022 Wimbledon.
Self described “Boring Tiger” Aryna Sabalenka has won 20 straight sets to start 2023.
Big serves, big hitting, lots of movement from both.
The Brooks Koepka of Women's Tennis but not an a-hole? Didn't Rybanika struggle after Wimbledon?
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The Brooks Koepka of Women's Tennis but not an a-hole? Didn't Rybanika struggle after Wimbledon?
I don’t understand your first question.
2022 Rybakina.
QF Cincinnati
Finals Ostrava
Semis Portoroz
Round of 16 or better in 6 events prior to Wimbledon last year.
2 slam finals in the last 3 slams.
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Nice effort by Paul.
Djokovic is Djokovic. Nuff said.
Spasibo.
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Nice effort by Paul.
Djokovic is Djokovic. Nuff said.
Spasibo.
Does Tsistsy have even a puncher's chance?
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Does Tsistsy have even a puncher's chance?
I haven't seen any of his matches. Obviously, he must be playing well. Having said all that, and then multiplying it times the hypotenuse of a triangle ...
No.
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I haven't seen any of his matches. Obviously, he must be playing well. Having said all that, and then multiplying it times the hypotenuse of a triangle ...
No.
Djoker is throttling dudes in this tournament similar to what I would do in the DNBA (Diminutive National Basketball Association). :)
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The Brooks Koepka of Women's Tennis but not an a-hole? Didn't Rybanika struggle after Wimbledon?
I think I figured out your question. Are you saying that Rybakina has a demeanor similar to Koepka and asking if she is not an a-hole like Koepka???
Some players are similar on and off of the court, and, some players are different on and off of the court. Some players are a mix.
As for Elena, she doesn’t show emotion often on court because she was taught that as a strategy. (Chrissie Evert would be a past example of something similar). Here, enjoy Elena playing with Daria Saville’s dog Tofu:
https://twitter.com/bastienfachan/status/1618646696510263296?s=46&t=NCIdwGQc2tPq-N9gszcN3Q
As for rankings points, there are a variety of ways (and ages) to achieve them. Jessie Pegula didn’t win her first main draw slam singles match until she was 26. She’s been in the quarters in 4 of the last 5.
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Nice effort by Paul.
Djokovic is Djokovic. Nuff said.
Spasibo.
I thought Paul played pretty well. And he got smoked.
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Damn. I was rooting for Rybakina
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31 winners 9 aces for Rybakina.
51 winners 17 aces for Sabalenka.
Well played from both. Well earned for Sabalenka who has been a top 10 player for the past 3 years prior to this one. And, she has been a top 15 player the 2 years prior to that.
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Joker is on a mission to prove that no vaccine doesn’t mean he isn’t top 5 ever (he is).
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Tsitsipas has to win this 2nd set to have any chance. He's fighting but he's not getting free points on his serve.
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Disastrous close to the 2nd set for Tsitsipas. Had a set point and then plenty of chances in the tiebreaker. Djoker nor really playing close to his top level but Tsitsy did not take advantage.
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Barbora Krejcikova snd Katerina Siniakova have now won 24 straight Women's doubles matches at majors.
Together since 2018, 7 slam titles. WTA World Tour Title. Olympic Gold. Fed Cup Title.
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Joker is on a mission to prove that no vaccine doesn’t mean he isn’t top 5 ever (he is).
Does someone believe he's not top 5 ever?
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Does someone believe he's not top 5 ever?
Djokovic is one of the best Men’s singles players of the past 15 or so years, yes.
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Djokovic would be lucky to be in the all-time top 100. Neither he, Nadal nor Federer could have handled Don Budge.
I mean, Budge had to compete in black & white. I'd like to see any of those alleged Big 3 try that!
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Djokovic would be lucky to be in the all-time top 100. Neither he, Nadal nor Federer could have handled Don Budge.
I mean, Budge had to compete in black & white. I'd like to see any of those alleged Big 3 try that!
The assumption you are incorrectly making is that it would be 2023 Djokovic vs 1936 Budge. 1936 Djokovic wouldn’t be the same as 2023 Djokovic. There’s nothing wrong with Djokovic’ accomplishments in his era. It isn’t a slight to say he’s one of the best players of his era.
Feel free to start a new thread comparing sports eras. The head to head record will forever be 0-0-0 no matter how hard you try and no matter how many advantages are given to the current modern day player and team.
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Attaboy.
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22 year old native Atlanta Georgian, Alycia Parks, has won her first WTA singles title in impressive fashion. 7-6,7-5 over world number 5 Carolina Garcia, in Lyon, France. 15 aces, 28 winners. Lots of power, poise, placement, touch. Big time. Parks moves into the world top 50 with the title.
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After a few impressive wins to qualify, Croatian lefty,Matija Pecotic, ranked 784th in the world, gets his 1st ever ATP tour win at age 33 in Delray Beach. 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 over former world top 10 Jack Sock. Wow.
Former 3 time Ivy League Player of the Year at Princeton.
Pecotic had “minor” stomach surgery in 2016 just before the Australian Open. But he ended up getting a staph infection, and he was bedridden for 8 months. And his tennis path was sidelined.
After years of playing all four slam qualifiers, his tennis career taking a set back, and he went to graduate school at Harvard. He became a volunteer assistant coach there playing six days a week while getting his MBA.
After completing his MBA he gave himself one year to try to make it on the ATP tour. Then came COVID-19 and it shut down his plans again.
Despite working as Director of Capital Markets for Wexford Real Estate Investors, he has still trained regularly before and after work daily, and he also put in regular gym time.
Pecotic was an alternate for the qualifying draw tourney at Delray Beach this week, just to get into the main draw tourney. He did not get in the qualifying tourney. The next day, someone had to pull out of the qualifying tourney and he received the call to play. He then defeats Stefan Kozlov and Tennys Sandgren just to make it into the main draw tourney.
33 years old, World number 784, ATP main draw match winner for the first time.
https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1625668827320025089?s=46&t=zuY862TzO0zSGiz5OfakrQ
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After winning the Delray Beach singles title, Taylor Fritz is the first American male in the ATP Top 5 since…………Andy Roddick in 2009.
1995 Americans in the ATP Top 50:
Agassi
Sampras
Chang
Martin
Courier
Wheaton
Krickstein
Washington
Adams
Palmer
Reneberg
(Sebi Korda’s dad was top 40)
2023 Americans in the ATP Top 50:
Fritz
Tiafoe
Paul
Korda
Isner
Cressy
Wolfe
Shelton
Brooksby
Nakashima
McDonald
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By some reports Djokovic was denied USA entry to play at Indian Wells. I'm honestly a huge Rafa fan, I don't want Djoker to surpass him, but it's impossible to deny his greatnes and that he likely will be the GOAT. I think the guy has paid the price for his vax decision. In light of where we are now, not to mention the fact that he plays tennis, this looks pretty absurd frankly.
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Kind of ridiculous since the vax requirement is ending in May.
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By some reports Djokovic was denied USA entry to play at Indian Wells. I'm honestly a huge Rafa fan, I don't want Djoker to surpass him, but it's impossible to deny his greatnes and that he likely will be the GOAT. I think the guy has paid the price for his vax decision. In light of where we are now, not to mention the fact that he plays tennis, this looks pretty absurd frankly.
Djokovic was invited to play at Indian Wells. Djokovic chose not to get vaccinated. One cannot enter the United States legally without getting vaccinated. Djokovic has known the public health policy for a long time. I do appreciate that Djojovic withdrew before today’s draw. Previously he did not do this elsewhere which caused a lot of needless draw restructuring. Next player up.
In actual tennis:
Marta Kotsyuk won the inaugural Austin, TX Open. Donna Vekic won Mexico.
Daniil Medvedev won Dubai, and Alex de Minaur won Mexico.
Belated congrats to UNC Women, and TCU Men for winning the ITA Indoor National Titles.
Indian Wells is going full 2 weeks, 128 draws, as it’s the 5th biggest tennis tourney on tour.
Let me know if you drive the 2.5 hrs from San Diego to Indian Wells and need recs. Weather has been chilly 60’s. But it will warm up to a much better 80’s soon.
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Kind of ridiculous since the vax requirement is ending in May.
Would rather the thread be about tennis, but unless I missed something, this isn’t the case. The House passed a bill last month to lift the vaccine mandate to enter the U.S. legally. The administration has said it would not support the bill, and, the Senate has not taken up the bill. The “Emergency” part would be over May 11th according to the administration, but that doesn’t include vaccine requirements. One no longer needs a negative COVID-19 test to enter the U.S. But on still needs to be vaccinated.
Djokovic and every other tennis player has known the public health policy. He had a choice. And he made his choice.
A more controversial topic would be the topic of Russians playing Wimbledon.
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You are correct. The assumption is that the vaccination status for entry would be lifted, but they have actually come out and said so.
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I don't think anything has changed regarding covid entry requirements into the United States for about a year. If you got the original two shots and didn't get another booster are you denied entry or not?
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26 year old Chris Eubanks, who started out court hopping the Fulton County Public Parks, to World Top 100 next week. Also happens to be an A+ guy. And this is what it means. Tremendous:
https://twitter.com/tennistv/status/1640538534208770048?s=46&t=2atBpZNkuoEj4M3QnyubAQ
https://twitter.com/tennistv/status/1640541294706716673?s=46&t=2atBpZNkuoEj4M3QnyubAQ
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I just picked up the Asics gel resolution 9s and man are they comfy. Highly recommend for those who are players who are at a competitive level but in their 30s.
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Rafael Nadal to miss French Open with hip injury, expects 2024 to be last season
https://apnews.com/article/rafael-nadal-french-open-hip-injury-e679d40ed0bb258a4c4ece0228a6143a
For months, Rafael Nadal waited for his body to heal. Waited to be able to push himself around a court at full speed, with full energy, of the sort that has carried him to a record 14 titles at the French Open and a total of 22 at all Grand Slam tournaments.
He finally acknowledged Thursday it wasn’t going to happen in time for Roland Garros, where play begins in 10 days — and, while he’s not exactly sure when he will be fully recovered from a lingering hip injury, Nadal said he expects to return to action at some point and probably wrap up his career in 2024.
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Rafael Nadal to miss French Open with hip injury, expects 2024 to be last season
https://apnews.com/article/rafael-nadal-french-open-hip-injury-e679d40ed0bb258a4c4ece0228a6143a
For months, Rafael Nadal waited for his body to heal. Waited to be able to push himself around a court at full speed, with full energy, of the sort that has carried him to a record 14 titles at the French Open and a total of 22 at all Grand Slam tournaments.
He finally acknowledged Thursday it wasn’t going to happen in time for Roland Garros, where play begins in 10 days — and, while he’s not exactly sure when he will be fully recovered from a lingering hip injury, Nadal said he expects to return to action at some point and probably wrap up his career in 2024.
Terrible news.
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What do people think of Djokovic's Kosovo comments? I have some trouble following Yugo history but wasn't Serbia responsible for the s-show in the 90's with that scumbag Milosevic?
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What do people think of Djokovic's Kosovo comments? I have some trouble following Yugo history but wasn't Serbia responsible for the s-show in the 90's with that scumbag Milosevic?
Yes they were.
I just read a good article on Kosovo from April National Geographic. It's 90% ethnic Albanian.
They're was another article earlier this year (I forgot where) about how a lot of Serbian was criminals were walking around free in Serbia and no interest from the government in exposing them.
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Yes they were.
I just read a good article on Kosovo from April National Geographic. It's 90% ethnic Albanian.
They're was another article earlier this year (I forgot where) about how a lot of Serbian was criminals were walking around free in Serbia and no interest from the government in exposing them.
I'm clearly no expert but saying Kosovo has always been a part of Serbia appears factually wrong to me. They annexed Kosovo soon after the Ottoman Empire capitulated in 1918. WTF is Novak talking about? "I'm against war" doesn't exactly quell any tensions. Was he asked about Milosevic and his genocidal scumbaggery?
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Kind of ridiculous since the vax requirement is ending in May.
It was ridiculous a long time before that.
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In 2010 I got to observe briefly a trial in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. I believe it was a police/military commander on trial, and the hostile witness was the mayor of the town. His lack of recollection/knowledge of anything ( including his own signature on a hotel register) was actually laughable. So I totally believe that there are war criminals walking around that none of them care about.
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What do people think of Djokovic's Kosovo comments? I have some trouble following Yugo history but wasn't Serbia responsible for the s-show in the 90's with that scumbag Milosevic?
Maybe talk about Kosovo in the Kosovo thread.
Lots and lots of things to discuss in actual tennis. UVA Men’s Tennis back to back NCAA Champs (Scott Brown moving to Vandy). UNC Women’s National Champs.
10 day 1000 events vs 7 day. (not popular with players, fans, media)
21 year old Former NCAA Champ, 5 time ITF title holder, and soon to be top 50, Peyton Stearns, with a win over World number 17 at the French. Hook Em.
18 American Women made the main draw singles. And that includes 3rd rounder Kayla Day, former top ranked U.S. player in 4 age groups and former US Open singles slam champ.
YouTube TV was set to launch Tennis Channel and T2 today. And…crickets because many were ready to watch and it wasn’t there. TC was previously on YTTV but dropped when all Sinclair Channels were dropped years ago.
WTA San Jose is moving to DC for a combined event with ATP and San Diego will get a WTA event.
Lots from which to choose.
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American men continue to struggle on clay.
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Another terrible PR day for Tennis Channel.
It was well advertised that Tennis Channel would return to YTTV today, and that T2 would abe added as well.
Tennis Channel is only being offered in an extra $11 a month sports package, and T2 didn't air any French Open matches. None of that was made clear to customers. Why would even a die hard tennis fan pay extra for that when TC plus, which shows every match on World Feed is less expensive than that.
Yipes.
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Another terrible PR day for Tennis Channel.
It was well advertised that Tennis Channel would return to YTTV today, and that T2 would abe added as well.
Tennis Channel is only being offered in an extra $11 a month sports package, and T2 didn't air any French Open matches. None of that was made clear to customers. Why would even a die hard tennis fan pay extra for that when TC plus, which shows every match on World Feed is less expensive than that.
Yipes.
T2 is showing live (and later, recorded) French Open Tennis all day today and moving forward, for YTTV subscribers. It is included in the regular package at no extra cost.
Also if anyone is interested in a TC Plus Subscription for 20% off, you can get one at buytcplusdotcom Enter Code: SLICE
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21 five set matches in Men’s 1st round is a new tourney record.
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T2 is showing live (and later, recorded) French Open Tennis all day today and moving forward, for YTTV subscribers. It is included in the regular package at no extra cost.
Also if anyone is interested in a TC Plus Subscription for 20% off, you can get one at buytcplusdotcom Enter Code: SLICE
How good is Andreeva?
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How good is Andreeva?
Which one, Mirra or Erika lol?
I am assuming you are referring to Mirra who just turned 16, because she plays Gauff tomorrow in a big one. But she also has an older sister Erika (18) who also played the French. Mirra and Coco actually practiced together last week.
Mirra is 21-2 in her last 23 matches combined ITF and WTA. She has 4 top 100 wins the past two months: Fernandez, Haddad Maia, Linette, Riske-Amitraj.
She’s very poised on/off court for her age, and still a free spirit off of the court. Very consistent and balanced power from both sides. Moves well. Finishes well at the net for her size. Likes to hit inside out forehands, backhand topspin lobs. Backhand slice is an area that needs some polish. And that will no doubt be part of Coco’s game plan.
Mirra got blown off of the court v Sabalenka on a big court, struggling with her size, court coverage, pace of shot and pace of play. But you could see her processing everything. Just needs reps. It’s a World Top 3 Junior with lots of potential adjusting to the next level. And she has a lot of momentum and confidence. But that was a round of 16 after having initial success.
She dismantled Riske-Amritraj, making her move, raking advantage of her open grip, moving her right, and making her uncomfortable as Riske-Amritraj is a flat hitter.
She will no doubt try pound Coco’s forehand but Coco has changed her grip and approach there switching out Diego for PM. She’ll make some/miss some on that side as she hasn’t had time to turn the corner with it yet. But the grip, balance, follow through, timing are all new, and improved. Her footwork during and in between shots is much better and more aggressive. As long as she commits to it ling term she will do fine.
But Mirra Andreeva is a very good player who is having a rapid rise from top level world junior to ITF, to now WTA tour.
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Which one, Mirra or Erika lol?
I am assuming you are referring to Mirra who just turned 16, because she plays Gauff tomorrow in a big one. But she also has an older sister Erika (18) who also played the French. Mirra and Coco actually practiced together last week.
Mirra is 21-2 in her last 23 matches combined ITF and WTA. She has 4 top 100 wins the past two months: Fernandez, Haddad Maia, Linette, Riske-Amitraj.
She’s very poised on/off court for her age, and still a free spirit off of the court. Very consistent and balanced power from both sides. Moves well. Finishes well at the net for her size. Likes to hit inside out forehands, backhand topspin lobs. Backhand slice is an area that needs some polish. And that will no doubt be part of Coco’s game plan.
Mirra got blown off of the court v Sabalenka on a big court, struggling with her size, court coverage, pace of shot and pace of play. But you could see her processing everything. Just needs reps. It’s a World Top 3 Junior with lots of potential adjusting to the next level. And she has a lot of momentum and confidence. But that was a round of 16 after having initial success.
She dismantled Riske-Amritraj, making her move, raking advantage of her open grip, moving her right, and making her uncomfortable as Riske-Amritraj is a flat hitter.
She will no doubt try pound Coco’s forehand but Coco has changed her grip and approach there switching out Diego for PM. She’ll make some/miss some on that side as she hasn’t had time to turn the corner with it yet. But the grip, balance, follow through, timing are all new, and improved. Her footwork during and in between shots is much better and more aggressive. As long as she commits to it ling term she will do fine.
But Mirra Andreeva is a very good player who is having a rapid rise from top level world junior to ITF, to now WTA tour.
Mirra. She just turned 16? Future star perhaps?
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Mirra. She just turned 16? Future star perhaps?
She has top tier, tour level potential, yes. What that plays out to be more specifically, remains to be seen. But she has certain aspects to her game that translate to that level. And she is rapidly rising the tour ranks.
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She has top tier, tour level potential, yes. What that plays out to be more specifically, remains to be seen. But she has certain aspects to her game that translate to that level. And she is rapidly rising the tour ranks.
She just took the 1st set from Coco at the French Open. Wow.
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It looks like Coco figured things out. :)
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She just took the 1st set from Coco at the French Open. Wow.
That's why they play 2 out of 3 sets. Big time from Coco Gauff. CG led throughout the 1st, let it slip away.
As mentioned, Gauff recently split from Diego Moyano (forehand). And she's been working with Patrick Mouratoglou and as long as she sticks with it long term, bigger results will happen.
Very mature, professional level match for CG. Feel out process in the first set, cautious, adjusting to Andreeva's style of play. Then Coco methodically broke her down and became more aggressive inside the baseline while doing so. Mentally, physically, emotionally taking it up a notch.
Losing the first set, no problem. Gonna be here a long time. Pound to her forehand, no problem wirh grip change, taking it early inside baseline, better footwork and positioning after each shot. Play moonballs center of baseline, no problem. Wait for cross court opportunities and make her move.
Andreeva's talent and future is obvious. And Coco is a top 10 player in the World.
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That's why they play 2 out of 3 sets. Big time from Coco Gauff. CG led throughout the 1st, let it slip away.
As mentioned, Gauff recently split from Diego Moyano (forehand). And she's been working with Patrick Mouratoglou and as long as she sticks with it long term, bigger results will happen.
Very mature, professional level match for CG. Feel out process in the first set, cautious, adjusting to Andreeva's style of play. Then Coco methodically broke her down and became more aggressive inside the baseline while doing so. Mentally, physically, emotionally taking it up a notch.
Losing the first set, no problem. Gonna be here a long time. Pound to her forehand, no problem wirh grip change, taking it early inside baseline, better footwork and positioning after each shot. Play moonballs center of baseline, no problem. Wait for cross court opportunities and make her move.
Andreeva's talent and future is obvious. And Coco is a top 10 player in the World.
Swiatek may just be too good on clay though? I'd like to see Coco snag a GS this year.
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Swiatek may just be too good on clay though? I'd like to see Coco snag a GS this year.
Sabalenka, Rybakina, Swiatek have been the 3 best players. Rybakina withdrew today due to an illness. Sabalenka is on the other side. So its possibly Swiatek and Jabeur, who has been uneven lately but capable. I would not automatically dismiss Andreescu vs Swiatek in round of 16 if that matchup presents itself. If healthy and willing to compete, Bibi will make it interesting.
I’m a one a match at a time person. Next up is Schmiedlova in the round of 16 for the 8th time, and 3rd at The French. Clay is Gauff’s best surface, although she will eventually be a more balanced all surface player. And of course she is just 19.
The recent changes Gauff has made are encouraging longer term to go from annual top 10, which is great, to even beyond that level.
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This is a good angle here regarding some of those tweaks:
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1665004204350402563?s=46&t=4AnkF6YGEuuiRtG8Q5thAg
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Sabalenka, Rybakina, Swiatek have been the 3 best players. Rybakina withdrew today due to an illness. Sabalenka is on the other side. So its possibly Swiatek and Jabeur, who has been uneven lately but capable. I would not automatically dismiss Andreescu vs Swiatek in round of 16 if that matchup presents itself. If healthy and willing to compete, Bibi will make it interesting.
I’m a one a match at a time person. Next up is Schmiedlova in the round of 16 for the 8th time, and 3rd at The French. Clay is Gauff’s best surface, although she will eventually be a more balanced all surface player. And of course she is just 19.
The recent changes Gauff has made are encouraging longer term to go from annual top 10, which is great, to even beyond that level.
Terrible draw to have Coco vs Iga in the QF.
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Terrible draw to have Coco vs Iga in the QF.
I prefer draws to go by rankings which is fair. I don't like when draws are 1 vs 3 and 2 vs 4. And that's a thing.
So it's 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 30, 32 in the top half.
Rybakina is 4 and she had to withdraw. She was one of the 3 favorites. That leaves Gauff at 6 and Jabeur at 7.
Gauff would have met number 3 Pegula (lost early, had food poisoning) in a quarterfinal, then perhaps Sabalenka or Jabeur after that to get to the final. Sakkari is 8 and that would have been Iga's opponent.
Gauff has had some historically tough bad luck draws. But her draw is very fair in this year's French.
There isn't a perfect way to do it. Gauff could have had 1 more round. Ans different players play better on differenr surfaces. Different players have injuries or not. Differrent players are in form or not.
Right now Sabalenka would be the favorite then Swiatek. Gauff would be next with a few others. And of course Gauff and Pegula will be one of the favorites for the title in doubles.
But again one match at a time. Many players are capable. Lots and lots of good players out there.
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It would be really cool if these pros played 2 or 3 matches at a time.
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Swiatek destroyed Coco again. As I said last year she has a ton of work to do to get to Iga's level.
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Swiatek destroyed Coco again. As I said last year she has a ton of work to do to get to Iga's level.
Lol. I must have watched a different match. Couldn’t disagree more.
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Lol. I must have watched a different match. Couldn’t disagree more.
I just saw the score. Is 6-4, 6-2 incorrect?
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I just saw the score. Is 6-4, 6-2 incorrect?
How can you comment specifically about a match you didn’t see?
Maybe watch the match first.
Swiatek had to play her best tennis to win. And, she did, hitting line after line and playing good defense.
Gauff created opportunities for herself in the 1st. She had 1 subpar game in the 9th game of a set that easily could have gone the other way.
She had 4 break point chances in the middle of the 2nd and didn’t convert. She also had lots of opportunity on her 2nd shot after a good service return. That will be a point or emphasis and development.
As previously mentioned, 3 players are a notch above the others right now. (Sabalenka, Rybakina; Sabalenka). Also as previously mentioned, CG has made some recent changes to her game physically and tactically, that will benefit her long term, but those things will need some reps and time.
If anything it was an encouraging performance from the 19 year old in her
3rd straight French Open quarterfinal. The willingness to try some of the new things that will help her go from an annual World top 8 player to beyond that.
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How can you comment specifically about a match you didn’t see?
Maybe watch the match first.
Swiatek had to play her best tennis to win. And, she did, hitting line after line and playing good defense.
Gauff created opportunities for herself in the 1st. She had 1 subpar game in the 9th game of a set that easily could have gone the other way.
She had 4 break point chances in the middle of the 2nd and didn’t convert. She also had lots of opportunity on her 2nd shot after a good service return. That will be a point or emphasis and development.
As previously mentioned, 3 players are a notch above the others right now. (Sabalenka, Rybakina; Sabalenka). Also as previously mentioned, CG has made some recent changes to her game physically and tactically, that will benefit her long term, but those things will need some reps and time.
If anything it was an encouraging performance from the 19 year old in her
3rd straight French Open quarterfinal. The willingness to try some of the new things that will help her go from an annual World top 8 player to beyond that.
I can't recall a match where someone lost 6-4, 6-2 and I thought they were close to winning. Now I'll take your word about how well Swiatek played but having break point chances doesn't mean the match was ever in doubt.
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I can't recall a match where someone lost 6-4, 6-2 and I thought they were close to winning. Now I'll take your word about how well Swiatek played but having break point chances doesn't mean the match was ever in doubt.
You are moving the goalposts. Your initial post said, "Swiatek destroyed Gauff." Now you are changing that to "close to winning," as if those were the only two options and not a large middle in between.
Having actually watched the match, something you didn't do, I am comfortable saying that the 1st could have easily gone the other way. And CG had lots of opportunities that she created for herself to make that a differenr set.
The score by itself doesn't tell the story in any match or even any sport, without at minimum watching the game or match to find kut wat and how things transpired.
It's pretty remarkable the strength of your opinion about something you didn't see. This happens frequently in tennis and in other sports. Maybe slow down and the time to watch something before having a strong opinion. You could also take a pass on something if you are unsure or unfamilar with it.
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You are moving the goalposts. Your initial post said, "Swiatek destroyed Gauff." Now you are changing that to "close to winning," as if those were the only two options and not a large middle in between.
Having actually watched the match, something you didn't do, I am comfortable saying that the 1st could have easily gone the other way. And CG had lots of opportunities that she created for herself to make that a differenr set.
The score by itself doesn't tell the story in any match or even any sport, without at minimum watching the game or match to find kut wat and how things transpired.
It's pretty remarkable the strength of your opinion about something you didn't see. This happens frequently in tennis and in other sports. Maybe slow down and the time to watch something before having a strong opinion. You could also take a pass on something if you are unsure or unfamilar with it.
Destroyed may be hyperbole but I think you get my point.
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Destroyed may be hyperbole but I think you get my point.
No I don't get your point. Maybe say what you meam and mean what you say. I can only go by what you type.
It's why I replied. It waa clear to me that you could not have possibly watched the match and have that be your summary of it. And as it turns out you have since said you didn't watch it.
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No I don't get your point. Maybe say what you meam and mean what you say. I can only go by what you type.
It's why I replied. It waa clear to me that you could not have possibly watched the match and have that be your summary of it. And as it turns out you have since said you didn't watch it.
Okay. Maybe you're overreacting to my terminology and 6-4, 6-2 means you have work to do I'm my book.
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Sounds like Muggsy and shoothoops both work for ESPN:
The headline:
Swiatek romps past Gauff for French semis spot
In the article:
"It was not easy," said Swiatek, the first player since Conchita Martinez in 1995 to drop 15 or fewer games en route to the semifinals in Paris. "Especially the first set. It was tight and Coco was using the conditions well, so I was happy that I was able to win. The quarterfinals are sometimes the toughest matches.
"Today was a tighter match. I'll be ready for the next one."
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Okay. Maybe you're overreacting to my terminology but 6-4, 6-2 means you have work to do I'm my book.
Or maybe you overreacted to the score of something you didn't see or learn more about first.
And this is the 2nd time you are moviing the goalposts.
Destroyed.
Not close to winning.
More work to do.
Those are 3 different things.
Perhaps a more effective approach would be to watch the match first and then discuss the specifics of it. Or just take a pass.
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Or maybe you overreacted to the score of something you didn't see or learn more about first.
And this is the 2nd time you are moviing the goalposts.
Destroyed.
Not close to winning.
More work to do.
Those are 3 different things.
Perhaps a more effective approach would be to watch the match first and then discuss the specifics of it. Or just take a pass.
Well, when I watched their French Open match last year, and I essentially said the same thing, your retort was that it was close. The fact remains that it wasn't remotely competitive. Perhaps that's why I'm taking a skeptical view of your observations this year even though I didn't see the match. I think we can agree that Gauff is not close to Iga's level on the clay.
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Well, when I watched their French Open match last year, and I essentially said the same thing, your retort was that it was close. The fact remains that it wasn't remotely competitive. Perhaps that's why I'm taking a skeptical view of your observations this year even though I didn't see the match. I think we can agree that Gauff is not close to Iga's level on the clay.
This is the 3rd time you are moving the goalposts from your original or 4th total comment about it.
This time you are referencing a match from last year to form your opinion about a different match a year later. And no I don't agree with your last sentence which is the 4th time you are moving the goalposts from your total of 5 comments about this match.
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This is the 3rd time you are moving the goalposts from your original or 4th total comment about it.
This time you are referencing a match from last year to form your opinion about a different match a year later. And no I don't agree with your last sentence which is the 4th time you are moving the goalposts from your total of 5 comments about this match.
Okay. So in your expert opinion were "nerves" part of the reason Coco lost convincingly today or is Iga just considerably better?
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Okay. So in your expert opinion were "nerves" part of the reason Coco lost convincingly today or is Iga just considerably better?
I don’t believe she lost “convincingly” today. Convincingly from dictionary dot com says in a way that leaves no doubt. The entire first set was in doubt and parts of the 2nd. What part of the score doesn’t always tell the entire story are you not understanding? That is something that is said every day in sports, and her own opponent said it after the match.
If you would again, -s-l-o-w- -d-o-w-n-
Go back and read what I said about Gauff. To refresh your memory, I said she changed one of her coaches from Diego Moyano (good dude and coach, not the best fit right now) to Patrick Mouratoglou since April or several weeks.
More specifically she changed her forehand grip, improved her footwork and positioning between shots, changed her weight balance on the forehand side staying down and taking the ball more early with a neutral to slightly forward follow through, among other things both physical and tactical.
An example of an area of development would be her 2nd shot on service return after hitting a very good return. She had a plan to hit a high percentage of forehands down the line and at the feet of Swiatek. This was effective and improved. To her credit Swiatek played good defense and making Gauff hit short balls while moving forward to the net. This is where she missed some shots she would normally make, trying drop shots, deep slice approaches etc…decision making and execution there could have been better. CG had good opportunities to close out games 1 and 6 in the 2nd. some of those were great saves by Iga who hit a ton of lines in the match. And some were close misses by CG. It was encouraging to see the misses being aggressive misses some of the time, especially on 2nd serve return. And she used the heavy topspin on the wind side. She didn’t lose because she had nerves. Although every player every match will lose a point here or there because of it.
I also mentioned that it would take time, reps, commitment to implement some of the changes. And success would come over time and in uneven fashion. Even a. novice tennis observer would have noticed some of the differences.
I also mentioned the 3 players who are playing the best right now multiple times.
Do I think CG could have won today? Yes. She didn’t. I’m not surprised as she wasn’t expected to win but as long as she continues on the current path, that will only be a matter of time before she gets wins over Iga and wins a slam.
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Coco obviously lost because she tried to take it two matches at a time.
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Coco obviously lost because she tried to take it two matches at a time.
She needs to move to St Louis
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This is the 3rd time you are moving the goalposts from your original or 4th total comment about it.
This time you are referencing a match from last year to form your opinion about a different match a year later. And no I don't agree with your last sentence which is the 4th time you are moving the goalposts from your total of 5 comments about this match.
You don’t need to argue with Muggsy. We all know what he does.
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I don’t believe she lost “convincingly” today. Convincingly fro dot com says in a way that leaves no doubt. The entire first set was in doubt and parts of the 2nd. What part of the score doesn’t always tell the entire story are you not understanding? That is something that is said every day in sports, and her own opponent said it after the match.
If you would again, -s-l-o-w- -d-o-w-n-
Go back and read what I said about Gauff. To refresh your memory, I said she changed one of her coaches from Diego Moyano (good dude and coach, not the best fit right now) to Patrick Mouratoglou since April or several weeks.
More specifically she changed her forehand grip, improved her footwork and positioning between shots, changed her weight balance on the forehand side staying down and taking the ball more early with a neutral to slightly forward follow through, among other things both physical and tactical.
An example of an area of development would be her 2nd shot on service return after hitting a very good return. She had a plan to hit a high percentage of forehands down the line and at the feet of Swiatek. This was effective and improved. To her credit Swiatek played good defense and making Gauff hit short balls while moving forward to the net. This is where she missed some shots she would normally make, trying drop shots, deep slice approaches etc…decision making and execution there could have been better. CG had good opportunities to close out games 1 and 6 in the 2nd. some of those were great saves by Iga who hit a ton of lines in the match. And some were close misses by CG. It was encouraging to see the misses being aggressive misses some of the time, especially on 2nd serve return. And she used the heavy topspin on the wind side. She didn’t lose because she had nerves. Although every player every match will lose a point here or there because of it.
I also mentioned that it would take time, reps, commitment to implement some of the changes. And success would come over time and in uneven fashion. Even a. novice tennis observer would have noticed some of the differences.
I also mentioned the 3 players who are playing the best right now multiple times.
Do I think CG could have won today? Yes. She didn’t. I’m not surprised as she wasn’t expected to win but as long as she continues on the current path, that will only be a matter of time before she gets wins over Iga and wins a slam.
I appreciate the analysis but when you state or imply that she "could have won today" that's where I'm having some trouble. What I do know is she's played Iga 7 times, stands 0-7, and is 0-14 in sets played. I certainly agree that when you make changes in your grip or serve it takes some time, patience is admittedly not one of my strong points, but I don't think you can simply gloss over iga's overall dominance in this match-up.
Coco is a tremendous athlete and has the potential to take over the women's game imo. The question is whether she's on schedule and closing the gap or whether I or someone else should be coaching her? :) I am hoping for a breakthrough at Wiimby or the USOpen.
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I appreciate the analysis but when you state or imply that she "could have won today" that's where I'm having some trouble. What I do know is she's played Iga 7 times, stands 0-7, and is 0-14 in sets played. I certainly agree that when you make changes in your grip or serve it takes some time, patience is admittedly not one of my strong points, but I don't think you can simply gloss over iga's overall dominance in this match-up.
Coco is a tremendous athlete and has the potential to take over the women's game imo. The question is whether she's on schedule and closing the gap or whether I or someone else should be coaching her? :) I am hoping for a breakthrough at Wiimby or the USOpen.
You have now posted 8 times about a match you admittedly didn't see. That's a lot.
Instead of actually watching it by now, discussing specifics of it, you just keep replying moving goalposts, and/or discussing things that aren't relevant to today's match while also inserting incorrect assumptions and conclusions.
You ask questions about it, but you don't seem to like the answers to those questions so you create more false narratives based on irrelevant things, so that it better fits your wishes. That sounds exhausting.
It's one thing to be impatient. It's another thing entirely to form definitive opinions about something you didn't see.
Hoping for a breakthrough? She's setting records as a teenager. For perspective, CG has made the 2nd week of a slam twice as many times as Swiatek at the same age. Sabalenka and Rybakina, the 2 other best players this year, made zero at the same age.
...............
In actual tennis, Townsend and Fernandez advanced to the French Opem doubles semifinals where they will face Gauff/Pegula, the same team to whom they lost in the recent Miami Final.
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Great match-ups in the men's semis. Hopefully Alcaraz comes through.
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Sounds like there were two great women's Semi matches. I assume Swiatek will drop the hammer Saturday.
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Great emotional moment for Miyu Kato as she wins the Mixed Doubles French Open Title with Tim Puetz. Kato was unfairly defaulted from her 3rd round doubles match for accidentally hitting the ball girl with the ball in gentle fashion. (She is appealing) What an effort.
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Sucks that Alcaraz wasn't fit enough to compete with Djokovic the last two sets. Alcaraz played brilliantly in winning the second set to pull even but then suffered debilitating cramps early in #3, and it was all but over.
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Sucks that Alcaraz wasn't fit enough to compete with Djokovic the last two sets. Alcaraz played brilliantly in winning the second set to pull even but then suffered debilitating cramps early in #3, and it was all but over.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cramps+back+to+school&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS994US994&oq=cramps+back+to+school&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390i650l5.6146j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:cbb9aac2,vid:QSWNdxepPJE (https://www.google.com/search?q=cramps+back+to+school&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS994US994&oq=cramps+back+to+school&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390i650l5.6146j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:cbb9aac2,vid:QSWNdxepPJE)
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Sucks that Alcaraz wasn't fit enough to compete with Djokovic the last two sets. Alcaraz played brilliantly in winning the second set to pull even but then suffered debilitating cramps early in #3, and it was all but over.
Sweet Jesus. Absolutely terrible.
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Sweet Jesus. Absolutely terrible.
You mean you have to watch more than the scoreline to know what transpired during a match?
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You mean you have to watch more than the scoreline to know what transpired during a match?
I heard he cramped up.
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Muchova is spraying unforced errors. Hopefully she can calm down.
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This just got interesting. Tremendous fight and net play from Muchova.
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I have to say the commentary for this match is really bad.
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Tough loss for Muchova but credit Swiatek. I would think Muchova would be very formidable on grass.
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I have to say the commentary for this match is really bad.
In order to have the most effective pxp and analysis, one needs to travel and follow the tour week to week.(any sport)
NBC, ESPN are only interested in fewer bigger events for casual observers in tennis and golf. That target market doesn’t care care that the quality is not the best from Hicks or Johnny Mac or Evert etc…They pair an NBC pxp person (a golf and olympics person in this example) with a bigger name tennis person even if the bigger named tennis person isn’t great at the job. Johnny Mac is often not good at the job but he’s a bigger name.
NBC’s long 12 year contract expires after next year. And that should be the end of a long decades run of NBC and tennis. It doesn’t respect the sport. ESPN has in recent years, turned into a slams only place for tennis and golf. They would be likely to pick it up. Tennis Channel and TC plus will continue to carry all tour events including slams.
Chris Eubanks and some others have been very good. Courier has always been good at explaining what is happening in the moment and why it is happening. I’m not their target market as I don’t need sound to watch sports. Sounds stays on for good broadcasts, and it stays down for bad ones for me.
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The 7 biggest WTA singles events of the year so far and its winners.
AO: Sabalenka
Dubai: Krejcikova
IW: Rybakina
Miami: Kvitova
Madrid: Sabalenka
Rome: Rybakina
RG: Swiatek
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In order to have the most effective pxp and analysis, one needs to travel and follow the tour week to week.(any sport)
NBC, ESPN are only interested in fewer bigger events for casual observers in tennis and golf. That target market doesn’t care care that the quality is not the best from Hicks or Johnny Mac or Evert etc…They pair an NBC pxp person (a golf and olympics person in this example) with a bigger name tennis person even if the bigger named tennis person isn’t great at the job. Johnny Mac is often not good at the job but he’s a bigger name.
NBC’s long 12 year contract expires after next year. And that should be the end of a long decades run of NBC and tennis. It doesn’t respect the sport. ESPN has in recent years, turned into a slams only place for tennis and golf. They would be likely to pick it up. Tennis Channel and TC plus will continue to carry all tour events including slams.
Chris Eubanks and some others have been very good. Courier has always been good at explaining what is happening in the moment and why it is happening. I’m not their target market as I don’t need sound to watch sports. Sounds stays on for good broadcasts, and it stays down for bad ones for me.
To be honest not one of them analyzed the actual tennis the entire match. They also have a propensity to talk in non-sequitirs during the course of the points. Literally 95% of what they said during the entire match was Muchova has had injuries to overcome and Swiatek hasn't lost a set in a GS Final. They're seriously awful and have been for quite some time.
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To be honest not one of them analyzed the actual tennis the entire match. They also have a propensity to talk in non-sequitirs during the course of the points. Literally 95% of what they said during the entire match was Muchova has had injuries to overcome and Swiatek hasn't lost a set in a GS Final. They're seriously awful and have been for quite some time.
Each person is different. And each job is different.
Pxp vs analyst are two very different jobs.
Dan Hicks next to never does tennis outside of the French Open once a year. And he does it as a back up to Mike Tirico. Hicks doesn't travel the tour and follow the tour.
Johnny Mac spends much of his time split between NYC and L.A ( his academy in Randall's Island/Mamhattan and L.A./Malibu)
Evert spends much of her time in Boca Raton.
And so on..
They don't know what to say beyomd talking points and generalities because they are not a regular part of the tour. Again, their target audience are casual observers who either wouldn't know better or who wouldn't care.
Dick Vitale in college basketball for example has a following despite not being a good in game analyst. He's better cast as a hoops PR spokesman giving talks, fund raising etc...
The commentary and discussions have better depth and quality on TC and plus. Some better than others but definitely way better than ehat you would find on NBC and even ESPN too.
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Each person is different. And each job is different.
Pxp vs analyst are two very different jobs.
Dan Hicks next to never does tennis outside of the French Open once a year. And he does it as a back up to Mike Tirico. Hicks doesn't travel the tour and follow the tour.
Johnny Mac spends much of his time split between NYC and L.A ( his academy in Randall's Island/Mamhattan and L.A./Malibu)
Evert spends much of her time in Boca Raton.
And so on..
They don't know what to say beyomd talking points and generalities because they are not a regular part of the tour. Again, their target audience are casual observers who either wouldn't know better or who wouldn't care.
Dick Vitale in college basketball for example has a following despite not being a good in game analyst. He's better cast as a hoops PR spokesman giving talks, fund raising etc...
The commentary and discussions have better depth and quality on TC and plus. Some better than others but definitely way better than ehat you would find on NBC and even ESPN too.
I'm sure you're right so perhaps it's time to step it up and get people in the booth that know how to communicate and discuss things? We are talking about the biggest women's sport in the world. And it's always been the #1 sport. McEnroe has had his moments but I think this trio could use a permanent vacation. Just my opinion. Muchova is a fun player to watch because she can volley from both wings after she unloads on power approach shots. She even served and volleyed a few times.
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I didn't watch the match, but I've always liked McEnroe's work. Sad to hear that he apparently has gone downhill so much.
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I'm sure you're right so perhaps it's time to step it up and get people in the booth that know how to communicate and discuss things? We are talking about the biggest women's sport in the world. And it's always been the #1 sport. McEnroe has had his moments but I think this trio could use a permanent vacation. Just my opinion. Muchova is a fun player to watch because she can volley from both wings after she unloads on power approach shots. She even served and volleyed a few times.
Mac has never been a good anayst. That doesn't mean he hasn't been good for the sport in other ways over the years.
Muchova has a tennis purist's all court game. She used very effective strategies vs Sabalenka and Swiatek.
American Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M).won the Men's doubles and is new world number 1, playing with Ivan Dodig.
Americans Tyra Caterina Grant, and Clervie Ngounoue won the French Open girls doubles title.
https://twitter.com/rolandgarros/status/1667549467623473159?t=PicUJhaH5aLHTppCC28C8w&s=19
In 2022, 12 of the top 25 Womem's professional sports earners were Women's tennis players.
Saudia Arabia is set to be the landing spot next year for a 5 year deal for the Next gen finals of a combined ATP and WTA. Someone high up on the tennis totem pole told me it wil likely be Riyadh, but it may also be the port city of Jeddah. Saudi Arabia has to commit to the juniors and lower level tours and establish a tour stop etc...for anything more..
October has been the Asian Swing in tennis. But there has been a recent boycott due to the Peng Shuai incident. But they'll be back.
And they need to combine the tours altogether and get better television coverage ans distribution.
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I didn't watch the match, but I've always liked McEnroe's work. Sad to hear that he apparently has gone downhill so much.
In his defense he has to deal with Hicks and Carillo but I think he's pretty much mailing it in.
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Could Ruud pull this off? I suppose it's early.
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Ruud really letting an opportunity dwindle in this first set. Complete loss of focus.
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Something wrong with Joker?
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Something wrong with Joker?
He doesn't look right. Ruud must take advantage but he's sprayed way too many unforced errors.
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Good God Hicks and Carillo are insufferable.
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Ruud really messed up that 1st set. This now looks like a formality and #23 for the Djoker.
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Ruud really messed up that 1st set. This now looks like a formality and #23 for the Djoker.
Yeah, had to step away after saying Joker looked off, just now turned it on to see Ruud blow one in the middle of the net down 0-1 and down in set two. It’s early, but perhaps Joker has found his legs.
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Yeah, had to step away after saying Joker looked off, just now turned it on to see Ruud blow one in the middle of the net down 0-1 and down in set two. It’s early, but perhaps Joker has found his legs.
Joker is ultimately too good and he did find his legs but that 1st set was thrown away by Caspar. It's hard enough to beat this guy, you can't dump opportunities.
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Damn....that net court hurt. Focus Caspar!
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Djoker has a legitimate shot at the calendar gs. Say what you want about the guy but he's an incredible athlete and competitor.
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After winning the grass court title in Stuttgart, Germany, Frances Tiafoe has entered the ATP singles World Top 10 for the first time in his career. (joining fellow American Taylor Fritz)
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‘Merica seeps singles titles in Eastbourne.
Chris Eubanks, former 2 time Georgia Tech All American, wins his 1st ATP Title and with that he will reach a new career best ATP singles ranking of 43 !!!
Madison Keys wins her 7th career WTA singles title.
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Eubanks is fun as hell to watch
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Eubanks is fun as hell to watch
https://twitter.com/chris_eubanks96/status/1675233299269124097?t=CpLObVEkcuyM6GhCNekNfw&s=19
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Coco lost today. Extremely disappointing.
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Coco lost today. Extremely disappointing.
Gauff played at a win the tourney level for much of that match. It shows that you can do that and still lose in round 1. Credit to Kenin, played her best match in years. Extremely high level.
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Gauff played at a win the tourney level for much of that match. It shows that you can do that and still lose in round 1. Credit to Kenin, played her best match in years. Extremely high level.
Kenin - when fully healthy - is the better tennis player.
Coco needs to fix her forehand id she ever wants to a serious threat.
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Kenin - when fully healthy - is the better tennis player.
Coco needs to fix her forehand id she ever wants to a serious threat.
Neither of those things are accurate. Let’s take a look.
Kenin is 6 years older than Gauff.
When both are playing well both are capable of playing at the game’s highest levels. It isn’t an either or. Both are good. Gauff has already shown herself to be a serious threat for multiple years. Kenin has had some physical injuries at times but often her play has been inconsistent when physically healthy.
Kenin has had a difficult relationship with her father who has also been her coach most of the time. She unfortunately has had better results with him vs without him, until she doesn’t and takes an extended break from him.
Kenin is 72 in the points race this season. (She is ranked 128 which is based off of 2 seasons.) She was ranked 228 last season. She has at times had some physical injuries as do many other players. But much of her struggles weren’t physical. She had a 3 year stretch of being a top 15 player, including 1 season as a top 10 player. Gauff is on pace to be a top 10 player for consecutive years.
Last week, Gauff defeated the World’s 4th best player and number 4 in the 2023 points race, while advancing to the semifinals of the 2nd largest grass event on tour. She’s doing fine.
Gauff is 8th in this year’s points race, and she has a world ranking of 7. She’s made the 2nd week of 4 of the last 6 slams including 2 quarterfinals and a slam final. That’s (obviously) a threat.
Kenin has made the 2nd week of a slam 5 times in her career. Only twice was it better than the 4th round. Gauff has made the 2nd week of a slam 8 times. Again, there is a 6 year age difference too.
Both have been great players. Hopefully Kenin can keep it going. We’ll see.
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The WSJ had an article today about how grass doesn't play anything like it used to. Essentially it's as slow or slower than a mid paced hardcourt according to the author. I'm not sure exactly when this changed, maybe the technology made it Speedy Gonzalez fast, but back in the day the change from clay at the French to the grass at Wimbledon was drastic. Players had to play a tune-up to get used to the speed difference. It does make be think that we may need to analyze Borg's stretch of 6 French and 5 Wimbledon titles differently.
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Coco is 19, she’ll be just fine.
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Coco is 19, she’ll be just fine.
As long as she stays away from Jimmy Butler
-signed withoutbias
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The WSJ had an article today about how grass doesn't play anything like it used to. Essentially it's as slow or slower than a mid paced hardcourt according to the author. I'm not sure exactly when this changed, maybe the technology made it Speedy Gonzalez fast, but back in the day the change from clay at the French to the grass at Wimbledon was drastic. Players had to play a tune-up to get used to the speed difference. It does make be think that we may need to analyze Borg's stretch of 6 French and 5 Wimbledon titles differently.
This changed many years ago. It isn’t recent. There are also different types of grass, clay, hard courts, etc….hard tru, rebound ace, acrylic cushion, non cushion, plexicushion etc….on and on….the surface in Australia plays very different than Indian Wells which plays very different than New York, etc….for example.
You don’t need to re-analyze anything differently because any accomplishments are based vs one’s peers, in one’s era. Borg’s peers have not changed, and, neither has his era. They can be compared to his peers of his era because they played under the same circumstances.
Borg is a great example as to why it isn’t possible to compare a past era player who retired at 25 playing under very different circumstances with today’s best players. Both eras had great players, and therefore all time greats. That’s as far as it goes. I also noticed you only mentioned GS events with Borg. And that illustrates an example of differences in eras.
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Vekic v Stephens, was a fnal worthy match.
Fernandez v Garcia, and Collins v Bencic, also great.
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Last month, Chris Eubanks lost in the 2nd round of the Surbiton, England Challenger.
8 matches later. He is the Mallorca Grass Court Champion, and, he is in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
Free Giraffe.
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Last month, Chris Eubanks lost in the 2nd round of the Surbiton, England Challenger.
8 matches later. He is the Mallorca Grass Court Champion, and, he is in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
Free Giraffe.
His nickname is the Giraffe??
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Tiafoe in trouble. The young man needs to wake up.
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His nickname is the Giraffe??
If you know, you know.
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High quality tennis right now between Bencic/Swiatek.
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High quality tennis right now between Bencic/Swiatek.
Belinds Bencic was 1 of 7 players to win 40 matches last year.
Another one was Jessie Pegula. And with her win today, Pegula becomes the 5th American player to advance to all 4 slam quarterfinals, in the past 25 years.
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Thousands of dopes in the crowd booed Azarenka for not shaking hands … when it was Svitolina who said she wouldn’t shake hands with any players from Belarus. Dopes.
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Thousands of dopes in the crowd booed Azarenka for not shaking hands … when it was Svitolina who said she wouldn’t shake hands with any players from Belarus. Dopes.
How stupid.
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Hurkacz is dangerous. Djokovic does not look happy but is fortunate that he won the 1st two sets in tiebreakers. Hopefully this goes 5.
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Hurkacz is dangerous. Djokovic does not look happy but is fortunate that he won the 1st two sets in tiebreakers. Hopefully this goes 5.
Hurkasc is a one trick pony. He was only ‘in the match’ because of an ungodly 1st serve percentage.
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Ranked 163 a year ago…27 year old Chris Eubanks will be seeded in the top 32 for the 2023 United States Open.
First American to make the Men’s Singles Wimbledon Quarterfinals in his Wimbledon debut, since Paul Annacone in 1984.
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Hurkasc is a one trick pony. He was only ‘in the match’ because of an ungodly 1st serve percentage.
Oh....well. At least Eubanks won.
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Sinner/Djokovic should be a good one. I think SInner has the best chance to beat him among the remaining players.
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Fun match right now with Jabeur/Rybakina. Great contrast in styles. Jabeur's variety of shot is cool to see. Tremendous angles and spins.
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Eubanks is cool as hell! He absolutely throttles the ball! Too bad I have to go to work. What a great story if he finds a way to punk Medvy.
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Hey shoothoops,
Do you have any idea why Sabelenla is allowed to "grunt" so loudly? Has this ever been discussed in depth on the WTA tour? Ty.
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Hey shoothoops,
Do you have any idea why Sabelenla is allowed to "grunt" so loudly? Has this ever been discussed in depth on the WTA tour? Ty.
Why does it matter?
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Hey shoothoops,
Do you have any idea why Sabelenla is allowed to "grunt" so loudly? Has this ever been discussed in depth on the WTA tour? Ty.
It doesn’t bother the players. The tours would rather alienate a smaller group of anti grunting fans, than top players.
Nadal and Djokovic for example, grunt loudly too. It isn’t gender specific.
The interesting ones are those who grunt loudly during matches but not at all during practice. (Sharapova, Azarenka, etc…) Tactically manufactured vs natural.
The noise (including grunts) and crowds, don’t bother me. I’m much more inclined to mute a subpar sports broadcast on tv, when not there in person.
The most amazing thing I have ever heard is an entire college baseball league fanbase whining and complaining about whistling. Yes, whistling, at a baseball game. Google Vandy Whistler. (Spoiler alert: It isn’t the whistling that really bothers them)
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It doesn’t bother the players. The tours would rather alienate a smaller group of anti grunting fans, than top players.
Nadal and Djokovic for example, grunt loudly too. It isn’t gender specific.
The interesting ones are those who grunt loudly during matches but not at all during practice. (Sharapova, Azarenka, etc…) Tactically manufactured vs natural.
The noise (including grunts) and crowds, don’t bother me. I’m much more inclined to mute a subpar sports broadcast on tv, when not there in person.
The most amazing thing I have ever heard is an entire college baseball league fanbase whining and complaining about whistling. Yes, whistling, at a baseball game. Google Vandy Whistler. (Spoiler alert: It isn’t the whistling that really bothers them)
Glad to read thatJabeur got it done. I dunno....it seems to me her grunts linger way too long and could be distracting for the opponent. They also vary a lot even if she does it every point.
Hopefully Ons gets her first major Saturday. It's gonna require supreme focus in light of her taking out two of the favorites. I don't know anything about this opponent but she appears to have a ton of pop and good court coverage. That lefty thwack forehand is dangerous.
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Glad to read thatJabeur got it done. I dunno....it seems to me her grunts linger way too long and could be distracting for the opponent. They also vary a lot even if she does it every point.
Hopefully Ons gets her first major Saturday. It's gonna require supreme focus in light of her taking out two of the favorites. I don't know anything about this opponent but she appears to have a ton of pop and good court coverage. That lefty thwack forehand is dangerous.
How do grunts distract an opponent?
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How do grunts distract an opponent?
Jockey,
Not everyone has eagle-eye focus on every shot like you do.
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I think Skinner has a chance tomorrow but it's hard to see the Djoker losing.
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Judgin' from experience, Eye've found some women ta be more vocal than udders. Wattever floats ya boat, aina?
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You simply cannot spray forehand unforced errors vs Djokovic. Early nerves from Sinner.
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The Djoker is not playing at a particularly high level early. Sinner isn't taking advantage.
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The ump just gave Sinner the point for an extended grunt! Omg!
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This ump may make me root for Djokovic. Crazy.
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Ho-hum ... two best male tennis players in the world (by a mile) each win in straight sets. Looking forward to the final. Hopefully, Alcaraz will stay healthy this time.
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Ho-hum ... two best male tennis players in the world (by a mile) each win in straight sets. Looking forward to the final. Hopefully, Alcaraz will stay healthy this time.
Wow.....I didn't expect Medvy to get obliterated. It's hard to see Djokovic losing but Alcaraz certainly has the talent.
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Wow.....I didn't expect Medvy to get obliterated. It's hard to see Djokovic losing but Alcaraz certainly has the talent.
My feelings exactly. Djokovic is the greatest ever and is on top of his game. Clearly the best player all tournament long.
But in 10 years, we’ll probably be talking about Carlos being an all-time great.
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Not a good set of tennis thus far for the women. However, compared to the commentary this is the greatest set of tennis in history. Fowler/Evert are beyond awful and an embarrassment. We get it, Jabeur isn't playing well.
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My feelings exactly. Djokovic is the greatest ever and is on top of his game. Clearly the best player all tournament long.
But in 10 years, we’ll probably be talking about Carlos being an all-time great.
Fair point. Let's just hope Alcaraz doesn't cramp and we see some great tennis.
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Not a good set of tennis thus far for the women. However, compared to the commentary this is the greatest set of tennis in history. Fowler/Evert are beyond awful and an embarrassment. We get it, Jabeur isn't playing well.
They aren't talking about Vondrousova because they don't follow the week to week of the tour. It's ESPN. Watch the world feed. Vondrousova is former World number 1 Junior and they know little about her as if she just walked off of the street.
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They aren't talking about Vondrousova because they don't follow the week to week of the tour. It's ESPN. Watch the world feed. Vondrousova is former World number 1 Junior and they know little about her as if she just walked off of the street.
It's not just that which was was bad enough, they didn't mention anything remotely about what she or Jabeur were trying to do tactically. They were also openly rooting for Ons which is absurd and unprofessional. We all have eyes, we could see Jabeur was not playing at her top level. We could also see that she wouldn't come to the net when she had Marketa on the run and that she sprayed a lot of unforced errors. But Vondrousova earned the W with her consistency, defense, forehand, and slice serve in the ad court. Her movement was excellent both laterally and vertically. She also eliminated Ons' drop shot. In closing the premier women's sport deserves better than these two freaking clowns. They are abysmal and that is not hyperbole.
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Vondrousova defeated 5 seeded players to win the title.
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Vondrousova defeated 5 seeded players to win the title.
But Evert said it was "stunning" that she won because of her past results on grass. My guess is she didn't have much of a sample size on grass before the tournament. When I watched her a bit vs Pegula she was really cracking the ball from the baseline. Give the girl some credit for being poised today and throughout the tournament. As you said she dealt with a major injury. You don't become the #1 Jr. player in the world by some fluke.
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I'm wondering if they are gonna close the roof for today's match? I suppose they really shouldn't but there could be 20 mph winds and major gusts.
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This match could have huge implications if Alcaraz pulls this off. Because he's an all surface player we are talking about a kid who has the potential to dominate the sport for quite awhile imo.
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Super disappointing start for Alcaraz. Has to ne more consistent and he isn't getting free points on his serve.
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Nice to see Alcaraz pick up his game a bit but man is Djokovic tough.
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Yes!!!: We have ourselves a match! Very rare to see those two unforced errors fron Djokovic. I still think Novak will find a way but this just got a lot more interesting. Alcaraz has the game to dictate points but can he be consistent enough?
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Wow.....just your typical 27 minute game.
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We watched the tiebreak and then went out for brunch. Upon our return, we're very pleasantly surprised to see that Alcaraz won the third set and they're tied 2-2 in the fourth. Settling in for the rest of the match.
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We watched the tiebreak and then went out for brunch. Upon our return, we're very pleasantly surprised to see that Alcaraz won the third set and they're tied 2-2 in the fourth. Settling in for the rest of the match.
That sucked. Djoker looks refocused after that break of serve.. Smh.
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That sucked. Djoker looks refocused after that break of serve.. Smh.
I'm OK with Djokovic winning (as if he needs any of our permission). Even if I don't always like him personally, he's the greatest tennis player ever, one of the most accomplished athletes ever, and he's been a pleasure to watch for two decades now.
Alcaraz reminds me so much of a young Rafa (with a better serve), and I love the idea of a young kid stepping up to take the mantle from The Big Three by beating the best of them at Wimbledon.
Rooting for that to happen, but if Djokovic comes back to win this, that will be just another marvelous accomplishment for the star of stars.
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I did not like the way Alcaraz gave away that last service game. You win that one and even if Djokovic wins the set on his serve, you get to serve first and set the tone in the fifth set. Plus, he didn't make Djokovic even have to move.
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I'm OK with Djokovic winning (as if he needs any of our permission). Even if I don't always like him personally, he's the greatest tennis player ever, one of the most accomplished athletes ever, and he's been a pleasure to watch for two decades now.
Alcaraz reminds me so much of a young Rafa (with a better serve), and I love the idea of a young kid stepping up to take the mantle from The Big Three by beating the best of them at Wimbledon.
Rooting for that to happen, but if Djokovic comes back to win this, that will be just another marvelous accomplishment for the star of stars.
That's fair but you have to squash the guy when the opportunity presents itself. Carlos let that game, set, and perhaps the match get away from him. This is why I constantly reiterate dropping tbe hammer so to speak. Djokovic is so strong mentally but Alcaraz has the game right now to subjugate him. :)
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I did not like the way Alcaraz gave away that last service game. You win that one and even if Djokovic wins the set on his serve, you get to serve first and set the tone in the fifth set. Plus, he didn't make Djokovic even have to move.
Exactly.
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Incredible by Alcaraz to make it 1-1 in the 5th.
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VAMOS!!!!!!!
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What a 5th set by the kid so far. Djokovic looks flummoxed.
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SLAM THE DOOR!!
1st serves, no hesitation.
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Omg what a backhand stab volley! VAMOS!!
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That was tremendous! Fantastic job by the young man!
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Alcaraz has as much game if not more than the Big 3 had at his age imo. He's an all-court player.
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Nerves of steel. That second drop shot after blowing the first - amazing cajones.
Very deserving champion, ushering in a new era of tennis.
Djokovic played his arse off, too.
Just an incredibly entertaining match. Already looking forward to the U.S. Open.
Alcaraz has as much game if not more than the Big 3 had at his age imo. He's an all-court player.
He looks great, obviously. Let's see how he handles the test of time.
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Nerves of steel. That second drop shot after blowing the first - amazing cajones.
Very deserving champion, ushering in a new era of tennis.
Djokovic played his arse off, too.
I'm just saying talent wise. I'm not saying he'll be as good.
Just an incredibly entertaining match. Already looking forward to the U.S. Open.
He looks great, obviously. Let's see how he handles the test of time.
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Yes, of course, incredibly talented. He has all the shots, the athletic ability, the serve, the nerves.
It will be fun to watch how much he can accomplish.
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Yes, of course, incredibly talented. He has all the shots, the athletic ability, the serve, the nerves.
It will be fun to watch how much he can accomplish.
What has most impresed me about Alcaraz's game is his ability to volley. Fed obviously could as well but early in their careers Rafa and Djokovic didn't like to come forward. I don't think he's as consistent as Djoker or Rafa but he may actually have more poppability on his groundies. Meaning he can absolutely throttle the ball and dictate play against anyone. He also served quite a few in the 130 range. This kid is an immense talent and today was a historic victory. He's also extremely entertaining to watch with his insane quicks and overall flair.
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What has most impresed me about Alcaraz's game is his ability to volley. Fed obviously could as well but early in their careers Rafa and Djokovic didn't like to come forward. I don't think he's as consistent as Djoker or Rafa but he may actually have more poppability on his groundies. Meaning he can absolutely throttle the ball and dictate play against anyone. He also served quite a few in the 130 range. This kid is an immense talent and today was a historic victory. He's also extremely entertaining to watch with his inane quicks and overall flair.
He makes some really poor decisions, and sometimes unnecessarily tries low-percentage shots. He's freakin' 20. A few of us here might have made a poor decision or two at 20! Overall, though, he already "thinks" a good game, especially for such a young player. When Alcaraz gets better at it as he gains experience, assuming he avoids serious injury, he can be as good as anybody ever.
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He makes some really poor decisions, and sometimes unnecessarily tries low-percentage shots. He's freakin' 20. A few of us here might have made a poor decision or two at 20! Overall, though, he already "thinks" a good game, especially for such a young player. When Alcaraz gets better at it as he gains experience, assuming he avoids serious injury, he can be as good as anybody ever.
Compared to the other young guns, Alcaraz looks so much more physically mature than Rune or Sinner. I think both will be awesome as they develop physically, but it will be hard for them to catch Alcaraz.
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Compared to the other young guns, Alcaraz looks so much more physically mature than Rune or Sinner. I think both will be awesome as they develop physically, but it will be hard for them to catch Alcaraz.
Sinner should be able to unload and get more free points on his serve but I just see Alcaraz as having more tools.
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He makes some really poor decisions, and sometimes unnecessarily tries low-percentage shots. He's freakin' 20. A few of us here might have made a poor decision or two at 20! Overall, though, he already "thinks" a good game, especially for such a young player. When Alcaraz gets better at it as he gains experience, assuming he avoids serious injury, he can be as good as anybody ever.
I completely agree but yes, he's 20. He doesn't have to make the perfect shot and goes for too much at times. But his dropshot and overall use of the slice on both sides is very effective. I also think he can go way too big on the return of serve strike. His speed should give him the confidence that he doesn't have to immediately take over a rally. The fact is he has the overall arsenal in his game to go toe to toe with anyone including the Djoker. If he gets more consistent and learns to pick his spots better I could see him being a monumental problem for about a decade or so. :)
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Djokovic with probably the highest praise possible for Alcaraz:
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about Carlos’ game consisting of certain elements from Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal), and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds."
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Djokovic with probably the highest praise possible for Alcaraz:
“I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about Carlos’ game consisting of certain elements from Roger (Federer), Rafa (Nadal), and myself. I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds."
He's not as consistent but when you're looking at the overall arsenal there is no question the young man has a myriad of skills that take elements from each of the Big 3. :)
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Kei Nishikori, had his first ATP level match in almost 2 years today in Atlanta Georgia. (hip surgery)
Jennifer Brady, first WTA level match in 2 years will be next week in Washington D.C. (torn plantar fascia and knee fracture) No wildcards. So she is using her injury protected ranking to play the rest of this season (12 is max number of events) to boost ranking points.
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Fun week in Washington D.C. for the WTA/ATP 500.
World number 7, 19 year old Coco Gauff, takes her first WTA 500 Singles Title in dominant fashion, which including wins over world numbers 13, 18, and 8, by a combined game score of 36-14. Pretty good start working with Riba and Gilbert.
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Fun week in Washington D.C. for the WTA/ATP 500.
World number 7, 19 year old Coco Gauff, takes her first WTA 500 Singles Title in dominant fashion, which including wins over world numbers 13, 18, and 8, by a combined game score of 36-14. Pretty good start working with Riba and Gilbert.
It’s a Purple Mountain Majesty, North American Swing.
Pass the poutine.
Jessie Pegula is the 2023 Canadian Open Singles Champion.
It includes wins over world numbers 7, 1, 18.
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It’s a Purple Mountain Majesty, North American Swing.
Pass the poutine.
Jessie Pegula is the 2023 Canadian Open Singles Champion.
It includes wins over world numbers 7, 1, 18.
From Sea to Shining Sea in the North American Swing.
Coco Gauff is the youngest ever WTA 1000 Singles Champion in Cincinnati. Included wins over World number 1, and World number 10.
Taylor Townsend and Alycia Parks take the doubles for ‘Merica. Defeated the 2, 3, 4, 5 seeds to win it.
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From Sea to Shining Sea in the North American Swing.
Coco Gauff is the youngest ever WTA 1000 Singles Champion in Cincinnati. Included wins over World number 1, and World number 10.
Taylor Townsend and Alycia Parks take the doubles for ‘Merica. Defeated the 2, 3, 4, 5 seeds to win it.
Great weekend for Coco. Hopefully she takes no prisoners in NYC.
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Alcara vs Djoker on right now. But it's on the Tennis Channel.......smh.
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Wow. Djoker wins 5-7, 7-6, 7-6 in Cincy in 100 degree weather.
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Great weekend for Coco. Hopefully she takes no prisoners in NYC.
Gauff has won 11 of her last 12 matches. 2 titles and a semifinal (Pegula won that tourney) in her last 3 tournaments, all big ones. It’s been much more than a great weekend. It’s been a great several weeks. And that is after being 7th in the 2023 points race prior to that 6 weeks. And it’s after being 7th (now 6th) in the world the past two years. And she’s still a teenager.
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Summer in the City.
One of the best free weeks in sports begins today:
32 Women’s Qualifying matches today.
32 Men’s Qualifying Matches today.
32 Women’s Qualifying Matches tomorrow.
32 Men’s Qualifying matches tomorrow.
Gotta win 3 straight to make the 128.
80 degree Sunshine.
11am
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Summer in the City.
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https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38247265/jimmy-butler-scores-point-carlos-alcaraz-us-open
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Summer in the City.
One of the best free weeks in sports begins today:
32 Women’s Qualifying matches today.
32 Men’s Qualifying Matches today.
32 Women’s Qualifying Matches tomorrow.
32 Men’s Qualifying matches tomorrow.
Gotta win 3 straight to make the 128.
80 degree Sunshine.
11am
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Summer in the City.
With one day still left, a record 135,672 people have attended (free) Fan Week before the start of the next 2 weeks of the U.S. Open.
Kids day sets a record as well with 40,868.
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Cmon Coco. FOCUS!!
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Cmon Coco. FOCUS!!
Definitely turned it around, let’s see if she keeps the momentum going. Side note, not sure I’ve seen a player consistently take the entire serve clock and then some.
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Definitely turned it around, let’s see if she keeps the momentum going. Side note, not sure I’ve seen a player consistently take the entire serve clock and then some.
Completely ridiculous. Enforce the rules or find another profession.
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COCO is 100% correct. Dismiss that clown of an umpire immediately.
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Getting dicey
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Survive and advance
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Cmon Coco. FOCUS!!
R-e-l-a-x.
We in here. Late night Latin food for everyone.
111th street.
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Survive and advance
She played poorly but that can happen. I expect her A game moving forward.
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August 29, 2023
Maria Sakkari complains about marijuana smell during US Open upset: 'The smell, oh my gosh'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/open/2023/08/29/maria-sakkari-complains-about-marijuana-smell-during-us-open-upset/70705579007/
The No. 8 seed was upset 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open by Spain's Rebeka Masarova, marking Sakkari's third straight first-round exit at a Grand Slam following a similar result at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. During a changeover in the match, Sakkari noted a peculiar smell to the chair umpire.
“It was weed," she said after the match. “The smell, oh my gosh."
The US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, is a hard court tournament, but grass was the topic of conversation for Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari following her early exit on Monday.
The No. 8 seed was upset 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open by Spain's Rebeka Masarova, marking Sakkari's third straight first-round exit at a Grand Slam following a similar result at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. During a changeover in the match, Sakkari noted a peculiar smell to the chair umpire.
“It was weed," she said after the match. “The smell, oh my gosh."
2022 US OPEN:Nick Kyrgios complains of marijuana smell during US Open win
https://apnews.com/article/us-open-tennis-championships-entertainment-sports-louis-armstrong-nick-kyrgios-4d1308826b8160362e2d17216c413ddc
Maria Sakkari, of Greece, returns a shot to Rebeka Masarova, of Spain, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sakkari said she "smelled it yesterday in practice, too" and attributed the odor to a nearby park. Sakkari's match was played on Court 17, an open-air stadium where neighbors can be at a park outside the confines of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
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I will admit Alcaraz has more pop on his forehand than I do. Even in my prime. :)
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I will admit Alcaraz has more pop on his forehand than I do. Even in my prime. :)
I have a hard time believing that.
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I have a hard time believing that.
It's hard to really even fathom how how good the top 5-10 players in tbe world are until you see then up close and in person. Most of them are better by the time they are 14/15 than the NCAA champion.
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August 29, 2023
Maria Sakkari complains about marijuana smell during US Open upset: 'The smell, oh my gosh'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/open/2023/08/29/maria-sakkari-complains-about-marijuana-smell-during-us-open-upset/70705579007/
The No. 8 seed was upset 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open by Spain's Rebeka Masarova, marking Sakkari's third straight first-round exit at a Grand Slam following a similar result at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. During a changeover in the match, Sakkari noted a peculiar smell to the chair umpire.
“It was weed," she said after the match. “The smell, oh my gosh."
The US Open, the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, is a hard court tournament, but grass was the topic of conversation for Greek tennis star Maria Sakkari following her early exit on Monday.
The No. 8 seed was upset 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the US Open by Spain's Rebeka Masarova, marking Sakkari's third straight first-round exit at a Grand Slam following a similar result at the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. During a changeover in the match, Sakkari noted a peculiar smell to the chair umpire.
“It was weed," she said after the match. “The smell, oh my gosh."
2022 US OPEN:Nick Kyrgios complains of marijuana smell during US Open win
https://apnews.com/article/us-open-tennis-championships-entertainment-sports-louis-armstrong-nick-kyrgios-4d1308826b8160362e2d17216c413ddc
Maria Sakkari, of Greece, returns a shot to Rebeka Masarova, of Spain, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Sakkari said she "smelled it yesterday in practice, too" and attributed the odor to a nearby park. Sakkari's match was played on Court 17, an open-air stadium where neighbors can be at a park outside the confines of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
New York City.
Maria played on Court 17. It’s next to Corona Park, the 800 acre park behind the BJK Tennis Center. The smell is coming from the neighboring public park. Having small amounts of weed is legal in that park. It’s a Court 17 thing. It’s deep in the SE corner of the BJK Tennis Center. They added that court 12 years ago. There are other smells too, mostly food.
BJK Tennis Center is 22 courts over 47 acres and various other buildings, as aell as the stadium, lounges, restaurants, indoor courts etc…Practice Courts P1–P5 are located just behind it in a nice area.
But try meandering your way to practice courts P6-P17 just outside of the BJK grounds in Corona Park. Players get shuttles to practice there if there is an overflow need of practice courts. (there’s always an overflow need before and early in the event) Anyone can go there because technically they are in the public park. It’s an adventure. All kinds of things go on there. Oh the stories. Good times.
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Free Taylor Townsend.
High level, both players, at a fun, rowdy and spirited Court 17. North America v South America. In form Haddad Maia is top 12 this season. TT takes the first set. 7-6 (7-1) 20 winners in the set for TT. Boom. 16/21 at the net. More work to do.
Giraffe will be seeking some Court 17 magic today as well.
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Free Taylor Townsend.
High level, both players, at a fun, rowdy and spirited Court 17. North America v South America. In form Haddad Maia is top 12 this season. TT takes the first set. 7-6 (7-1) 20 winners in the set for TT. Boom. 16/21 at the net. More work to do.
Giraffe will be seeking some Court 17 magic today as well.
What an atmosohere, what a match, and what a moment for Taylor Townsend. 7-6, 7-5. Boom. Big time..
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My guy Rajeev looking to add one more title before he retires
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Giraffe was down 2 sets to 1. 5-5 in the 4th, and he desperately had to go to the bathroom. He gives away the game, and takes the changeover, full sprint to the bathroom. He is late coming back and gets delay of game warning. He races back in before point penalty. (changed his shorts) He serves out the game for 6-6.
Visible stomach issues. Staggering on the ropes.
Down 1-4 in tie breaker, Inside out one handed backhand winner. 5-4. Serving, he misses two he normally makes. Down match point forces an error on a nice rally. 7-7 Serve and volley hits the tape. Long rally, not to be 7-9. So close to going 5.
Court 17.
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Free Court 17.
‘Merica’s Tommy Paul rallies from 2 sets down, to take the next 3 on an electric Court 17.
Ranked 202 in the world 5 years ago, now World number 14, South Jersey farm boy, Tommy Paul, is moving on to the Round of 32 in the United States Open.
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Tiafoe took care of business nicely
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Alcarez looks like he has done a lot of body work to slim down and get in better shape.
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John Isner retires.
Appropriately, after losing a majors match.
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John Isner retires.
Appropriately, after losing a majors match.
That tends to happen when you play in 59 of them over 17 years. And he made it to the round of 32 or better in more than half of them.
He was ranked in the top 20 in the world in singles for more a decade straight, including being a top 10 player at a time. 16 singles titles. 8 doubles titles. Best American player for almost a decade.
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Cool.
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Free Court 17.
‘Merica’s Tommy Paul rallies from 2 sets down, to take the next 3 on an electric Court 17.
Ranked 202 in the world 5 years ago, now World number 14, South Jersey farm boy, Tommy Paul, is moving on to the Round of 32 in the United States Open.
Free Cousin Eddie.
Tommy Paul’s good luck charm will be back for the Round of 16. This kid was ridiculous in the raucous corner of Court 17 the other day. He had more belief in Tommy Paul than Tommy Paul. Eddie is moving on to week 2 too. Love to see it.
https://twitter.com/wearetennis/status/1697696025354322318?s=46&t=TsCCkuE48YmnkWfoKqc_Ng
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Paul vs Shelton is gonna be ridiculous pace
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Former UNC Tar Heel Rinky Hijikata is moving on to the 4th round vs Frances. And he will crack the top 100 too.
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Taylor Fritz is into the round of 16 after losing a total of 13 games combined, in his first 3 matches. Lol. Sheesh.
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9 times?
9 times.
For the 9th time, teenager Coco Gauff has advanced to the Round of 16 of a major. Mertens will have to wait for her 14th major Round of 16.
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The Djoker is in serious trouble and he doesn't look right. He hasn't lost in the 3rd rd since 2006. Uh-Oh. Does he have another gear at his age?
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Djoker looks tremendously upset. This could be a stunning upset.
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Djoker is really something. 8th 5 set win being down 2 sets.
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Good to see the American men doing well.
I think Gauff is ready to win this title but she has to come out of the blocks quicker with fewer ufe's as the opponents get tougher.
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Djokovic puts such pressure on opponents because he is a human backboard. You can't just make returns, you have to make precise returns into deep corners to actually win points. And you have to be fit enough - physically and mentally - to keep doing that for 5 sets.
Djokovic wasn't sharp the first two sets and Djere was playing extremely well. Djokovic played significantly better after that ... and predictably, Djere couldn't keep up.
Hard to see anybody beating Novak other than Alcaraz.
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The Muggsy jinx is undefeated!
Joker down 2 sets to none…Djere, his countryman, proceeds to win less than 6 games the next 3 sets combined. Absurd
Minimum of 4 Americans into the round of 16, 5 if Mmoh can make a comeback.
Tommy Paul has looked TREMENDOUS since going down 2-0 the other night. Davidovich Fokina is a strong player and TP just bludgeoned him.
Tiafoe and Fritz cruising. Fun stuff
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The Muggsy jinx is undefeated!
Joker down 2 sets to none…Djere, his countryman, proceeds to win less than 6 games the next 3 sets combined. Absurd
Minimum of 4 Americans into the round of 16, 5 if Mmoh can make a comeback.
Tommy Paul has looked TREMENDOUS since going down 2-0 the other night. Davidovich Fokina is a strong player and TP just bludgeoned him.
Tiafoe and Fritz cruising. Fun stuff
The "Muggsy Jinx" works sporadically. It didn't work with Brian Harman at The Open
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The Muggsy jinx is undefeated!
Joker down 2 sets to none…Djere, his countryman, proceeds to win less than 6 games the next 3 sets combined. Absurd
Minimum of 4 Americans into the round of 16, 5 if Mmoh can make a comeback.
Tommy Paul has looked TREMENDOUS since going down 2-0 the other night. Davidovich Fokina is a strong player and TP just bludgeoned him.
Tiafoe and Fritz cruising. Fun stuff
It’s like Muggsy has never seen Djokovic play before. At the start of the 3rd set, I told my wife that if Djokovic got a break early, the match was over. He did. It was.
I call it the ‘Jalen Brown Syndrome”. Anytime anyone is hot, Muggsy immediately elevates everything he does to epic proportions.
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The Muggsy jinx is undefeated!
Joker down 2 sets to none…Djere, his countryman, proceeds to win less than 6 games the next 3 sets combined. Absurd
Minimum of 4 Americans into the round of 16, 5 if Mmoh can make a comeback.
Tommy Paul has looked TREMENDOUS since going down 2-0 the other night. Davidovich Fokina is a strong player and TP just bludgeoned him.
Tiafoe and Fritz cruising. Fun stuff
Mmoh looks done but a quarter of the remaining field being American is pretty cool.
And if Tiafoe wins tomorrow we’re guaranteed at least one American male in the semifinals.
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It’s very difficult to see anyone other than Alcaraz or Djokovic winning.
But who knows … maybe one of the U.S. men has a major upset in him.
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It’s very difficult to see anyone other than Alcaraz or Djokovic winning.
But who knows … maybe one of the U.S. men has a major upset in him.
Clearly head and shoulders above everyone. And Alcaraz is one of a very few players who can’t be pummeled physically by Djokovic in the 4th and 5th sets.
But we’ll see. Upsets do happen.
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It’s very difficult to see anyone other than Alcaraz or Djokovic winning.
But who knows … maybe one of the U.S. men has a major upset in him.
Skinner may have a shot. Zverev possibly as well.
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8 Americans left in singles.
4 of the 16 Women left are from ‘Merica
4 of the 16 Men left are from ‘Merica.
No other country has half of that amount.
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Tremendous run for Elina Svitolina. After sitting out a year due to a combo of injury, having a baby, and the war in her native Ukraine, she had a goal to crack the top 100. After raising over 7 figure money for her country through various charities, she returned in April.
After winning her 17th title, quarters of the French, Semis of Wimbledon, and other results, she's in the top 25 within 6 months.
Her 16th 2nd week of a slam will have to wait. But what a run.
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Someone said on the broadcast that the tennis balls are much slower than they were last week in Cincinnati. I'm wondering why that would be the case?
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Someone said on the broadcast that the tennis balls are much slower than they were last week in Cincinnati. I'm wondering why that would be the case?
The balls are the same as they were in Cincinnati. So you either misunderstood or they misspoke. Why would they be different? Because it is a different tournament. Different events use different tennis balls from different brands, just as different tourneys have different sponsors etc…
Throughout the season many different tennis balls are used from many brands. That isn’t new.
What is new is the Women are playing with the same ball as the Men this year at the U.S. Open. Some top players complained, notably Iga Swiatek. So they made a trial run change.
Previously the Women used a regular felt tennis ball to be more protective of injury and arm and shoulder problems. That ball has less control and flies through the air. Players such as Petra Kvitova like that tennis ball. The Extra Duty Wilson Tennis Ball, also used by the Men, is a much heavier ball, allows for more control, and some think last longer. Where the previous ball is more of a clay court ball in some people’s opinions.
There are other heavier tennis balls on tour, so this one is more medium or fine.
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The balls are the same as they were in Cincinnati. So you either misunderstood or they misspoke. Why would they be different? Because it is a different tournament. Different events use different tennis balls from different brands, just as different tourneys have different sponsors etc…
Throughout the season many different tennis balls are used from many brands. That isn’t new.
What is new is the Women are playing with the same ball as the Men this year at the U.S. Open. Some top players complained, notably Iga Swiatek. So they made a trial run change.
Previously the Women used a regular felt tennis ball to be more protective of injury and arm and shoulder problems. That ball has less control and flies through the air. Players such as Petra Kvitova like that tennis ball. The Extra Duty Wilson Tennis Ball, also used by the Men, is a much heavier ball, allows for more control, and some think last longer. Where the previous ball is more of a clay court ball in some people’s opinions.
There are other heavier tennis balls on tour, so this one is more medium or fine.
I did not misunderstand. Whoever was in the booth was a current player and talked about it in depth. I think it was Eubanks but I am not 100% sure. He actually said the used balls in Cincy were faster than the balls at the USOpen.
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Someone said on the broadcast that the tennis balls are much slower than they were last week in Cincinnati. I'm wondering why that would be the case?
They didnt trim their balls, so it slows them down
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I did not misunderstand. Whoever was in the booth was a current player and talked about it in depth. I think it was Eubanks but I am not 100% sure. He actually said the used balls in Cincy were faster than the balls at the USOpen.
It’s the same ball. Surface might be faster. But they are using the same ball. Previously that was different. But not this year. Canada, Cincinnati, and New York all used the same ball this year. You can ask Stacey Allaster or Steve Simon if you wish. You are in luck. It also says it here in paragraph 10:
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/38208985/us-open-use-same-tennis-balls-women-men
Cincy used to use different tennis balls in the past, but not this year.
DC used a Technifibre X One 2 tennis balls. Those received a lot of complaints as being way too heavy in the heat and humidity.
Some players don’t care and have little opinion about it, especially if it doesn’t affect them. Some have strong opinions about it. Taylor Fritz would prefer the lighter tennis balls so he could hit 150mph serves with it. Madison Keys also prefers the lighter tennis ball. Opinions are mixed.
Dunlop, Slazenger, lots of different brands and types of tennis balls used per brand.
Pegula is on the player council and I know she prefers the same ball every week of the tour.
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It’s the same ball. Surface might be faster. But they are using the same ball. Previously that was different. But not this year. Canada, Cincinnati, and New York all used the same ball this year. You can ask Stacey Allaster or Steve Simon if you wish. You are in luck. It also says it here in paragraph 10:
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/38208985/us-open-use-same-tennis-balls-women-men
Cincy used to use different tennis balls in the past, but not this year.
DC used a Technifibre X One 2 tennis balls. Those received a lot of complaints as being way too heavy in the heat and humidity.
Some players don’t care and have little opinion about it, especially if it doesn’t affect them. Some have strong opinions about it. Taylor Fritz would prefer the lighter tennis balls so he could hit 150mph serves with it. Madison Keys also prefers the lighter tennis ball. Opinions are mixed.
Dunlop, Slazenger, lots of different brands and types of tennis balls used per brand.
Pegula is on the player council and I know she prefers the same ball every week of the tour.
I trust your explanation and assume the commentator was incorrect. Boy is Evert a disaster as well.
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I trust your explanation and assume the commentator waa incorrect. Boy is Evert a disaster as well.
Your posts often criticize the Women analysts but leave out the Men. It isn’t gender specific.
Johnny Mac (who is absent this year due to illness) isn’t any better than Evert. It isn’t possible to be great if you aren’t traveling the week to week of the tour. Many of the International broadcasters are under stated, all business about that specific match. And for me, that’s what I want. Mac and some others are for casual fans who often only watch a little bit of a big event once a year.
It’s equal opportunity. Mary Carillo has been bad on the World Feed. She’s a good example of someone that doesn’t know the ins and outs of the week to week of the tour. But she at least asks her partners lots of questions during a match about those things. She admits she is unaware of a lot of things. Some of the Men are too prideful to admit that.
Giraffe is a good commentator. Blake is fine. Laura Robson was great on the World Feed. Lindsay Davenport is good.
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Your posts often criticize the Women analysts but leave out the Men. It isn’t gender specific.
Johnny Mac (who is absent this year due to illness) isn’t any better than Evert. It isn’t possible to be great if you aren’t traveling the week to week of the tour. Many of the International broadcasters are under stated, all business about that specific match. And for me, that’s what I want. Mac and some others are for casual fans who often only watch a little bit of a big event once a year.
It’s equal opportunity. Mary Carillo has been bad on the World Feed. She’s a good example of someone that doesn’t know the ins and outs of the week to week of the tour. But she at least asks her partners lots of questions during a match about those things. She admits she is unaware of a lot of things. Some of the Men are too prideful to admit that.
Giraffe is a good commentator. Blake is fine. Laura Robson was great on the World Feed. Lindsay Davenport is good.
Carillo is abysmal and J-Mac hasn't been particularly good in recent years. The sport needs to step it up in the broadcasting dept.
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Giraffe is spotty.
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Giraffe is spotty.
Apparently you missed the news of a spotless giraffe born at the Tennessee zoo?
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Carillo is abysmal and J-Mac hasn't been particularly good in recent years. The sport needs to step it up in the broadcasting dept.
Again, I'm sure it's accidental, but you are quick to rip a female broadcaster, and somewhat reluctant to do so with the Men. Johb hasn?t changed his approach in recent years. It's the same. It never was good. It's rhe Dick Vitale for people who don't folllow basketball. He's mascot and good for tennis. He's just miscast as an in match analyst.
You will be the one who has to adjust. By that I meam if you want more variety and better tennjs broadcasters, you'll have to do more than follow regular ESPN a few times a year at slams and NBC. There are several good Women and Men broadcasters elsewhere.
For this event, jfor example, ust watch the World Feed on ESPN plus if you are in the states. I'm not sure why anyone would watch it on ESPN2 instead of on ESPN plus.
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Again, I'm sure it's accidental, but you are quick to rip a female broadcaster, and somewhat reluctant to do so with the Men. Johb hasn?t changed his approach in recent years. It's the same. It never was good. It's rhe Dick Vitale for people who don't folllow basketball. He's mascot and good for tennis. He's just miscast as an in match analyst.
You will be the one who has to adjust. By that I meam if you want more variety and better tennjs broadcasters, you'll have to do more than follow regular ESPN a few times a year at slams and NBC. There are several good Women and Men broadcasters elsewhere.
For this event, jfor example, ust watch the World Feed on ESPN plus if you are in the states. I'm not sure why anyone would watch it on ESPN2 instead of on ESPN plus.
I'm not reluctant to do anything. I rip crappy male broadcasters all the time. Stop creating a false narrative.
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For this event, jfor example, ust watch the World Feed on ESPN plus if you are in the states. I'm not sure why anyone would watch it on ESPN2 instead of on ESPN plus.
Don’t be silly. ESPN+ is a premium channel and with the switch to streaming services, most people don’t have it.
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Don’t be silly. ESPN+ is a premium channel and with the switch to streaming services, most people don’t have it.
It isn’t silly at all. Tennis is a long calendar season, not just 4 events. And 3 of the 4 are broadcast from the same outlet. Tennis Channel, Tennis Channel Plus, ESPN Plus and more is where you will find more quantity and quality of tennis broadcasters.
No one is forcing anyone to comment about tennis broadcasters. But if the only ones you discuss are the same handful of people from the same handful of broadcasts a year, that sample size is teeny tiny small.
The sub topic is tennis broadcasters, not tennis viewing accessibility. ESPN only cares about the 4 majors in golf and tennis. If you want to watch the tennis tours, and comment about their broadcasters, you need one of the above mentioned, or if another country, one of several other outlets.
As an aside, ESPN plus is very mainstream and has been for many years. It’s easily one of the most valuable places for sports content out there. I watch more sports on it than via any other form of viewing. Many sports.
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I'm not reluctant to do anything. I rip crappy male broadcasters all the time. Stop creating a false narrative.
I can only go by the examples you provide and what you post.
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Jimmy Butler in the house!
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I'm not reluctant to do anything. I rip crappy male broadcasters all the time. Stop creating a false narrative.
I will defend this. Muggsy doesn't like many broadcasters, many coaches, and any time his team loses, it is like too much salt on manatee filets....unacceptable.
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As an aside, ESPN plus is very mainstream and has been for many years. It’s easily one of the most valuable places for sports content out there. I watch more sports on it than via any other form of viewing. Many sports.
ESPN+ is a subscription service that the majority of the population doesn’t have.
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ESPN+ is a subscription service that the majority of the population doesn’t have.
Again, it’s okay to abstain from commenting about tennis broadcasters if you don’t have access to watching tennis broadcasters. The discussion was not about accessibility.
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Too good from Coco Gauff. Serve and service return went a long way. Controlled aggression. Not enough offense for Woz. 13 to 3 winners in the first. And in the 3rd CG lost only 1 point when moving forward, which is ridiculous. 20/27 at the net.
Pretty great run for Woz this Summer after a few years off and after having 2 kids. 33 and still some juice left in the tank.
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Electric, standng room only crowd on Grandstand (8k plus).
Townsend/Shelton moving on to mixed quarters. Townsend already advanced to Womens dubs quarters with Fernandez.
Great crowds all week for dubs.
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Ostapenko is now 4-0 all time vs Swiatek.
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Ostapenko is now 4-0 all time vs Swiatek.
It was honestly crazy to see Swiatek's game completely fall apart. She was spraying errors all over the place and looked mentally shot. Gauff will take out Ostapenko.
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It was honestly crazy to see Swiatek's game completely fall apart. She was spraying errors all over the place and looked mentally shot. Gauff will take out Ostapenko.
Not a big upset here. And that’s credit to Penko.
Ostapenko had 31 winners. Ultra Aggressive, big hitting, early in points, isn’t the best matchup for Swiatek.
It’s her 2nd major quarterfinal this year. She’s a slam champion that is a top 15 player annually. She’s good. She plays high risk high reward tennis. When she’s on she can defeat anyone. That includes if she is serving well, and picks and chooses her spots wisely.
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Big moment and big opportunity for Peyton Stearns. NCAA Champion at Texas. Grinded the ITF too. Only 21. Playing great.
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Not a big upset here. And that’s credit to Penko.
Ostapenko had 31 winners. Ultra Aggressive, big hitting, early in points, isn’t the best matchup for Swiatek.
It’s her 2nd major quarterfinal this year. She’s a slam champion that is a top 15 player annually. She’s good. She plays high risk high reward tennis. When she’s on she can defeat anyone. That includes if she is serving well, and picks and chooses her spots wisely.
But Swiatek still fell apart midway through the 2nd set. Penko can absolutely throttle the ball but Iga was not herself after a decent start.
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No American man will win this year's U.S. Open IMHO, but it's nice to at least see some life there.
I know that Djokovic, Nadal and Federer built kind of an impregnable wall for just about everyone - not only U.S. players - but it's still stunning that American men are 0-for-2-decades in majors.
An entire generation of American tennis without a sniff of a grand slam title - most years, not a single U.S. player even was a serious contender. Only 4 appearances in a major final these last 20 years, and none since 2009.
That's wild, especially given the success of U.S. men in the decades prior: Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors.
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No American man will win this year's U.S. Open IMHO, but it's nice to at least see some life there.
I know that Djokovic, Nadal and Federer built kind of an impregnable wall for just about everyone - not only U.S. players - but it's still stunning that American men are 0-for-2-decades in majors.
An entire generation of American tennis without a sniff of a grand slam title - most years, not a single U.S. player even was a serious contender. Only 4 appearances in a major final these last 20 years, and none since 2009.
That's wild, especially given the success of U.S. men in the decades prior: Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors.
Ya.....that's crazy. But you're right, winning it is a tall task. The match later between Sinner/Zverev should be a really good one.
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Medvy is flying under the radar a bit. He's very dangerous on this surface and has had a relatively comfortable draw thus far. I'm not sure it's automatic we'll see a Djoker/Alcaraz Final
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But Swiatek still fell apart midway through the 2nd set. Penko can absolutely throttle the ball but Iga was not herself after a decent start.
And why do you think Swiatek wasn’t herself? She didn’t magically self destruct on her own.
You actually have it backwards. Ostapenko upped her game a lot after the first and second set.
Penko cut her errors in half. And she improved her serve almost 30% in the 2nd set. Penko gave herself slightly more margin because she knew she would win the rallies. And she beat Swiatek in down the middle neutral ball rallies. She also is very good at creating angles from the middle of the court that many can’t.
Few players play faster than Swiatek. But Penko is one of them and that gets into the head of Swiatek.
The frequent body serve of Swiatek became predictable and Swiatek side stepped it and hit an aggressive shot.
Swiatek was very consistent in the first 2 sets. Served 68 and 69 percent, winners and errors were similar each set. What changed was the level of Ostapenko.
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And why do you think Swiatek wasn’t herself? She didn’t magically self destruct on her own.
You actually have it backwards. Ostapenko upped her game a lot after the first and second set.
Penko cut her errors in half. And she improved her serve almost 30% in the 2nd set. Penko gave herself slightly more margin because she knew she would win the rallies. And she beat Swiatek in down the middle neutral ball rallies. She also is very good at creating angles from the middle of the court that many can’t.
Few players play faster than Swiatek. But Penko is one of them and that gets into the head of Swiatek.
The frequent body serve of Swiatek became predictable and Swiatek side stepped it and hit an aggressive shot.
Swiatek was very consistent in the first 2 sets. Served 68 and 69 percent, winners and errors were similar each set. What changed was the level of Ostapenko.
I watched the end of the 2nd and 3rd set. She played terribly and this is just a fact. Penko is tough but Iga was nowhere near her top level or mentally sharp.
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I watched the end of the 2nd and 3rd set. She played terribly and this is just a fact. Penko is tough but Iga was nowhere near her top level or mentally sharp.
Bizarre that you have an unwillingness to credit a player for playing well and taking the other player out of their game. The notion that Swiatek lost mostly because she self imploded doesn't pass the personal bias test.
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Bizarre that you have an unwillingness to credit a player for playing well and taking the other player out of their game. The notion that Swiatek lost mostly because she self imploded doesn't pass the personal bias test.
It's bizarre you're refusing to acknowledge the truth and I'm taking nothing away from Penko. Iga was beyond bad and you know this full well.
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It's bizarre you're refusing to acknowledge the truth and I'm taking nothing away from Penko. Iga was beyond bad and you know this full well.
Lol. I watched the match, so no. I already explained what happened in the match.
It’s 4 straight wins for Ostapenko over Swiatek. At some point it isn’t self imploding or luck.
This also isn’t the only player in which Swiatek has trouble with on hard courts. They all have similar styles of play too.
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It's bizarre you're refusing to acknowledge the truth and I'm taking nothing away from Penko. Iga was beyond bad and you know this full well.
You could learn a lot by listening to Shoothoops rather than always giving your take.
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Lol. I watched the match, so no. I already explained what happened in the match.
It’s 4 straight wins for Ostapenko over Swiatek. At some point it isn’t self imploding or luck.
This also isn’t the only player in which Swiatek has trouble with on hard courts. They all have similar styles of play too.
We'll agree to disagree. I watched what happened.
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We'll agree to disagree. I watched what happened.
There isn’t a both sides here.
If you read your own post above, you admitted that you didn’t even watch two thirds of the match. That’s a pretty strong opinion and a lot of posts of something you didn’t even see.
Swiatek was outplayed by a better player. It happens. The specifics as to why were even referenced for you.
Ostapenko, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Garcia, Krejcikova, etc…are all players that play Swiatek well.
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Week 1 attendance: 502,385.
Labor Day Weekend attendance: 201,787.
Both record highs.
Lots of people in here.
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There isn’t a both sides here.
If you read your own post above, you admitted that you didn’t even watch two thirds of the match. That’s a pretty strong opinion and a lot of posts of something you didn’t even see.
Swiatek was outplayed by a better player. It happens. The specifics as to why were even referenced for you.
Ostapenko, Sabalenka, Rybakina, Garcia, Krejcikova, etc…are all players that play Swiatek well.
I watched half the match and you clearly don't want to admit the truth.
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I watched the end of the 2nd and 3rd set. She played terribly and this is just a fact. Penko is tough but Iga was nowhere near her top level or mentally sharp.
Can you please stop saying “mentally sharp” when evaluating a player or team performance? It’s a weak argument at best. You do this with Marquette basketball, too, yelling about focus.
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Can you please stop saying “mentally sharp” when evaluating a player or team performance? It’s a weak argument at best. You do this with Marquette basketball, too, yelling about focus.
That's because it's noticeable when people lose focus.
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That's because it's noticeable when people lose focus.
You use it every time a player or team is losing.
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You use it every time a player or team is losing.
It's a common problem and should be reiterated.
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It's a common problem and should be reiterated.
Sometimes, the other team or player is simply better, regardless of focus
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I watched half the match and you clearly don't want to admit the truth.
It isn’t possible to have a credible opinion about something that you didn’t see or experience. That’s incomplete at best.
You let your personal bias and limited experience on a subject form your opinions despite contrary factual evidence. You can insert different players or teams or topics. It’s a pattern.
If you can’t treat all of the players with equal respect, and an objective, open mind, your opinions will be flawed at best.
And you gave yourself away by quickly saying Penko would lose to Gauff. That of course is maybe yes, maybe no.
You’ve been presented with facts and specifics over and over, and instead of using facts to support your opinion,
you make vague references of “you know the truth.” or “I disagree” despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
It would take you mere seconds to find lots and lots and lots of credible players, coaches, media that have said that Ostapenko outplayed Swiatek, and much of her tactics and execution which I have provided in the thread, support that.
All of this because you strangely don’t want to credit a player for outplaying another, for her 4th straight win over that player.
You are very short on specifics. Example: Swiatek likes to play fast and to put pressure on opponents. However there are players who play even faster than her. And they hit a heavy tennis ball. Down the middle rallies, playing a neutral ball meaning without much top spin, under spin, etc…are difficult matchups for her. Pace, depth against her extreme Western grip are a challenge. And Ostapenko is one of the nest in the game at creating angles from the middle of the court.
Ostapenko didn’t serve or return as well in the first set. Those numbers have been provided. She vastly improved it after that. Seems like she deserves some credit for that.
Penko realized by her own admission that she was winning the longer rallies and neutral ball rallies etc…and that if she gave herself a little more margin, but played a similar style, she would limit errors which she did. Stats have been provided. Seems like she deserves credit for that.
31 winners, often taking the ball early inside the baseline. Seems like she deserves credit for that.
You are taking something so very simple and being needlessly pedantic about it, because you lack objectivity on the subject.
https://tennishead.net/reason-behind-shock-swiatek-us-open-defeat-revealed-by-leading-analyst/#:~:text=It%20was%20as%20simple%20as%20that.&text=Both%20players%20had%2031%20forehand,her%20hands%20and%20feet%20correctly.
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Sometimes, the other team or player is simply better, regardless of focus
Yes Uncle R, but that was not the case in the Swiatek/Ostapenko match.
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Ostapenko deserved the match. She played significantly better the last two sets, imposed her will on Swiatek. And Swiatek also didn't play well, above and beyond the mistakes Ostapenko forced her into. Both can (and were) true.
I do wonder how many legit tennis experts would say that Ostapenko is a "better player" than Swiatek, though. Body of work strongly suggests otherwise.
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Ostapenko deserved the match. She played significantly better the last two sets, imposed her will on Swiatek. And Swiatek also didn't play well, above and beyond the mistakes Ostapenko forced her into. Both can (and were) true.
I do wonder how many legit tennis experts would say that Ostapenko is a "better player" than Swiatek, though. Body of work strongly suggests otherwise.
The match didn’t get away from Swiatek until late in the match. The numbers and facts support that. The eye test supports that. So, you almost have it in your first paragraph but not quite. You worded the last part to try to even out the causes of the loss for Swiatek when they weren’t in fact even, or close to it. That distinction of course matters.
The 2nd paragraph is what a defeated person would say to attempt to distract from the facts of the particular match. That is gaslighting by definition. It’s completely irrelevant to this particular discussion.
Better players and better teams don’t always win. And when they lose, often times the other team was better that day. Tennis, golf, team or individual sports.
Ostapenko has now been better than Iga 4 straight times in their 4 meetings. That’s a pattern. Swiatek has also struggled at times with a select group of players on hard courts. That’s a pattern. It doesn’t mean that she isn’t a good or great player. It does mean there are other good or great players too.
And Penko, the player in this example, is a top level player with a long list of big wins in big moments. It could be a number of other players as the example too.
Ostapenko has won a grand slam title. She’s been ranked in the top 5 in the world. She has had 6 career titles. (she just turned 26) She has won 329 matches in her career, two thirds of her total matches. She’s made it to the quarterfinals or better of all 4 majors in both singles and doubles. She also won 15 ITF titles and the Wimbledon Junior Title.
In 2023, Penko has reached the final 8 in Australia, defeating Coco Gauff along the way. She made the Italian semis and she won the grass court title in Birmingham. She’s also in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Mixed Doubles. She’s been a top 50 player all of the past 8 seasons. Most of those have been top 25 or better. She has TWENTY career wins over players who were Top 10 players at the time. She didn’t just walk in off of 111th street.
None of the above two paragraphs I typed have anything to do with the match of discussion. However, it does provide some background about a player who has done this many times before. Just as the facts also show that Iga has had some trouble with some other similar types of players on a similar surface before.
For reasons only known to Muggsy, his dislike or personal bias for or against someone or something, has gotten in the way of simple objectivity even when presented with overwhelming evidence of the contrary.
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"Better player" were your words, not mine. I think if we both agreed on the participants in a panel of 10 experts and asked them, "Who is the better player, Ostapenko or Swiatek?" at least 9 of 10 would say Swiatek. (And 9 of 10 is probably being overly generous to Ostapenko.)
Obviously, Ostapenko was the better player yesterday. But that's clearly not what you said.
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The 2nd paragraph is what a defeated person would say to attempt to distract from the facts of the particular match. That is gaslighting by definition. It’s completely irrelevant to this particular discussion.
Better players and better teams don’t always win. And when they lose, often times the other team was better that day. Tennis, golf, team or individual sports.
Ostapenko has now been better than Iga 4 straight times in their 4 meetings. That’s a pattern. Swiatek has also struggled at times with a select group of players on hard courts. That’s a pattern. It doesn’t mean that she isn’t a good or great player. It does mean there are other good or great players too.
I think Muggsy is incorrect for saying Ostapenko won because Swiatek "lost focus" or wasn't playing well or whatnot. But I'm not sure why that means that saying Swiatek is the better player is gaslighting? Its not. Muggsy gaslighted, but 82 did not.
Marquette had a concerning pattern for a few years of losing to Depaul and St Johns, even when the latter were not particularly good. Numerous top teams have historical pattern of losing to certain teams or coaches where its a bad matchup or some sort of advantage their opponent is able to exploit. That doesn't mean their opponent is a better team than them even though they win that matchup.
As you said the better team doesn't always win. But "better" to me speaks to the overall body of work, which is what Mike is getting at. Saying that Ostapenko outplayed and got the upperhand over a better player (when the better player has won 3 majors out of the last 6 and is the defending champion) is a credit and compliment to her. Trying to object to calling the consensus #1 player a "better" player seems like overly complicating something to prove some sort of advanced expertise point. Ostapenko plays a unique and frustrating style for many and can be really tough when she's on and has had a really nice career, but Swiatek has won more majors than Ostapenko has major semi appearances, its not some crazy statement to say she's better.
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"Better player" were your words, not mine. I think if we both agreed on the participants in a panel of 10 experts and asked them, "Who is the better player, Ostapenko or Swiatek?" at least 9 of 10 would say Swiatek. (And 9 of 10 is probably being overly generous to Ostapenko.)
Obviously, Ostapenko was the better player yesterday. But that's clearly not what you said.
Fair enough. Happy to clarify. Better player implied better player that day. Seemed obvious but I have zero problem speaking more clearly. Different players are the better players in any given match. Your comment was made in a general fashion, referencing body of work outside of the specific match, which of course doesn't matter in that match or the other 3 in which Penko defeated Swiatek. And that's to which what I was referring.
Overall point is that the far bigger reason Swiatek lost was Penko not Swiatek. Neither of course can be excluded entirely. It would not be accurate to say or imply close to 50/50.
I am far from alone in that opinion..And again, the facts are out there for all to see.
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Nice to sew Gauff obliterated Penko.
Look at the 3rd Set stats between Swiatek/Ostapenko. Loot at how many points Iga won on her 1st serve. She played poorly, it's that simple. In closing Muggsy watched what happened, has eagle-eye vision, and is100% correct. :)
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Fair enough. Happy to clarify. Better player implied better player that day. Seemed obvious but I have zero problem speaking more clearly. Different players are the better players in any given match. Your comment was made in a general fashion, referencing body of work outside of the specific match, which of course doesn't matter in that match or the other 3 in which Penko defeated Swiatek. And that's to which what I was referring.
Overall point is that the far bigger reason Swiatek lost was Penko not Swiatek. Neither of course can be excluded entirely. It would not be accurate to say or imply close to 50/50.
I am far from alone in that opinion..And again, the facts are out there for all to see.
Thanks for the clarification on "better player," as Swiatek is obviously the better player - the facts are out there for all to see.
Otherwise, the whole argument has been silly - in other words, Scoopy to the max.
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Thanks for the clarification on "better player," as Swiatek is obviously the better player - the facts are out there for all to see.
Otherwise, the whole argument has been silly - in other words, Scoopy to the max.
The reason the argument has been silly is because he refuses to admit he's wrong about anything. So why don't we just cut the b-crap before Gauff wins this thing on Saturday. If you recall, at the French Open a few years ago, Swiatek destroyed Coco and shoothoops stated "it was a very close match" which was 1000% untrue. So my guess is, because I pointed out areas where Coco could improve after that match, on Saturday you will read another false narrative that I stated Coco will never win a GS or something like that.
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Thanks for the clarification on "better player," as Swiatek is obviously the better player - the facts are out there for all to see.
Otherwise, the whole argument has been silly - in other words, Scoopy to the max.
See you couldn't help yourself here when I kindly even gave you an out. Even Wags jumped in for you. Sigh.
The discussion was about one specific match. When evidence doesn't support the position, let's make sure we throw it in there again that Swiatek is a better player.
And double bonus points for trying to back that uo with oh well both sides both sides.
The only thing silly here is Muggsy's unwillingness to credit one player for being better than another in a match without any caveats. He clearly likes certain players and dislikes certain players which is fine unless he also has an inability to be objective despite that. And he clearly doesn't have that ability as shown by his previous posts and folllw up posts.
It's hero worship and scapegoating. The players are put into groups based on that way of thinking to form opinions vs objectivity.
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See you couldn't help yourself here when I kindly even gave you an out. Even Wags jumped in for you. Sigh.
The discussion was about one specific match. When evidence doesn't support the position, let's make sure we throw it in there again that Swiatek is a better player.
And double bonus points for trying to back that uo with oh well both sides both sides.
The only thing silly here is Muggsy's unwillingness to credit one player for being better than another in a match without any caveats. He clearly likes certain players and dislikes certain players which is fine unless he also has an inability to be objective despite that. And he clearly doesn't have that ability as shown by his previous posts and folllw up posts.
It's hero worship and scapegoating. The players are put into groups based on that way of thinking to form opinions vs objectivity.
I giave Penko credit, that's not the point.
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Quotes directly from Swiatek after her performance against Ostapenko:
"I have no clear answer why parts of my game stopped working. I had no idea why suddenly I couldn't return." Give the young lady credit for her honesty. And that's exactly what happened. Parts of her game completely fell apart.
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See you couldn't help yourself here when I kindly even gave you an out. Even Wags jumped in for you. Sigh.
The discussion was about one specific match. When evidence doesn't support the position, let's make sure we throw it in there again that Swiatek is a better player.
And double bonus points for trying to back that uo with oh well both sides both sides.
The only thing silly here is Muggsy's unwillingness to credit one player for being better than another in a match without any caveats. He clearly likes certain players and dislikes certain players which is fine unless he also has an inability to be objective despite that. And he clearly doesn't have that ability as shown by his previous posts and folllw up posts.
It's hero worship and scapegoating. The players are put into groups based on that way of thinking to form opinions vs objectivity.
Silliness.
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Djokovic has played about as poorly as I've seen him play, but Fritz hasn't come close to taking advantage. Of course, he's still better than most when he's not at his best but Fritz has let a lot of opportunities slip away in the first 1.5 sets.
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One way traffic for Gauff over Penko.
Gauff has the ability to play different ways depending on the opponent.
First 15 minutes were big. High level, clean.
Exceptional defense, positioning, and anticipation early in the match. Making Penko hit an extra ball, and turning defense into offense. Variety.
Consistent forehand depth. Ostapenko likes to play front foot tennis near the baseline. Taken away there too.
Made the rallies cross court not allowing Penko to create angles from the middle.
Physical tennis not allowing Penko inside the baseline.
Return of serve. 100% of returns in play 1st set for Coco. (94% overall.$ Just 44% for Penko.
Served depth and variety to hit targets instead of just pace. It doesn’t allow front tennis for Penko. 67% 1st set vs 25%. Penko never found her serve. And she wasn’t a good defender when the 2nd serve had little on it. And the few times Gauff needed it she put some extra pace on the first serve.
Penko had very few moments overall, and when she did it was when she only needed a step side to side or forward to find her pace. The counter was to up the pace back in those few moments.
Penko doesn’t like to keep tighter strings, which is something that helps control in high heat conditions.
Gauff approached 30% of the time in previous reounds. 10% v Penko. Bet on herself and her defense vs Penko offense. Pretty good bet. She didn’t need to come in to force the issue but it was a back up option.
And that’s key. Options, the ability to play different ways depending on that day’s circumstances and opponent and how that opponent is playing.
92 degree sunshine, 50% humidity, middle of the day. (And yes Coco’s team lobbied for the time of day of the match)
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Quotes directly from Swiatek after her performance against Ostapenko:
"I have no clear answer why parts of my game stopped working. I had no idea why suddenly I couldn't return." Give the young lady credit for her honesty. And that's exactly what happened. Parts of her game completely fell apart.
Lol. Nope. All this shows is that she selfishly gave zero credit to her opponent in her presser.
I’m happy to provide links to both full pressers, plus a plethora of outlets that say otherwise. I’ve already provided some.
Here’s Penko’s presser where she explains in part why she was successful, while she still was complimentary of Swiatek. It isn’t difficult.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq4X_A_xjYk
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Novak vs Carlos feels inevitable at this point
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Novak vs Carlos feels inevitable at this point
Medvy? Hard to see the Djoker not making the Final.
Medvy came to play today. Alcaraz is going to have to dig deep.
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Whoa. Shelton has some serious heavy lumber on his 1st serve.
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Gonna be honest here (as always): A week ago, I had never heard of Ben Shelton.
His game sure is fun to watch, and he brings a lot of emotion to the court.
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Gonna be honest here (as always): A week ago, I had never heard of Ben Shelton.
His game sure is fun to watch, and he brings a lot of emotion to the court.
Only 20. Wild swings in this match.
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Shelton is a superstar in the making. What an absolute cannon on the service line.
And it’s crazy that Tiafoe is still only 25, he started showing the potential so young.
This match is super fun, both players hit with violence. It’s the only way I can put it.
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Shelton is a superstar in the making. What an absolute cannon on the service line.
And it’s crazy that Tiafoe is still only 25, he started showing the potential so young.
This match is super fun, both players hit with violence. It’s the only way I can put it.
Yes. This is highly entertaining. Both can absolutely bludgeon the ball.
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On a side note I don't really get cupping therapy.
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Wow!: That was crazy!! Can Shelton slam the door in 4?
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Gotta be impressed with the kid's guts, as well as his game. Two straight double-faults in the 3rd-set tiebreaker ... and then comes back with a ballsy 8000-mph forehand to save set point. Rolls from there against a tough opponent. Fun!
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Gotta be impressed with the kid's guts, as well as his game. Two straight double-faults in the 3rd-set tiebreaker ... and then comes back with a ballsy 8000-mph forehand to save set point. Rolls from there against a tough opponent. Fun!
No fear! This was an illustration of attacking with vengeance.
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Ben Shelton is the 6th Open era American Male to win 10 Grand Slam matches before age 21:
Aggasi, Sampras, Courier, Chang, Roddick.
…………………
Shelton is the youngest American Male in the US Open Semis since Michael Chang in 1992.
………………
One year ago Ben was ranked 165 in the World. In his first full pro season since winning the individual NCAA Title at Florida, (won the team title the previous year) he will be ranked in the top 20 after the US Open.
………………
Shelton is also in the Mixed Doubles Semis with Taylor Townsend. Rhey face fellow Americans Austin Krajicek and Jessie Pegula.
They are part of a group of Atlanta pro players that includes Gauff, Eubanks, Townsend, Donald Young, and others. Plays a lot of dubs with Eubanks.
Mom was a high level junior player. Dad was a top 50ish pro and multiple national title winning NCAA coach Women and Men at Georgia Tech and Florida. His sister played at South Carolina and Florida.
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A little more on Shelton from The Athletic: He was only 8-20 as a pro headed into the U.S. Open, so it's not as if he was an immediate star after leaving college, where his father was his coach.
He's quite a showman. I enjoyed how he played to the crowd, though I wonder whether he also did so when he was getting his butt kicked earlier in the year.
Whether he goes on to be the long-awaited next U.S. superstar or he's a one-hit wonder (or more likely something in between those extremes), he's a ton of fun to watch. His match against Djokovic should be fascinating because of the many contrasts: youth vs. experience; athleticism vs. precision; 150 mph serve vs. the best service-return game ever; etc.
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A little more on Shelton from The Athletic: He was only 8-20 as a pro headed into the U.S. Open, so it's not as if he was an immediate star after leaving college, where his father was his coach.
He's quite a showman. I enjoyed how he played to the crowd, though I wonder whether he also did so when he was getting his butt kicked earlier in the year.
Whether he goes on to be the long-awaited next U.S. superstar or he's a one-hit wonder (or more likely something in between those extremes), he's a ton of fun to watch. His match against Djokovic should be fascinating because of the many contrasts: youth vs. experience; athleticism vs. precision; 150 mph serve vs. the best service-return game ever; etc.
One skill you can't teach is tattooing the ball with no regard for its life. He's also a terrific athlete. I'm not sure he's the next superstar but on a fast court he can inflict quite a bit of damage. Harnessing his power may be a bit tricky when he faces the top players. I'm hoping he improves his consistency off the ground.
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A little more on Shelton from The Athletic: He was only 8-20 as a pro headed into the U.S. Open, so it's not as if he was an immediate star after leaving college, where his father was his coach.
He's quite a showman. I enjoyed how he played to the crowd, though I wonder whether he also did so when he was getting his butt kicked earlier in the year.
Whether he goes on to be the long-awaited next U.S. superstar or he's a one-hit wonder (or more likely something in between those extremes), he's a ton of fun to watch. His match against Djokovic should be fascinating because of the many contrasts: youth vs. experience; athleticism vs. precision; 150 mph serve vs. the best service-return game ever; etc.
Who wrote that piece?
A big part of Ben’s story is his meteoric rise in a short amount of time.
This is his first full season as a pro. The list of players to go from college tennis, to 165 ranking to top 20 ranking within a year is very, very short. Part of the story is just how fast he is doing so well. Meteoric would be a word I and many others would use. He was recently deciding between finishing a Finance degree and playing pro tennis.
He will be a very good player for a long time. He isn’t a flash in the pan. Each level of tennis has a massive adjustment to it. Whether that is juniors to pro or Challengers and ITF to ATP/WTA and within each.
Strange comments about Shelton’s celebrating too.
https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/tracy-austin-on-ben-shelton-s-meteoric-rise
Meteoric rise:
https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/2022/12/19/top-stories-2022-ben-shelton/
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His record as a pro this year was poor, but I do agree that he's going to be a star. He has the highest ceiling of any current American pro on the men's side, IMO.
That said, I wanted Tiafoe to advance. I'm not sure Shelton will have the composure to compete with Djokovic.
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His record as a pro this year was poor, but I do agree that he's going to be a star. He has the highest ceiling of any current American pro on the men's side, IMO.
That said, I wanted Tiafoe to advance. I'm not sure Shelton will have the composure to compete with Djokovic.
If it were his 5th year on tour that may mean something. It's his 1st. I don't think people understand the adustment periods to each level.
Example: Top 10 player Frances Tiafoe's tour level record by year:
7-18
28-27
23-27
9-11
33-24
35-25
37-15
Different players will adapt and adjust more quickly than others. And some won't make it at all.
Ben is right where he needs to be at this time.
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If it were his 5th year on tour that may mean something. It's his 1st. I don't think people understand the adustment periods to each level.
Example: Top 10 player Frances Tiafoe's tour level record by year:
7-18
28-27
23-27
9-11
33-24
35-25
37-15
Different players will adapt and adjust more quickly than others. And some won't make it at all.
Ben is right where he needs to be at this time.
The fact is you, nor anyone else, has any idea if he's going to be a star for years to come. These things are fluid and there are no certainties. Now obviously he has tremendous potential but as we have seen from many players over the years, including gs winners, nothing is guaranteed.
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The fact is you, nor anyone else, has any idea if he's going to be a star for years to come. These things are fluid and there are no certainties. Now obviously he has tremendous potential but as we have seen from many players over the years, including gs winners, nothing is guaranteed.
Did you even read my posts? I literally just posted an example of how difficult it is to adjust to tour level. I could post examples for days.
Should I post all of the times you gave up on Coco Gauff the paat few years or nah? Even when others said she was doing just fine. They added that success is ofren not linear.
I didn't say whether or not Ben would be a star. I did say he would be a very good player, and that he is doing very well, way better this soom than anyone could have imagined. I also added thst he's right where he needs to be. The posts are just above if you need to read them again.
You know another nice thing about Ben is he is quick to point out when he gets outplayed by a better player that day. No caveats.
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Did you even read my posts? I literally just posted an example of how difficult it is to adjust to tour level. I could post examples for days.
Should I post all of the times you gave up on Coco Gauff the paat few years or nah? Even when others said she was doing just fine. They added that success is ofren not linear.
I didn't say whether or not Ben would be a star. I did say he would be a very good player, and that he is doing very well, way better this soom than anyone could have imagined. I also added thst he's right where he needs to be. The posts are just above if you need to read them again.
You know another nice thing about Ben is he is quick to point out when he gets outplayed by a better player that day. No caveats.
My apologies,
I meant to respond to another post.
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Who wrote that piece?
A big part of Ben’s story is his meteoric rise in a short amount of time.
This is his first full season as a pro. The list of players to go from college tennis, to 165 ranking to top 20 ranking within a year is very, very short. Part of the story is just how fast he is doing so well. Meteoric would be a word I and many others would use. He was recently deciding between finishing a Finance degree and playing pro tennis.
He will be a very good player for a long time. He isn’t a flash in the pan. Each level of tennis has a massive adjustment to it. Whether that is juniors to pro or Challengers and ITF to ATP/WTA and within each.
It was in The Athletic's sports digest for the day.
Nobody said Shelton didn't have a meteoric rise. Nobody said he can't or wouldn't become a very good player. Nobody said he would be a flash in the pan. Nobody said there wasn't a massive adjustment.
Not sure why you felt the need, but you've done a fine job creating numerous strawmen.
I like watching Shelton play tennis, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a fine career. Heck, he's already equaled John Isner's career total of grand slam semifinal appearances and exceeded Isner's career total of U.S. Open semifinal appearances, so there's that.
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. Heck, he's already equaled John Isner's career total of grand slam semifinal appearances and exceeded Isner's career total of U.S. Open semifinal appearances, so there's that.
(https://media.tenor.com/a-G-aD7QgmYAAAAM/poking-extra-credits.gif)
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It was in The Athletic's sports digest for the day.
Nobody said Shelton didn't have a meteoric rise. Nobody said he can't or wouldn't become a very good player. Nobody said he would be a flash in the pan. Nobody said there wasn't a massive adjustment.
Not sure why you felt the need, but you've done a fine job creating numerous strawmen.
I like watching Shelton play tennis, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him have a fine career. Heck, he's already equaled John Isner's career total of grand slam semifinal appearances and exceeded Isner's career total of U.S. Open semifinal appearances, so there's that.
The very first line said that it was not as if Shelton was an immediate star since he left college. The facts are the exact opposite of that.
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So it's your contention that losing his first pro match in straight sets to James Duckworth = immediate star? Okey dokey then.
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I will say that a Djoker/Alcaraz Final will be must see TV. I wouldn't count Medvy out but wow is this kid impressive.
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So it's your contention that losing his first pro match in straight sets to James Duckworth = immediate star? Okey dokey then.
Actually his first ATP level match came against Ramkumar Ramanathan. But I’m not surprised that you didn’t know that.
Oh and yes.
13-17.
That was Roger Federer’s record his first year on tour.
But keep trying.
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Actually his first ATP level match came against Ramkumar Ramanathan. But I’m not surprised that you didn’t know that.
Oh and yes.
13-17.
That was Roger Federer’s record his first year on tour.
But keep trying.
Why don't you go through every person's record their first year on tour since Bill Tilden so we can figure out where Shelton will be a year, two years, and three years from now?
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Actually his first ATP level match came against Ramkumar Ramanathan. But I’m not surprised that you didn’t know that.
Oh and yes.
13-17.
That was Roger Federer’s record his first year on tour.
But keep trying.
Thanks for the correction. I had looked only at 2023 results. But please be real - you only "knew that" because you looked it up. Even a Tennis Rain Man like you doesn't know every match played by every pro in tennis history.
Roger Federer's record has nothing to do with anybody but Roger Federer.
Keep looking for strawmen.
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Why don't you go through every person's record their first year on tour since Bill Tilden so we can figure out where Shelton will be a year, two years, and three years from now?
Because that isn't how it works.
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Thanks for the correction. I had looked only at 2023 results. But please be real - you only "knew that" because you looked it up. Even a Tennis Rain Man like you doesn't know every match played by every pro in tennis history.
Roger Federer's record has nothing to do with anybody but Roger Federer.
Keep looking for strawmen.
You posted a small piece of an article without the author's name that said it wasn't as though Ben Shelton was an immediate star since leaving college to play professional tennis. I asked so I could read the rest of the piece myself. The part you included wasn't true.
It matters because Ben's story or narrative is the exact opposite of that. So it seemed like an odd thing for an author to say. Clearly the author of that piece doesn't seem to know the general standard of immediate success in professional tennis.
The general frequent thought is that his rise has been meteoric. That is defined as "very rapid" by Dictionary dot com.
He left college a year ago. One year later, he's the youngest American US Open Men's semifinalist, since Michael Chang in 1992. His year end ranking has gone from 573 in 2021 to 96 in 2022 to 19 and counting as 2023 is his first full professional season. And, that season isn't yet complete. He's also ranked 17th in the world in the 2023 points race. He's 20 years old. That's immediate in even the strictest definitions of the term by anyone in tennis.
Instead of saying yes that part of The Athletic piece is incorrect and moving on, you have since desperately tried to play gotcha out of self manufactured spite.
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Cool.
Define "immediate" any way you need to in order to create more strawmen.
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Cool.
Define "immediate" any way you need to in order to create more strawmen.
Lol. Your own manufactured spite keeps making it worse for you.
How so?
I was wondering why you didn’t name the author or post the link to the article for more context. Well you are in luck. I happen to be a long time The Athletic subscriber. So I looked up the article myself.
1)The author of the piece, Chris Branch, didn’t say what you initially posted. You added that to what you copied and pasted.
2)Therefore, instead of me saying the author is incorrect. I am now saying that what you added to the piece is incorrect.
Instead of saying all of that, you doubled and tripled down instead.
I brought receipts too:
https://theathletic.com/4837134/2023/09/06/ben-shelton-us-open-the-pulse/?source=user_shared_article
https://theathletic.com/4837134/2023/09/06/ben-shelton-us-open-the-pulse/?source=user_shared_article
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Sigh. The part I took from info in The Athletic was in the paragraph in which I mentioned The Athletic:
A little more on Shelton from The Athletic: He was only 8-20 as a pro headed into the U.S. Open, so it's not as if he was an immediate star after leaving college, where his father was his coach.
The rest were my observations, which I thought was pretty clear:
He's quite a showman. I enjoyed how he played to the crowd, though I wonder whether he also did so when he was getting his butt kicked earlier in the year.
Whether he goes on to be the long-awaited next U.S. superstar or he's a one-hit wonder (or more likely something in between those extremes), he's a ton of fun to watch. His match against Djokovic should be fascinating because of the many contrasts: youth vs. experience; athleticism vs. precision; 150 mph serve vs. the best service-return game ever; etc.
And none of that was exactly controversial.
But you go on being outraged, inventing strawmen, and showing the rest of us that you are the world's foremost tennis authority.
I am curious about one thing, though:
How many times before this tournament started did you mention Ben Shelton on Scoop?
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In 2021 Ben Shelton won the deciding match to help the University of Florida win the NCAA Title.
In 2022, Ben won the NCAA Singles Title.
He has since reached 2 ATP Challenger Finals, and 2 semifinals.
This week he has won his first ATP 1000 match, and he had his first win over a top 100 player, moving into the World Top 200. And now, he has added a win over the 5th ranked player in the World.
Ben, 19, is the son of former tour player Bryan, who has long been the Women’s coach at Georgia Tech and most recently, the Men’s coach at Florida.
Free Ben Shelton.
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Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram are now 1 win away from being the first Men’s Doubles team to win the United States Open 3 times in a row since…
1912-1914.
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Deep breath Coco
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Weird interruption - and way of handling. Will be interesting to hear the explanation.
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Weird interruption - and way of handling. Will be interesting to hear the explanation.
I just got home from work. WTH is going on? Ty.
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Seems like an environmental protest. One protester remaining - this is a guess- seems to still be there and may have secured him or herself to a chair
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Seems like an environmental protest. One protester remaining - this is a guess- seems to still be there and may have secured him or herself to a chair
Sweet Jesus. A 40+ minute delay because of this!! Inexcusable.
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I think the person would have continued to shout, and that’s the problem with play. Why they can’t cut the person loose (if that’s what it is) I don’t know.
Credit to broadcast so far for not having shown the exact nature of the protest (though I think the announcers have wanted to!)
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I think the person would have continued to shout, and that’s the problem with play. Why they can’t cut the person loose (if that’s what it is) I don’t know.
Credit to broadcast so far for not having shown the exact nature of the protest (though I think the announcers have wanted to!)
Glued his feet to the cement floor. Are these the same people destroying Van Gogh paintings?
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Glued his feet to the cement floor. Are these the same people destroying Van Gogh paintings?
Wonder if the person used FlexSuper Glue. If so, they are not moving. At least according to the infomercial.
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How many times before this tournament started did you mention Ben Shelton on Scoop?
In 2021 Ben Shelton won the deciding match to help the University of Florida win the NCAA Title.
In 2022, Ben won the NCAA Singles Title.
He has since reached 2 ATP Challenger Finals, and 2 semifinals.
This week he has won his first ATP 1000 match, and he had his first win over a top 100 player, moving into the World Top 200. And now, he has added a win over the 5th ranked player in the World.
Ben, 19, is the son of former tour player Bryan, who has long been the Women’s coach at Georgia Tech and most recently, the Men’s coach at Florida.
So the answer to my question is: Once. 13 months ago, you cut-and-pasted some facts about Ben Shelton. You didn't predict "immediate" stardom or any other kind of stardom for him.
You simply presented facts, which is cool. I asked if you had mentioned Shelton on Scoop, and indeed you had. So congrats; you got me there.
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Keys better not let this set slip away. This is why I reiterate dropping the hammer when you have the opportunity.
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Ughhh. That absolutely sucked.
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Both Gauff and Keys need some close out mental improvement. Both players in the first match were forehand chipping and moonballing in the end.
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Time for Keys to slam the fking door.
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There have been crazy amount of unforced errors in both of these matches.
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Sabalenka’s grunt is the noise I make every time I hit “post” on scoop
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Sabalenka’s grunt is the noise I make every time I hit “post” on scoop
LOL!!!
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There have been crazy amount of unforced errors in both of these matches.
Part of it is the fatigue and slog of the tournament but I agree. Lot of baffling mental errors too
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They are just crushing the ball, so powerful
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Ya.....this is just crazy. Especially Sabalenka's forehand flying all over the place.
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They are just crushing the ball, so powerful
They are probably the two biggest hitters for sure. You would think taking a bit off at times would make sense. Especially on a basic forehand in the middle of the court or against a 2nd serve.
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Very disappointing. Keys had plenty of chances. But give Sabalenka credit for playing a great tiebreaker in the 3rd.
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Pressure kills.
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Sabalenka dominated that breaker. Played fearless
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Sabalenka dominated that breaker. Played fearless
Exactly
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Sigh. The part I took from info in The Athletic was in the paragraph in which I mentioned The Athletic:
The rest were my observations, which I thought was pretty clear:
And none of that was exactly controversial.
But you go on being outraged, inventing strawmen, and showing the rest of us that you are the world's foremost tennis authority.
I am curious about one thing, though:
How many times before this tournament started did you mention Ben Shelton on Scoop?
No. It wasn't clear. You cut and pasted something and mixed in your own thoughts with it, to change the meaning of the piece. When you were asked to provide the author or article link you didn't.
The only person upset and outraged is you. This part is called projection.
Next you are desperately seeking the support of the group with tour tribal thinking that got you here in the first place.
I never said I was the world's most tennis authority, you just did but thanks.
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So the answer to my question is: Once. 13 months ago, you cut-and-pasted some facts about Ben Shelton. You didn't predict "immediate" stardom or any other kind of stardom for him.
You simply presented facts, which is cool. I asked if you had mentioned Shelton on Scoop, and indeed you had. So congrats; you got me there.
I didn't cut and paste a thing. I actually follow tennis. You are projecting again because you copied and pasted something while mixing in your own thoughts.
I do attend tournaments, trainings, events, pro, college, other including this event. And I do know some of these people, yes.
I don't make prediictionscin any sport. I don’t believe in it as a personal rule. I also don't need to make any regarding this topic because my prediction isn't relevant to conclude whether or not a player had a meteoric rise.
I didn't need to post a single thing about Ben Shelton in the past. And as luck would have it, I did anyway.
You thought you were playing gotcha again. And once again it backfired. Maybe sit this ome out. It isn't going well for you.
But I am happy to talk tennis in the tennis thread. And I will in a little bit when I get a chance.
Free Madi Keys.
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(https://media0.giphy.com/media/UDGsrvKYgv7PAiLvu3/200w.gif?cid=6c09b952sayamnahs9h7m6ubbwjgup4qj02frpq4ij0nw7bh&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=200w.gif&ct=g)
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Pressure kills.
Pressure is a privilege.
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I didn't cut and paste a thing. I actually follow tennis. You are projecting again because you copied and pasted something while mixing in your own thoughts.
I do attend tournaments, trainings, events, pro, college, other including this event. And I do know some of these people, yes.
I don't make prediictionscin any sport. I don’t believe in it as a personal rule. I also don't need to make any regarding this topic because my prediction isn't relevant to conclude whether or not a player had a meteoric rise.
I didn't need to post a single thing about Ben Shelton in the past. And as luck would have it, I did anyway.
You thought you were playing gotcha again. And once again it backfired. Maybe sit this ome out. It isn't going well for you.
But I am happy to talk tennis in the tennis thread. And I will in a little bit when I get a chance.
Free Madi Keys.
But do you play?
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Ben is likely going to be a star and will be ranked in the top 20 even if he loses to Djokovic today.
This run was also unexpected given his record on tour this year. Both things can be true.
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Glued his feet to the cement floor.
(Old man voice) I remember when cement shoes meant something in New York. Damn kids.
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Shelton had some great wins against some very good players.
Djokovic isn’t merely very good. (Thanks, Captain Obvious.)
Great tournament for the kid. It would appear he has an extremely bright future.
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But do you play?
Short answer: I do. Yes.
…………….
It isn’t the only one. It’s one of 4 sports (soccer, basketball, baseball as well) that I’ve played at what would be considered a higher level. And with those sports my interest level, work experience, etc.. is at all levels from youth to college to various professional levels. That’s more my thing. Playing, Coaching, Scouting, Recruiting, Player and Business Development etc..
I like other sports too beyond that 4, such as hockey, football, college and professional etc..I like several Summer Olympic Sports etc…but my playing level with some of those would be considered less organized or more recreational.
I don’t really dislike any sports. But there are a few that just aren’t for me as well. Some others I may like in smaller or more casual doses.
But like I said, it doesn’t matter if I play or not. I do. And it’s helpful to discuss. But it isn’t required. We all know ineffective sports commentators or coaches for example that played at the highest levels in their sports. It’s a different job. And there are examples of coaches, execs etc..who never really played their sport who have been successful. So it all depends. Each situation is unique.
Tennis a great sport. Some of the best stories and things about it aren’t always things many people probably get to see and experience.
And training, game planning, preparation, tactics, adjustments competing, athleticism etc are all great fun in tennis as they are in other sports too.
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Ben is likely going to be a star and will be ranked in the top 20 even if he loses to Djokovic today.
This run was also unexpected given his record on tour this year. Both things can be true.
Not sure if this is referencing my discussion or not? If it is, that wasn’t the discussion.
To go from college tennis and ranked in the mid 500’s hundreds, to top 100 end of last year, to top 50 prior to this event, would be considered very fast, immediate success as a professional via multiple tours. It’s about 19 recent wins. And wins in big moments against big players all prior to this event.
And of course his continued success will not likely be linear as is the case with many.
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Shelton is incredible to watch and has a ton of fight, but his decision (and coaching ?) to have him try these drop shots is questionable. Joker is murdering him on every attempt
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What a fun third set. Good on Shelton for making Djokovic sweat. And how ’bout Djokovic mocking Shelton “hanging up the phone” at the end? Good stuff.
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Late set decision making, one thing Novak will always have and the young americans need to work on. That of course will come with more big match experience. Excited to watch more Shelton. But he loses patience quite quickly. A trait I had for quite a while as well.
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Late set decision making, one thing Novak will always have and the young americans need to work on. That of course will come with more big match experience. Excited to watch more Shelton. But he loses patience quite quickly. A trait I had for quite a while as well.
I've never lost patience.
Anyway, nice to hear the kid pushed Novak in the 3rd.
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Medvy came to play tonight. Alcaraz is going to have to dig deep.
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Wow. Alcaraz is completely out of sorts.
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Well, dang it.
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Well, dang it.
Medvy deserved it even though Alcaraz was way off the 2nd set. He also handled a hostile and somewhat ridiculous crowd.
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Medvy deserved it even though Alcaraz was way off the 2nd set. He also handled a hostile and somewhat ridiculous crowd.
Yes, to all of that. I just am an Alcaraz fan, so I wish he won.
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From the NYT's DealBook:
The U.S. Open has been as gripping as ever this year, with Novak Djokovic seeking a 24th Grand Slam win and the 19-year-old breakout star Coco Gauff set to face off against Aryna Sabalenka in today’s singles final. But as a business, tennis has been struggling for years — and faces new pressure to find a sustainable model as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, known as P.I.F., has made major investments in sports, sloshing money around in golf, soccer and mixed martial arts.
Some deal makers wonder whether tennis, which has already confirmed initial talks with Saudi Arabia, will be the fund’s next target.
Players are ready for a change. “Of all the important sports around the world, I think tennis is clearly the one with the greatest opportunity for financial growth and the most unrealized value,” Maria Sharapova, the retired tennis star, told DealBook.
Despite the popularity of tennis, the sport brings in only 1.3 percent of earnings from global media sports rights. That’s partly because tennis is made up of myriad entities — including the Women’s Tennis Association; the U.S. Tennis Association ; and independent tournaments. The independently operated organizations make scheduling tournaments difficult and diminish bargaining power for sponsorship and media deals. Erratic scheduling and long matches don’t help entice broadcasters.
Financial missteps are reflected in pay for players, most of whom earn little while having to pay for coaches, training sessions and travel expenses to play in the game.
That’s why Sharapova thinks the sport should explore bringing in outside capital, whether it be a private equity firm or sovereign wealth fund. It’s also why many believe tennis could be vulnerable to a rival sports league if P.I.F. were to repeat the playbook it used in golf, where its LIV golf tour eventually struck a deal to partner with the PGA Tour to help settle acrimonious litigation.
Could a merger solve the problem? The private equity firm CVC Capital Partners bought a stake in the women’s professional tennis this year, in hopes of capitalizing on the sport’s commercial promise. There has been speculation that CVC could merge the women’s and men’s tours. But such a deal is complex, requiring sign offs from multiple parties that don’t all share the same views.
Other private equity investors are circling with similar aims, DealBook has heard. But it’s not clear any investor or fund could compete with the deep pockets of P.I.F., which has so far shown little interest in returns.
Not everyone in tennis opposes Saudi money. Most standouts argue that accepting investment from P.I.F. could help the country reframe its tarnished reputation. But others say that tennis should be more concerned with its bottom line: The women’s professional tennis tour’s decision to suspend all tournaments in China after the disappearance of the tennis player Peng Shuai, for instance, dented the WTA’s business — and ultimately failed to pressure China into granting a meeting with Ms. Shuai.
Some players say that Saudi money could help with pay equity, a longstanding problem in the sport. Outside the four grand slam events last year, men earned about 70 percent more on average than women did during tournaments. Though the women’s tour struck a deal for pay equity this year, the new structure won’t be in place for another decade. If Saudi Arabia “could help getting us to equal prize money, though there are negatives, there’s a lot of positives that can come out of it,” Jessica Pegula, the third-ranked player, told Reuters in July.
But there is little consensus. As rumors swirled this week that the WTA would hold its finals in Saudi Arabia, the former tennis star Chris Evert pushed back. “I would be against it,” Evert said, “but I don’t have a vote.”
Those who did have a vote apparently sided with Evert: The WTA announced on Thursday it will hold the event in Cancún, Mexico.
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Yes, to all of that. I just am an Alcaraz fan, so I wish he won.
Alcaraz was having trampoline issues with his forehand and it sidetracked him for a about a set in a half. That said Medvy probably would have won either way. As I said during the tournament he was flying under the radar a bit. When he plays at that level, on his favorite surface, he is absolutely capable of beating anyone. Including the Djoker tomorrow. He served great as well and Alcaraz was not getting free points on his serve. I think Carlos needs to thwack his 1st serve a bit bigger and he can.
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I'm sorry but cheering someone double-faulting is embarrassing. That said Coco just needs to be solid. No need to try and overpower Sabalenka.
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Ughhh. Coco just needs to forget about that 1st set because it was seriously putrid. It's not like Sabalenka is playing great either. Way, way too many unforced errors. Get into some rallies and start playing with confidence and precision.
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Let's go now! Coco has raised her level and shown a lot of poise. Time to slam the door in the 3rd.
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Very exciting match. Will Coco stay on the front foot? Will Sabalenka dig to another level like she did against Keys? Or, will she mentally falter?
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Coco is breaking Sabalenka’s spirit. What a display of tennis, both offensively and defensively. Wow
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Very exciting match. Will Coco stay on the front foot? Will Sabalenka dig to another level like she did against Keys? Or, will she mentally falter?
Notwithstanding a few dopes this is one of the most electric crowds I've ever heard . Coco's movement is incredible. Tremendous athlete. Sabalenka can't do what she did to Keys because Gauff has Tier 1 Zoomability.
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Notwithstanding a few dopes this is one of the most electric crowds I've ever heard . Coco's movement is incredible. Tremendous athlete. Sabalenka can't do what she did to Keys because Gauff has Tier 1 Zoomability.
I’m not a tennis player, I like to play, but I didn’t play growing up. However, going to a US Open final has skyrocketed to the top of my must do experiences. Awesome environment.
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That was pretty awesome. Especially her hugging both of her parents. And the young lady played a tremendous 3rd set.
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R-e-l-a-x.
We in here. Late night Latin food for everyone.
111th street.
Bump.
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https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/1700637275913429323?t=llDsgcnGp1rze4Sa59SJ1A&s=19
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'Metica North American Swing Sweep complete.
Gauff's.contribution to it:
18-1
5-1 vs World Top 10
8-1 vs World Top 20
DC Title
World number 1 dub (over Swiatek)
Cincinnati Title
World number 1 dub (over Sabalenka)
United States Open Title
World number 3 in singles.
World number 1 in doubles.
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Gauff v Sabalenka:
Going in, Gauff had defeated Sabalenka three years in a row. (now 4)
Sabalenka had won 13 titles, 11 of them on hard courts. 5 straight slam semifinals or better, all surfaces. New World number 1.
Sabalenka stands farther back on service returns to give herself more time. And she had s game plan to attack the Gauff forehand off of both sides.
Both players had a bit of nerves early. And that can break down fundamentals.
Gauff needed to up her footwork, hit through the ball, with more topspin and slice variety with much more depth. And she needed to up her first serve. Starts and stops with serve and service return.
2nd set Gauff won 81% of her first serves and returned serve at 92%. Sabalenka was solid but not nowhere near those levels.
Making Sabalenka play extra balls eventually decreased Sabalenka’s aggressiveness. And you have to turn defense into offense with better fundamentals and better execution.’Nsd that’s what Gauff did.
Sabalenka became the player that wasn’t getting her usual depth on shots which allowed more aggressive offensive shots from Gauff to force more errors.
Gauff had 10 errors in the first set, and she had just 7 unforced errors in the 2nd set. And she had just 2 in the third or 2 sets combined less errors than the first.
Receiving points won was down to 41% by the end for Sabalenka as Gauff upped her serve level.
Finding a way to win the match you are in regardless of circumstances or either player’s level.
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Gauff v Sabalenka:
Going in, Gauff had defeated Sabalenka three years in a row. (now 4)
Sabalenka had won 13 titles, 11 of them on hard courts. 5 straight slam semifinals or better, all surfaces. New World number 1.
Sabalenka stands farther back on service returns to give herself more time. And she had s game plan to attack the Gauff forehand off of both sides.
Both players had a bit of nerves early. And that can break down fundamentals.
Gauff needed to up her footwork, hit through the ball, with more topspin and slice variety with much more depth. And she needed to up her first serve. Starts and stops with serve and service return.
2nd set Gauff won 81% of her first serves and returned serve at 92%. Sabalenka was solid but not nowhere near those levels.
Making Sabalenka play extra balls eventually decreased Sabalenka’s aggressiveness. And you have to turn defense into offense with better fundamentals and better execution.’Nsd that’s what Gauff did.
Sabalenka became the player that wasn’t getting her usual depth on shots which allowed more aggressive offensive shots from Gauff to force more errors.
Gauff had 10 errors in the first set, and she had just 7 unforced errors in the 2nd set. And she had just 2 in the third or 2 sets combined less errors than the first.
Receiving points won was down to 41% by the end for Sabalenka as Gauff upped her serve level.
Finding a way to win the match you are in regardless of circumstances or either player’s level.
Sabelnka had a ton of unforced errors (including total sitters) and Gauff played much better the last set and a half. But regardless Gauff's speed and her forehand in the 3rd was the reason Sabalenka was introduced to darkness and lost her will.
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Sabelnka had a ton of unforced errors (including total sitters) and Gauff played much better the last set and a half. But regardless Gauff's speed and her forehand in the 3rd was the reason Sabalenka was introduced to darkness and lost her will.
Sabalenka is the nunber 1 player in the world. She's advanced to 5 straight slam semis or better. She didn't lose her will and she wasn't.introduced to darkness whatever that means. That's absurd and inaccurate.
I listed the reasons why Gauff won. And I am sure you were most surprised by it considering your past and recent posts of doubt..
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I’m not a tennis player, I like to play, but I didn’t play growing up. However, going to a US Open final has skyrocketed to the top of my must do experiences. Awesome environment.
Finals aren’t all like that one. That was one of the special ones, and one of the loudest. There is however always some type of September magic in Flushing Meadows. Great event every year. Summer in the City.
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What did you do 10 days before your Freshman year in college?
San Diego native Katherine Hui lost in the US Open Qualifying tourney. She was then given a last minute wildcard into the US Open Girls Junior event.
She then won straight, 4 over ITF top 20 world juniors, en route to the US Open Girls Singles Title.
The 18 year old will begin Fall classes at Stanford within two weeks.
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I happen to think there is a difference between "great" and "all-time great." You apparently do not.
Michael Chang was a great tennis player for many years. I happen to not think he was an "all-time great." David Duval was the No. 1 golfer in the world at one time and if not for injuries and other things, who knows how good he could have been? He was great ... but I don't happen to think he was an "all-time great" golfer.
But you're free to categorize "Delpo" anyway you want. Call him the greatest ever for all I care.
I'll say he was a fine tennis player for his time who definitely was not an all-time great, and I'll risk being tsk-tsked by you for all eternity.
What a silly debate this has been. Thankfully, hardly any of our fellow Scoopers bother with this thread, so we haven't ruined anything for anybody.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Chang Delpo is an accurate comparison.
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I’ve never loved Medvedev, but he is a tremendous heel, especially at the US Open, and has fantastic self awareness about it. Can’t help but enjoy him playing that role
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I’ve never loved Medvedev, but he is a tremendous heel, especially at the US Open, and has fantastic self awareness about it. Can’t help but enjoy him playing that role
He can win this match but has to find a way to win the 2nd set.
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Oh boy.....the Djoker could be hurt.
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OMG what a shot!! That was seriously sick by Novak.
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The Djoker's mental strength is just extraordinary. I'm a huge Rafa guy but it's impossible not to have tremendous respect for Novak.
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Djoker has been absolutely dominant at the net today. Medvy seems to have no answers.
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My prediction is Djokovic hits 27 g-slams by the time he retires. He'll get 3 more in two years imo.
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My prediction is Djokovic hits 27 g-slams by the time he retires. He'll get 3 more in two years imo.
Greatest tennis player ever, full stop. He’d probably have 26 now if he hadn’t been blacklisted by the Australian and US Opens in 2022. He appears pretty healthy despite his vaccination status.
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Greatest tennis player ever, full stop. He’d probably have 26 now if he hadn’t been blacklisted by the Australian and US Opens in 2022. He appears pretty healthy despite his vaccination status.
He wasn’t blacklisted. He made a choice.
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Greatest tennis player ever, full stop. He’d probably have 26 now if he hadn’t been blacklisted by the Australian and US Opens in 2022. He appears pretty healthy despite his vaccination status.
He made a decision to come to the net more today. He was getting hurt in the long rallies so he tweaked his game plan Lenny. I think he wound up like 36/40 at the net and I don't think he was moving 100% The guy is ridiculous and you make a fair point that he coukd easily have 26.
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He wasn’t blacklisted. He made a choice.
You're right and I get the '21 decisions. Sept 2022 is harder to understand. And the fact that tennis is an outdoor sport with 2 players nowhere near each other is also worth noting. He made these decisions but the edict after a full year is very debatable.
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You're right and I get the '21 decisions. Sept 2022 is harder to understand. And the fact that tennis is an outdoor sport with 2 players nowhere near each other is also worth noting. He made these decisions but the edict after a full year is very debatable.
Maybe. But he made his choice.
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Maybe. But he made his choice.
That's fair and he has said as much. I criticized him at the onset of C-19. But it's very difficult to rationally believe that in the Fall of '22 he should have been banned from playing in NYC.
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Saudi money means they run the show ... like LIV golf. The schedule will change, and many major tournaments will move to the Middle East.
And players will be expected to tell the world have great the Saudis are.
September 10, 2023
Saudi Arabia Is Pouring Money in Sports. Is Tennis Next?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/business/dealbook/tennis-business-saudi-arabia.html
Despite the popularity of tennis, its business has struggled.
The U.S. Open has been as gripping as ever this year, with the 19-year-old breakout star Coco Gauff set to face off against Aryna Sabalenka in today’s singles final and Novak Djokovic seeking a 24th Grand Slam win tomorrow. But as a business, tennis has been struggling for years — and faces new pressure to find a sustainable model as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, known as P.I.F., has made major investments in sports, sloshing money around in golf, soccer and mixed martial arts.
Some deal makers wonder whether tennis, which has already confirmed initial talks with Saudi Arabia, will be the fund’s next target.
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Despite the popularity of tennis, the sport brings in only 1.3 percent of earnings from global media sports rights. That’s partly because tennis is made up of myriad entities — including the Women’s Tennis Association; the U.S. Tennis Association; and independent tournaments. The independently operated organizations make scheduling tournaments difficult and diminish bargaining power for sponsorship and media deals. Erratic scheduling and long matches don’t help entice broadcasters.
Financial missteps are reflected in pay for players, most of whom earn little while having to pay for coaches, training sessions and travel expenses to play in the game.
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Not everyone in tennis opposes Saudi money. Most standouts argue that accepting investment from P.I.F. could help the country reframe its tarnished reputation. But others say that tennis should be more concerned with its bottom line: The women’s professional tennis tour’s decision to suspend all tournaments in China after the disappearance of the tennis player Peng Shuai, for instance, dented the WTA’s business — and ultimately failed to pressure China into granting a meeting with Ms. Shuai.
Some players say that Saudi money could help with pay equity, a longstanding problem in the sport. Outside the four grand slam events last year, men earned about 70 percent more on average than women did during tournaments. Though the women’s tour struck a deal for pay equity this year, the new structure won’t be in place for another decade. If Saudi Arabia “could help getting us to equal prize money, though there are negatives, there’s a lot of positives that can come out of it,” Jessica Pegula, the third-ranked player, told Reuters in July.
But there is little consensus. As rumors swirled this week that the WTA would hold its finals in Saudi Arabia, the former tennis star Chris Evert pushed back. “I would be against it,” Evert said, “but I don’t have a vote.”
Those who did have a vote apparently sided with Evert: The WTA announced on Thursday it will hold the event in Cancún, Mexico.
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You're right and I get the '21 decisions. Sept 2022 is harder to understand. And the fact that tennis is an outdoor sport with 2 players nowhere near each other is also worth noting. He made these decisions but the edict after a full year is very debatable.
“Players nowhere near each other.”
Hotels, car services, and when on site…. Players operations center, warm up rooms, Locker rooms, lounges, restaurants, fitness centers, racket stringing room, gifting suite, recovery room, quiet room, salon, indoor indoor courts, laundry drop off etc…and these are just some of the indoor things on just 3 levels inside at BJK Center, let alone elsewhere inside or outside on site. That doesn’t count hundreds of thousands of fans, staff, on site as well… etc…
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“Players nowhere near each other.”
Hotels, car services, and when on site…. Players operations center, warm up rooms, Locker rooms, lounges, restaurants, fitness centers, racket stringing room, gifting suite, recovery room, quiet room, salon, indoor indoor courts, laundry drop off etc…and these are just some of the indoor things on just 3 levels inside at BJK Center, let alone elsewhere inside or outside on site. That doesn’t count hundreds of thousands of fans, staff, on site as well… etc…
Were fans excluded from the tournament if they weren't vaxed?
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Were fans excluded from the tournament if they weren't vaxed?
Spectators for the 2022 Australian Open were required to be double-vaccinated, just like the players and tournament officials.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-australian-open-2022-novak-djokovic-gets-call-from-serbia-thanks-fans-for-support/408743
Australia took Covid very seriously. It didn't even lift its ban on unvaccinated people traveling into the country until July 2022.
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Spectators for the 2022 Australian Open were required to be double-vaccinated, just like the players and tournament officials.
https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-australian-open-2022-novak-djokovic-gets-call-from-serbia-thanks-fans-for-support/408743
Australia took Covid very seriously. It didn't even lift its ban on unvaccinated people traveling into the country until July 2022.
Thanks for the Australian info, I was too lazy to look. What about the US Open, though? Wasn't it a government ban on unvaxed foreigners?
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Thanks for the Australian info, I was too lazy to look. What about the US Open, though? Wasn't it a government ban on unvaxed foreigners?
I can't remember ... and I'M too lazy to look!
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Thanks for the Australian info, I was too lazy to look. What about the US Open, though? Wasn't it a government ban on unvaxed foreigners?
Yes. The CDC required full vaccination to enter the country.
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957,387 US Open Attendance for 2023.
+8 %
2nd highest Women’s Final rating since the broadcast left Network television in 2014.
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New year. New dates for the WTA San Diego 500 next year.
Feb 23-March 3rd, 2024.
This is one week before the Indian Wells and Miami Open Sunshine Double. Therefore, it should help deliver a strong draw.
This year’s San Diego Open has 3 Americans in the Final Four.
Danielle Collins already has wins over the World number 10 and 16 players. (just 5 errors v World number 10) And, she is helping to prolong the retirement of CoCo Vandeweghe, as they advanced to the Doubles Final.
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Nadal conceded in an interview that Djoker is the GOAT. He essentially said numbers are numbers. However, when you look at their head to head numbers Rafa is 11-7 vs Novak in Majors and 5-4 in Major Finals. I will admit to being a Rafa guy but if nothing else it's really, really, close.
The level of dominance on the dirt by Nadal imo is among the greatest accomplishments in the history of sports. I will accept Rafa statement for now but I don't think the man is done. Do not be surprised if he makes one more run at the last three Majors of '24.
As a side note I also think that Federer is the most talented of the B3. I recall certain matches where Fed's A game was at a ceiling no one else could reach. He also blew at least 2 or 3 Major titles vs both of them respectively. That said he was never as consistent or as mentally strong as Rafa or Novak. His backhand in particular could break down. Between Nadal and the Djoker I don't see how anyone could be stronger mentally, in any sport, but I think what may give Novak the infinitesimal edge is his flexibility on the return of serve.
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Nadal conceded in an interview that Djoker is the GOAT. He essentially said numbers are numbers. However, when you look at their head to head numbers Rafa is 11-7 vs Novak in Majors and 5-4 in Major Finals. I will admit to being a Rafa guy but if nothing else it's really, really, close.
Thats heavily slanted to the Clay however. Novak leads 5-3 in Majors on all other surfaces. Further, Nadal hasn't beaten Novak off of the clay in LITERALLY a decade. Nadal is the best clay courter of all time by a mile and its Novak's weakest surface. Novak has won more Aussies than Nadal has won the other 3 majors combined. Hell, he's one off of that at Wimbledon too.
Ive always found Rafa to be a classy guy but his recent comments on Novak in recent years have seemed pretty petty and bitter.
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Emiliana Arango, first Columbian to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal. (Mexico) Dubs over Potapova, Stephens, Townsend.
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Thats heavily slanted to the Clay however. Novak leads 5-3 in Majors on all other surfaces. Further, Nadal hasn't beaten Novak off of the clay in LITERALLY a decade. Nadal is the best clay courter of all time by a mile and its Novak's weakest surface. Novak has won more Aussies than Nadal has won the other 3 majors combined. Hell, he's one off of that at Wimbledon too.
Ive always found Rafa to be a classy guy but his recent comments on Novak in recent years have seemed pretty petty and bitter.
What comments are you referring to?
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Emiliana Arango, first Columbian to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal. (Mexico) Dubs over Potapova, Stephens, Townsend.
50th WTA 1000 Round of 16 for Vika Azarenka since the format began in 2009. Only Kvitova, Radwanska, Wozniacki, have more.
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Former Hinsdale Central Red Devil, Caroline Dolehide, in her 8th year on tour, has advanced to her first ever WTA Final, and it’s a 1000 in Guadalajara, Mexico. (she moved to Florida is a teen)
The 25 year old is 111th ranked, 19th ranked American, she has defeated 3 Americans along the way. She will play the winner of Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia in the final.
The doubles specialist will be ranked in the top 50 in singles, at minimum, next week.
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19 year old Springfield, MO native Ashlyn Krueger won the title in Osaka. Improves ranking to 76, breaking the top 100 for the first time.
Well deserved, Maria Sakkari wins her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara.
17 of the World Top 100 Women's Singles players are American.
Asian Swing is back, including in China, after a 4 year absence. 7 events. Concerns over the well being of Peng Shuai sparked the boycott.
WTA Singles and Doubles Finals, Cancun:
Top 8 Singles and Doubles teams to play the annual round robin:
Already qualified in singles:
Sabalenka
Swiatek
Gauff
Rybakina
Gauff/Pegula have already qualified in doubles.
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Ningbo, China WTA 250 Champion:
Ons Jabeur.
…………..
Tokyo, Japan WTA 500 Champion:
Veronika Kudermetova. (well earned)
…………..
Beijing, China 1000 ongoing this week.
After winning her tour leading 14th match in a row, Coco Gauff becomes the first teenager to win 45 matches at 1000 level events since the format was introduced 14 years ago. She surpassed Belinda Bencic for 2nd most 1000 wins in a season by a teen, and she is tied with Bibi Andreescu for the most.
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A deal has been reached to keep the WTA/ATP Cincinnati tourney in Cincinnati for the next 25 years.
125 year old event, same location since 1979.
$260 million in renovations split between owner ($130 million) local, state, (around $50 million) other, funding.
Charlotte had proposed and approved some public money ($65 million) for a $400 million complex in its River District.
The event, a Masters 1,000 event, (which is big words for 1 of 9 biggest just below a slam) will move to a 2 week schedule beginning in 2025.
The event is owned by the investment firm of Ben Navarro. Navarro also owns several tennis facilities in South Carolina, including the WTA Charleston professional tour stop.
His daughter Emma won the NCAA Singles title at Virginia and is an emerging top 50 WTA player.
Long live the Mason, Ohio Applebee’s. (RIP, iykyk)
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A deal has been reached to keep the WTA/ATP Cincinnati tourney in Cincinnati for the next 25 years.
125 year old event, same location since 1979.
$260 million in renovations split between owner ($130 million) local, state, (around $50 million) other, funding.
Charlotte had proposed and approved some public money ($65 million) for a $400 million complex in its River District.
The event, a Masters 1,000 event, (which is big words for 1 of 9 biggest just below a slam) will move to a 2 week schedule beginning in 2025.
The event is owned by the investment firm of Ben Navarro. Navarro also owns several tennis facilities in South Carolina, including the WTA Charleston professional tour stop.
His daughter Emma won the NCAA Singles title at Virginia and is an emerging top 50 WTA player.
Long live the Mason, Ohio Applebee’s. (RIP, iykyk)
This tournament was always going on when we were driving out to Cincinnati to move the daughter into Xavier for the school year. It was one of the benchmarks after 10.5 hours of driving to see a parking lot full of cars and a full stadium of people watching a late afternoon match.
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This tournament was always going on when we were driving out to Cincinnati to move the daughter into Xavier for the school year. It was one of the benchmarks after 10.5 hours of driving to see a parking lot full of cars and a full stadium of people watching a late afternoon match.
Yep, that and seeing the rides at Kings Island next door I'm sure.
It's like a fork in the road a little bit towards Dayton or Columbus.
The long time legendary hangout was Applebee's, for anyone and everyone. Very unique on tour.
It's a good location for weekend road trips for Midwesterners. I also know some tennis people that will travel there from the coasts more often than New York because it's easier, less crowded, less stressful. Many players have liked the quiet family friendly atmosphere compared to some of the other tour stops. And it's a good tennis weather time of year, warm and humid.
Xavier has their outdoor courts on campus and they play indoor at Eastern Hills which is about 5 miles SE.
There's also still the Winston Salem event and Charleston in the Carolinas.
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Nice. It would have been fine to have it here, but I like when cities can keep the sporting events that have become a fabric of their communities. So good on Cinci.
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Asian Swing:
WTA South Korea 250 Singles champion: Jessie Pegula.
(world number 4, has 2nd most 2023 match wins. Gauff, dnp, is 4th.
……………..
WTA 250 Hong Kong Singles Champion: Leylah Fernandez. (Back in the top 50)
……………..
WTA 500 Zhengzhou Singles Champion: Quinwen Zheng.
Big for Q as she wins her biggest event this far on home soil. And it came at a challenging time, shortly after her coach (Wim Fissette) abruptly left her to rejoin Naomi Osaka for next season. She has moved into the world top 20.
…………..
ATP Shanghai Masters 1000 Singles Champion:
Hubert Hurkacz over Rublev. Strong tourney for Sebi Korda.
……………
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Former USC All American Dick Leach passed away at home in Laguna Beach. He also coached the Trojans to 4 NCAA Team Titles, while coaching 68 All Americans over 23 seasons. He was an owner/partner at 4 clubs in SoCal. Irvine, Westlake, Big Bear, Ojai.
Today his grandson Jagger committed to TCU. Number 8 player in 2025 class from Sarasota Florida, originally from Laguna Beach/Irvine.
Jagger is the nephew Rick Leach. Rick was a 4 time All American in singles and doubles at USC, winning two national titles. And he is a 5 time Grand Slam Doubles winner and a Davis Cup winner. He is the son of Jon Leach, a former USC All American and professional doubles player. He is also the son of Hall of Famer, former World Number 1, Lindsay Davenport.
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After winning the Japan Open in Tokyo, American Ben Shelton, will move to a career best World Ranking of 14. Four Americans are now ranked in the World Top 15.
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Former USC All American Dick Leach passed away at home in Laguna Beach.
Was he in the movie Stand by Me?
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Was he in the movie Stand by Me?
Was actually thinking he was named after a popular medieval STD treatment, but that was a much better reference ;D
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Tough one for Karolina Muchova, who will miss the WTA Tour Finals with a wrist injury. She had a great season. Maria Sakkari will fill her spot as she was the 9th ranked player in the 2023 season.
Sabalenka
Swiatek
Gauff
Rybakina
Pegula
Jabeur
Vondrousova
Sakkari
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Former ATP World number 33, American Jenson Brooksby, has been suspended by the ITIA for 18 months for 3 whereabouts failures within a 12 month period.
This is the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
What is a whereabouts? This is a specified group of players that must produce their exact whereabouts and exact address 365 days of the year to be available for performance enhancing drug testing. All players are subject to in and out of competition testing 365 days a year. And testers are known to show up at all hours unannounced. But only a select pool of players have the extra step of this detail.
He essentially avoided the test 3 times in a year.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 (https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-futterman)
Looks like he follows tennis
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Looking at author:
https://www.nytimes.com/by/matthew-futterman (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.
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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.
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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.
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Cool.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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Cool.
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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.
…………
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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This is quite the thread. Much like the soccer pathway thread.
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This is quite the thread. Much like the soccer pathway thread.
This thread, the one you are reading, is about tennis. And, that thread, one you also apparently read, is about professional soccer pathways.
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One of these players will reach the Australian Open Women’s Singles Semifinals:
Blinkova
Paolini
Kalinskaya
Stephens
Wang
Zheng
Dodin
………………….
The 7 other seeds in Gauff’s section to the semifinals have all lost.
………………..
American Danielle Collins would like one back. The 2 NCAA Singles champion was up 4-1 as well as 4-2 40-15 over top seed Iga Swiatek, but she couldn’t close it out. Collins was dominant in the middle of the match after a slow start and poor finish. Credit to Swiatek for hanging around as she said after “I was on my way to the airport.”
…………………
17 1st round 5 setters is an AO record for Men’s singles.
………………..
Anna Blinkova saved SIX match points. And she needed TEN match points of her own to defeat 2 seed Elena Rybakina. 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (22-20)
……………….
Still alive:
Gauff, Parks, Anisimova, Stephens, Navarro.
……………..
Still alive for Men’s singles:
Fritz, Shelton, Korda, Michelson, Paul,
………………
Pegula withdrew from doubles (w/Gauff)
………………
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22-20 is just crazy. I had a 17-15 once but that was just a third set breaker
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The meathead in me just loves watching Shelton though. Truly unbelievable athleticism and some baffling decision making
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22-20 is just crazy. I had a 17-15 once but that was just a third set breaker
Yep. It was wild. Slight asterisk as it’s now a 10 point tie breaker vs 7. But still.
Then Medvedev finished his 5 setter at 3:39am.
So much for the new efforts to for reasonable times, lol.
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I watched the medvedev fourth set tiebreaker over breakfast. Was confused it was still on.
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Fritz just burst through his second pair of Nikes in his match. Not a good look for them.
I used Nikes once and the same thing happened to me. Trash shoes for tennis imo
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AO |WTA |Week 2 |Round of 16:
Noskova
Svitolina 19
…………………
Azarenka 18
Yastremska
………………..
Paolini 26
Kalinskaya
………………..
Zheng 12
Dodin
……………….
Kostyuk
Timofeeva
………………..
Frech
Gauff 4
……………….
Andreeva
Krejcikova 9
……………….
Anisimova
Sabalenka 2
………………
Only 7 of the top 32 seeds advanced to the Round of 16. (And only 4 of the top 16)
Seeds that didn’t make the 2nd week:
Swiatek 1
Rybakina 3
Pegula 5
Jabeur 6
Vondrousova 7
Sakkari 8
Haddad Maia 10
Ostapenko 11
Samsanova 13
Kasakina 14
Kudermetova 15
Garcia 16
Alexandrova 17
Linette 20
Vekic 21
Cirstea 22
Potapova 23
Kalinina 24
Mertens 25
Navarro 27
Tsurenko 28
Zhou 29
Wang 30
Bouzkova 31
Fernandez 32
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50. (just 19 UE’s)
50 winners for American Taylor Fritz en route to a Round of 16 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
One of the best performances of his life. Backhand was fire. Strong on both sides and served well. He will return to the ATP Top 10.
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This is quite the thread. Much like the soccer pathway thread.
(https://imgb.ifunny.co/images/cfcaf2247f2009ca1e2eff6087dfe2f978e3234bf860463c606341ac586e0d6e_1.jpg)
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(https://imgb.ifunny.co/images/cfcaf2247f2009ca1e2eff6087dfe2f978e3234bf860463c606341ac586e0d6e_1.jpg)
I’m happy to meet up with you in person to discuss why you follow me around the board regardless of thread or topic. Just send me a private message and we can set something up.
Enjoy the tennis.
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Focus Fritz!
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Mannarino is having a rough evening.
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I’m happy to meet up with you in person to discuss why you follow me around the board regardless of thread or topic. Just send me a private message and we can set something up.
Enjoy the tennis.
I understand your confusion. It must be an odd feeling for someone to actually respond to one of your posts.
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I understand your confusion. It must be an odd feeling for someone to actually respond to one of your posts.
Happy to discuss it privately. Send me a message.
Enjoy the tennis.
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Mannarino is having a rough evening.
No one, and I mean. one, triple bagels Adrian Mannarino.
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Happy to discuss it privately. Send me a message.
Enjoy the tennis.
I’d rather do it here and derail your personal twitter feed, I mean the tennis thread.
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I’d rather do it here and derail your personal twitter feed, I mean the tennis thread.
No one is forcing you to read every thread. (I don’t read many)
No one is preventing you from producing (or consuming) information about thread topics.
I’m happy to post more MU tennis in the tennis thread as well. (Highly recommend MU tennis alums Robert Budiano, Jon Calvillo, out at North Shore.)
There are healthier ways to go about reducing your need for social validation. I’ll look for your private message.
Enjoy the tennis thread.
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No one is forcing you to read every thread. (I don’t read many)
No one is preventing you from producing (or consuming) information about thread topics.
I’m happy to post more MU tennis in the tennis thread as well. (Highly recommend MU tennis alums Robert Budiano, Jon Calvillo, out at North Shore.)
There are healthier ways to go about reducing your need for social validation. I’ll look for your private message.
Enjoy the tennis thread.
I’ll continue to encourage you to begin a creed thoughts esque blog to post all of the information no one else here is interested in which somehow makes you feel superior to others because you fanatically follow these wildly niche sports.
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I’ll continue to encourage you to begin a creed thoughts esque blog to post all of the information no one else here is interested in which somehow makes you feel superior to others because you fanatically follow these wildly niche sports.
And yet here you are, every time, everywhere I go reading threads and posts that don’t interest you.
Just because you feel inferior about yourself, doesn’t mean others feel superior to you.
This is a Marquette message board.
Free Steve Rodecap, Jody Bronson, Willie Cakans.
Enjoy the tennis.
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Free Steve Rodecap, Jody Bronson, Willie Cakans.
There you go throwing out random names to try and prove your point yet feeding directly into my criticism. Lol
I did enjoy your Wikipedia recap of little known writer David Simon though.
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There you go throwing out random names to try and prove your point yet feeding directly into my criticism. Lol
I did enjoy your Wikipedia recap of little known writer David Simon though.
You seem to know very little about Marquette.
Enjoy the tennis.
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Mississippi State alum Nuno Borges, became the first Portugese player to make the Men’s singles Round of 16 at the AO.
Wins over Marterer, Davidovich Fokina, Dimitrov.
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You seem to know very little about Marquette.
Enjoy the tennis.
lol - there you go with the superiority complex again ! This is hilarious.
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American men really need to get their s*** together on slower hard court. I don’t get it.
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Fritz’s 4th set yesterday was preposterous. I think he might even play well enough to take a set of Novak
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I’ll continue to encourage you to begin a creed thoughts esque blog to post all of the information no one else here is interested in which somehow makes you feel superior to others because you fanatically follow these wildly niche sports.
Tennis is also one of the most popular sports worldwide. Weirdo
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Tennis is also one of the most popular sports worldwide. Weirdo
I speaking to him in terms of his college tennis etc. references. College tennis is very niche.
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It’s a tennis thread
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It’s a tennis thread
Someone else made fun of creed thoughts so I added my 1.5 cents.
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I speaking to him in terms of his college tennis etc. references. College tennis is very niche.
You aren’t very good at this. Your xenophobia is why we’re here in the first place.
Whether its current players, recent players, past players, future players, college tennis is one of a variety of professional tennis pathways. The same can be said for many sports. And like every other college sport, like Marquette basketball, it is to be enjoyed in and of itself too. This isn’t difficult. Just post about what you enjoy, as long as you are decent and respectful.
So baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, tennis, olympic sports, all levels and genders, are some of the sports that interest me. I don’t post much in the volleyball thread much, but I read it sometimes. I hadn’t been posting in the Women’s basketball thread lately, and “Marquette Fan” posted seeking more input.
This is also a Marquette board. Everyone is here because of Marquette.
Let’s see college tennis is so niche that all of the following played college tennis:
Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Jimmy Connors, John/Pat McEnroe, Stan Smith, Billie Jean King, Todd Martin, Kevin Amderson, Bob/Mike Bryan, John Isner, James Blake, Jennifer Brady, Danielle Collins, MaliVai Washington, Steve Johnson, Camron Norrie, Maxime Cressy, Mackie McDonald, Brandon Nakashima, Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, Joe Salisbury, JJ Wolf,’Mayar Sherif, Emma Navarro, and many, many more.
You’re still embarrassed about the Nico thing. You brought that upon yourself. Everyone else moved on at the time except you.
I offered to meet up with you in person. You declined.
I offered for you to send me a private message. You declined.
I offered for you to put my posts on ignore. You declined.
Try exploring your xenophobia and your need for group validation.
As someone else pointed out to you, this is the tennis thread. Tennis posts will continue in this thread, whether you troll or not.
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American men really need to get their s*** together on slower hard court. I don’t get it.
Fritz grew up on some of the slower hard courts in Rancho Santa Fe. Many others grew up on the faster hard courts.
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Most WTA Grand Slam Singles Match Wins by an American teen since 1990:
Jennifer Capriati 50
Serena Williams 49
Coco Gauff 48.
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You aren’t very good at this. Your xenophobia is why we’re here in the first place.
Whether its current players, recent players, past players, future players, college tennis is one of a variety of professional tennis pathways. The same can be said for many sports. And like every other college sport, like Marquette basketball, it is to be enjoyed in and of itself too. This isn’t difficult. Just post about what you enjoy, as long as you are decent and respectful.
So baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, olympic sports, all levels and genders, are some of the sports that interest me. I don’t post much in the volleyball thread much, but I read it sometimes. I hadn’t been posting in the Women’s basketball thread lately, and “Marquette Fan” posted
This is also a Marquette board. Everyone is here because of Marquette.
Let’s see college tennis is so niche that all of the following played college tennis:
Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, Jimmy Connors, John/Pat McEnroe, Stan Smith, Billie Jean King, Todd Martin, Kevin Amderson, Bon/Mike Bryan, John Isner, James Blake, Jennifer Brady, Danielle Collins, MaliVai Washington, Steve Johnson, Camron Norrie, Maxime Cressy, Mackie McDonald, Brandon Nakashima, Ben Shelton, Chris Eubanks, Joe Salisbury, JJ Wolf,’Mayar Sherif, Emma Navarro, and many, many more.
You’re still embarrassed about the Nico thing. You brought that upon yourself. Everyone else moved on at the time except you.
I offered to meet up with you in person. You declined.
I offered for you to send me a private message. You declined.
I offered for you to put my posts on ignore. You declined.
Try exploring your xenophobia and your need for group validation.
As someone else pointed out to you, this is the tennis thread. Tennis posts will continue in this thread, whether you troll or not.
Hey doofus - I sent you a dm yesterday.
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You guys really make this thread enjoyable. :-\
Both of you could grow up a little.
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You guys really make this thread enjoyable. :-\
Both of you could grow up a little.
Quite ambitious of you to “Both Sides” it.
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You guys really make this thread enjoyable. :-\
Both of you could grow up a little.
They would be a good undercard to the Rico/Rocket UFC match.
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They would be a good undercard to the Rico/Rocket UFC match.
4 out of 10
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Quite ambitious of you to “Both Sides” it.
Rich coming from someone who clearly doesn’t understand what xenophobia means.
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Quite ambitious of you to “Both Sides” it.
I do understand that this is a tennis thread and you're talking about tennis...but if you don't understand that you're part of the problem then I don't know what to tell you.
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Hopefully Fritz can keep it competitive tonight. The win over Tsitsipas was impressive, but he's understandably struggled against the top 3-4 players. He's 0-8 vs. Djokovic and has only taken a set off him once, a 5 set loss in the AO in 2021. If memory serves, Djokovic was dealing with some injuries in that match.
Fritz seems like one of those guys who will consistently do pretty well but doesn't really have the game to get over the hump against the world's best. While guys like Tiafoe are more inconsistent but have a higher ceiling and can get hot in certain matches.
Disclaimer: I follow tennis but only tune in live for the majors so my perception is based off a pretty small sample.
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I do understand that this is a tennis thread and you're talking about tennis...but if you don't understand that you're part of the problem then I don't know what to tell you.
I’m not. It isn’t difficult to post on topic in threads without trolling or following people around the board. That accountability is on those people.
What you say on the internet and how you say it, is the same as how you would do it in person. No free passes on the internet.
If you don’t like how I post, put my posts on ignore. If you have something to post about tennis, go ahead. If there’s anything else, send me a message.
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Rich coming from someone who clearly doesn’t understand what xenophobia means.
Not surprising you don’t know the history of the word.
You sent me a message that said, “All right clown boy, let’s see what you got.”
“Also don’t take this the wrong way, but are you on the spectrum”
“Sure I’ll meet up.”
When I took you up on it, you said no.
Do I need to screen shot it?
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Not surprising you don’t know the history of the word.
You sent me a message that said, “All right clown boy, let’s see what you got.”
“Also don’t take this the wrong way, but are you on the spectrum”
“Sure I’ll meet up.”
When I took you up on it, you said no.
Do I need to screen shot it?
Buddy - What do you think xenophobia means? Because everything you’re saying tells me you have no clue…
I’m not going to the game Wednesday night. You offered no alternative.
Screenshot away…I have nothing to hide.
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Go stand in the corner, kiddies. You are apparently too stupid or too stubborn to quit on your own.
But anyway, thanks for destroying the thread.
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Go stand in the corner, kiddies. You are apparently too stupid or too stubborn to quit on your own.
But anyway, thanks for destroying the thread.
That’s the thing, that’s on the troll not anyone else. I can and I will keep posting about tennis in the tennis thread.
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That’s the thing, that’s on the troll not anyone else. I can and I will keep posting about tennis in the tennis thread.
heckova alotta recent posts where you never refer to anything regarding tennis, just sayin'
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I speaking to him in terms of his college tennis etc. references. College tennis is very niche.
Yeah. Why put tennis stuff in a tennis thread?
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heckova alotta recent posts where you never refer to anything regarding tennis, just sayin'
Yep, it's easy to blame the troller. It's even easier to ignore the troller.
We're just heading for a Novak Alcaraz final that was the easy prediction a week ago aren't we?
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That’s the thing, that’s on the troll not anyone else. I can and I will keep posting about tennis in the tennis thread.
Still waiting to hear how I’m xenophobic…..
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heckova alotta recent posts where you never refer to anything regarding tennis, just sayin'
And that’s not on me.
Take it up with the person following me around the board trolling, or with the board moderators.
You just want what’s convenient for you. I understand. But if you want it to change, you’ll have to be inconvenienced a little bit.
None of it is going to deter me from posting in different threads that interest me. I post on topic, respectfully, in a variety of threads that interest me. And, that hasn’t changed.
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Yep, it's easy to blame the troller. It's even easier to ignore the troller.
We're just heading for a Novak Alcaraz final that was the easy prediction a week ago aren't we?
It isn’t my responsibility to ignore a troll so that you won’t be inconvenienced for a few posts.
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It isn’t my responsibility to ignore a troll so that you won’t be inconvenienced for a few posts.
Responsibility? No. But you must realize that you're giving him exactly what he wants by responding every. single. time. If you would take your own advice and just put him on ignore, he'd get bored and stop trolling.
Also, it doesn't inconvenience me at all to sift through the BS to get actual content, it's what's required for 95% of all threads. Just pointing out that you could put a stop to this just as easily as he could.
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Responsibility? No. But you must realize that you're giving him exactly what he wants by responding every. single. time. If you would take your own advice and just put him on ignore, he'd get bored and stop trolling.
Also, it doesn't inconvenience me at all to sift through the BS to get actual content, it's what's required for 95% of all threads. Just pointing out that you could put a stop to this just as easily as he could.
It doesn’t bother me to hold people accountable. But it does seem to bother you and a few others.
If you want it to change, again, take it up with the other person or a moderator.
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It doesn’t bother me to hold people accountable.
What do you think you are holding him accountable for?
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It doesn’t bother me to hold people accountable. But it does seem to bother you and a few others.
If you want it to change, again, take it up with the other person or a moderator.
I would like to think you're a more mature and bigger person than him, and would have the ability to just let it drop since "holding people accountable" on an anonymous online college basketball message board is by default an impossible task, but if you want to keep giving him exactly what he wants therefore encouraging him to continue, I certainly won't stop you. I'll just let you know one final time before I bow out of this that it makes you look just as bad as he does, and you have the power to stop it, and are choosing not to do so.
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I would like to think you're a more mature and bigger person than him, and would have the ability to just let it drop since "holding people accountable" on an anonymous online college basketball message board is by default an impossible task, but if you want to keep giving him exactly what he wants therefore encouraging him to continue, I certainly won't stop you. I'll just let you know one final time before I bow out of this that it makes you look just as bad as he does, and you have the power to stop it, and are choosing not to do so.
Confronting someone doesn’t make one less mature or less of a person.
I live in a world where what you say and how you say it on the internet, is the same as how you would do it standing next to the person.
I’m 100% fine with how I post here. Feel free to put my posts on ignore. Otherwise take it up with the other person or a moderator.
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Confronting someone doesn’t make one less mature or less of a person.
I live in a world where what you say and how you say it on the internet, is the same as how you would do it standing next to the person.
I’m 100% fine with how I post here. Feel free to put my posts on ignore. Otherwise take it up with the other person or a moderator.
So you baselessly accuse people of xenophobia in the real world too ?
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Lotta non-tennis talk in here
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Lotta non-tennis talk in here
And that all started with your post here on January 17th.
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Let’s rate tennis players necks on how good they’d be for basketball
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Let’s rate tennis players necks on how good they’d be for basketball
I’ll throw out a name - Ma Long. Dominant ping pong player. Basically the same thing as tennis.
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I’ll throw out a name - Ma Long. Dominant ping pong player. Basically the same thing as tennis.
Ma Long has some serious game.
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Ma Long has some serious game.
Olympic legend muggs
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Most WTA Grand Slam Singles Match Wins by an American teen since 1990:
Jennifer Capriati 50
Serena Williams 49
Coco Gauff 48.
Capriati 50
Gauff 49
Williams 49
…………………
47 Three set Women’s Matches
32 Five set Men’s Matches
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Sinner has a wicked forehand.
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I could only stay awake for the first set of Djoker and Fritz but good lord was it good tennis. My one set off him prediction for Fritz came true.
Muggsy, Sinner Alcarez US open match is worth a rewatch if you like Sinner.
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I could only stay awake for the first set of Djoker and Fritz but good lord was it good tennis. My one set off him prediction for Fritz came true.
Muggsy, Sinner Alcarez US open match is worth a rewatch if you like Sinner.
I only watched extended highlights but Fritz reached a level against a top player that I hadn’t seen from him before. He was really good for the first two sets. Looks like he had a real good chance to win set one but let it slip away and that’s a death sentence against Novak.
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I only watched extended highlights but Fritz reached a level against a top player that I hadn’t seen from him before. He was really good for the first two sets. Looks like he had a real good chance to win set one but let it slip away and that’s a death sentence against Novak.
Djokovic is as mentally tough an athlete as I have seen. If he finds a way to win this tournament with the likes of Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, and Medvy you simply have to tip your cap to his sustained greatness. I think Sinner may be due.
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Djokovic is as mentally tough an athlete as I have seen. If he finds a way to win this tournament with the likes of Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, and Medvy you simply have to tip your cap to his sustained greatness. I think Sinner may be due.
I think many caps have already been tipped.
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I think many caps have already been tipped.
#25 would be another cap imo. We're talking about distancing himself from Nadal and obviously Fed. I'm a Nadal guy but 25 is 25. And Novak probably would have 2 more if he wasn't banned during the Covid period.
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Novak straight up doesn’t have a weakness. Every single point is earned against him. You have to play almost perfectly because mistakes are not unpunished
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Novak straight up doesn’t have a weakness. Every single point is earned against him. You have to play almost perfectly because mistakes are not unpunished
His return of serve is ridiculous. You hit (no pun intended) on the most important thing: no weaknesses. His court coverage is insane as well. I think the only way to beat him is with massive serves followed by thunderous forehands on a hard court. Sinner and Alcaraz can do that but it's really hard for 5 sets. In other words you have to dictate play while somehow keeping unforced errors low. Once there's a long rally he can really suffocate you with his precision and consistency. It's a methodical but painful death.
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His return of serve is ridiculous. You hit (no pun intended) on the most important thing: no weaknesses. His court coverage is insane as well. I think the only way to beat him is with massive serves followed by thunderous forehands on a hard court. Sinner and Alcaraz can do that but it's really hard for 5 sets. In other words you have to dictate play while somehow keeping unforced errors low. Once there's a long rally he can really suffocate you with his precision and consistency. It's a methodical but painful death.
Yep. Every time I see an American play against Novak think about how their only real chance it to hold serve and manage to win three tiebreaks.
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Taylor played well. He could have served a little better. And he could have returned a little better, but he played well overall.
Struck the ball well, 63 winners. Improved movement, needs to keep attacking getting forward.
As long as he stays healthy, it will be his 3rd straight top 10 season, and 6th straight top 30 season.
He still has some room for improvement too.
ND doesn’t give away many points. And he keeps many alive longer than most.
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Yep. Every time I see an American play against Novak think about how their only real chance it to hold serve and manage to win three tiebreaks.
Well, their only real chance is that Novak retires before they have to play him.
But of course, then there's Alcaraz and the other Europeans.
Not that it matters. I love to watch great tennis. americansnomatta
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Zverev/Alcaraz on ESPN 2. Sasha up 2 sets to 1 but could be wearing down?
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Insane tennis right now. Zverev serving huge and generating crazy pop from his groundstrokes.
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Heck of win for Zverev.
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It's too bad Coco came up short.
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Very high level from two of the best. Super small margins. Two points from the first set 6-5, 30-0. Great tiebreaker from Sabalenka. Few mistakes throughout. Worked on her approach and forward movement too. They will have many more.
Zheng Qinwen unsurprisingly has been putting it all together. Now top 10 and she has potential to be there a long time.
Pere Riba has now coached two different slam finalists in back to back slams.
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Sabalenka at her best is pretty remarkable.
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I think Sinner has a shot tonight. Of course Djoker is capable of going thanks for playing mode. It's just hard to bet against the guy.
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Hell yeah sinner. I got nervous when he let match point slip. He took it to him right after.
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Hell yeah sinner. I got nervous when he let match point slip. He took it to him right after.
He attacked and bludgeoned the ball most of the match. Tremendous pop. The Djoker really had no answers.
Medvy on the verge of an outstanding comeback down two sets to none.
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SInner has the edge I would think over Medvy because he's only lost a set all tournament. But Medvy is super resilient.
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For a young player to go into what had become Djokovic's house and defeat him so decisively ... a pretty monumental result. Makes the entire season a little more interesting.
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For a young player to go into what had become Djokovic's house and defeat him so decisively ... a pretty monumental result. Makes the entire season a little more interesting.
Taking nothing away from SInner, Novak didn't have it. I think he had 50+ unforced errors which is unheard of for him. Medvy has been on thr court too long it seems to me but I'm hoping for a good final.
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3 of 4 for Sinner over Djokovic. 9 of 10 over World Top 5 players.
…………………….
Entertaining, high level Mixed Doubles Final win for Jan Zielinksi (University of Georgia) and Su-Wei Hsieh. They edged Desirae Krawczk (Arizona State/Palm Desert, CA) and Neil Skupsky (LSU) in the final.
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Taking nothing away from SInner, Novak didn't have it. I think he had 50+ unforced errors which is unheard of for him.
Maybe it will become more heard of for him. He'll turn 37 before the French Open. He's old enough to be some of these kids' father.
This could be one of the interesting story lines in tennis this year -- is the sport finally past the Big 3 Era?
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Heck off a comeback from SInner. It's gonna be a lot of fun watching Alcaraz and SInner the next decade.
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Still waiting to hear how I’m xenophobic…..
Still waiting…
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From Yahoo Sports:
This was the first Australian Open final not to feature Djokovic, Nadal or Federer since 2015 (!!), when Marat Safin beat Lleyton Hewitt.
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From Yahoo Sports:
This was the first Australian Open final not to feature Djokovic, Nadal or Federer since 2015 (!!), when Marat Safin beat Lleyton Hewitt.
Not even 2015, 2005!
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Still waiting…
Grow up, dude. You have the maturity of an 8 year old.
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Not even 2015, 2005!
Really? They got that stat wrong? Wow!
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Grow up, dude. You have the maturity of an 8 year old.
You’re a racist ! Your posting history shows it.
However whenever you ask me to explain why you’re a racist, I’m going to ignore you because I believe I’m better than you are and I’m right in my own head.
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The 16 teams that qualified this weekend for the upcoming ITA National Women’s Indoors in Seattle:
Auburn
Cal
Florida
Georgia
Michigan
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Ohio State
Pepperdine
USC
Stanford
Texas
Texas A&M
Virginia
Washington
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The 16 teams that qualified this weekend for the upcoming ITA National Women’s Indoors in Seattle:
Auburn
Cal
Florida
Georgia
Michigan
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Ohio State
Pepperdine
USC
Stanford
Texas
Texas A&M
Virginia
Washington
Men’s National Indoor qualifiers for New York City:
Alabama
Arizona
Columbia
Duke
Harvard
Michigan
Ohio State
South Carolina
USC
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
TCU
Virginia
Wake Forest
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Interesting stuff from Yahoo Sports on the "lost generation of men's tennis" ...
The "Big Three" have so thoroughly dominated men's tennis this century that they created a "lost generation" of players who were born at the wrong time.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, men's tennis routinely had years with four different major champions. Then came Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who won 66 of 80 Grand Slams between 2003 Wimbledon and the 2023 French Open.
With Federer now retired and Nadal nearing the end of his career, a sense of parity has returned to the sport. Heck, even Djokovic showed his mortality last week in Melbourne.
So far, the beneficiaries of this shift have been players born in the 2000s, with Carlos Alcaraz (born in 2003) and Jannik Sinner (born in 2001) winning three of the last six majors.
Lost in the mix? Slightly older players — those in their late 20s and early 30s — who could never get over the hump during the peak years of the Big Three's reign.
Consider this: 25 women born between 1989 and 2000 have won major singles titles. For men, that number is just two: 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem (born in 1993) and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev (born in 1996).
Young Millennials like Grigor Dimitrov (born in 1991), Kei Nishikori (born in 1989) and Milos Raonic (born in 1990) have never toppled the big boys.
Neither have older Gen Zers like Taylor Fritz (born in 1997), Stefanos Tsitsipas (born in 1998) and Karen Khachanov (born in 1996).
Looking ahead: What will become of this lost generation once Djokovic and Nadal call it quits? Will they finally get their chance to win some titles? Or will they be stymied by Alcaraz, Sinner and other players born this century, much like they were by the Big Three?
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Hsieh Su-Wei has won 4 grand slam titles in the past 8 months, with 4 different partners. Amazing.
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I'm most amazed at the longevity. I remember Agassi at the end could barely moved it seemed, and he retired around 36. I believe he was considered rare to be playing that late into his career.
In general, I'm amazed Rafa was able to play past 30 with his style of play.
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I'm most amazed at the longevity. I remember Agassi at the end could barely moved it seemed, and he retired around 36. I believe he was considered rare to be playing that late into his career.
In general, I'm amazed Rafa was able to play past 30 with his style of play.
Some players used to retire at 30, or even younger.
It's a different time with $$$, nutrition, fitness, scheduling, surfaces, travel, technology, training, coaching, so many things etc...Women can take a year off, come a parent and come back and play.
Nadal frequently took time off. The most years in a row Nadal played all 4 slams for example, is 3 years.
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I'm most amazed at the longevity. I remember Agassi at the end could barely moved it seemed, and he retired around 36. I believe he was considered rare to be playing that late into his career.
In general, I'm amazed Rafa was able to play past 30 with his style of play.
I was certain Rafa's knees would go in young 30s. A testament to his incredible athleticism that they didnt.
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I was certain Rafa's knees would go in young 30s. A testament to his incredible athleticism that they didnt.
The PEDs helped too
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The PEDs helped too
The Jake Arrieta of tennis?!
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Since Bob Bryan became Davis Cup Captain last year, 100% of Americans ranked in tbe top 50 have said yes when he's asked them to play.
The team that will play Ukraine (in Lithuania):
Fritz
Eubanks
Korda
Krawczyk
Ram
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I played tennis against a dentist last night and didn’t hear one conspiracy theory the whole time