Tennis

[MU82]

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.

[shoothoops]

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.

[shoothoops]

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.

[tower912]

Serena hanging them up.

[shoothoops]

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.

[4everwarriors]

Serena hanging them up.

Must be using a strong crane, aina?


#freerocket2022v2

#freeziggy2022

[shoothoops]

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.

[shoothoops]

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.

[Billy Hoyle]

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/

[MuggsyB]

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. 

[shoothoops]

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.

[Hards Alumni]

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.

[MuggsyB]

“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. 

[MU82]

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.

[shoothoops]

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.

[MuggsyB]

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 🐐.   

[Uncle Rico]

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

[shoothoops]

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.

[MU82]

Rafa's the men's GOAT, as everyone knows.

[shoothoops]

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.

[MuggsyB]

Rafa's the men's GOAT, as everyone knows.

Tennis or Coffee Brewer??

[MU82]

Tennis or Coffee Brewer??

Soccer-playing, golfing tennis star.

[MuggsyB]

Soccer-playing, golfing tennis star.

Am I allowed to state that he and the Djoker would have beaten Connors like a drum?

[shoothoops]

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.

[shoothoops]

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.