Tennis Thread

[BlackberryJam]

Really enjoyed what I saw of the Laver Cup. That black court made the players look like they were the only color in a black and white film.

[TVbitch]

This is only on Tennis Channel, yes? 

[Spunkygal]

34 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

This is only on Tennis Channel, yes? 

Yes, they are re-airing it this week.

[dcalley]

4 hours ago, TVbitch said:

This is only on Tennis Channel, yes? 

If you have access to Watch ESPN, it's on there. http://www.espn.com/watch/schedule/?categoryId=127&endDate=20170925&startDate=20170918&type=replay

[shok]

It's on YouTube too. They were streaming live on YouTube and videos of the matches and all sorts of different interviews and stuff are still there under Laver Cup 2017.

[dcalley]

The disciplinary hearing for the officer who attacked James Blake has concluded, but we probably won't find out the outcome because it's private.

[shok]

So pleased for Rafa. He had a really tough week in Beijing with the dastardly draw he had but came through it brilliantly. For a guy who is often maligned as being only able to play on clay, he sure keeps racking up the accomplishments everywhere. He has more hard court wins than anybody on the tour so far this year. Not sure how much juice he'll have left for Shanghai, and he's got a very similar rough draw again (while Fed of course got another of his cupcakes), but he's playing so well, who knows, plus he just looks so happy about how it's all going.

Was so glad Rafa booted Kyrgios' butt as definitively as he did. What an immature jerk Nick is. The guy has so much talent but until he gets his head straightened out, he'll never make the most of it.

[shok]

Good to see the ATP is cracking down on Kyrgios. After his first round match against Steve Johnson when he just up and quit after losing the first set, they've taken back the prize money of twenty some thousand dollars because he didn't make himself available to medical personnel after the match plus they fined him $10,000 for his code violations and penalties. So in fact, it cost him a chunk of money to go to Shanghai.

[dcalley]

The loss of tens of thousands of dollars doesn't mean anything to some players. Fognini posted a picture of peanuts (now deleted) after his penalties were announced today for calling an umpire a cocksucking whore at the US Open. If he behaves through 2019 he won't even be suspended from any slams. It's not enough. http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2017/10/fabio-fognini-us-open-umpire-grand-slam-ban/69895/

Edited October 11, 2017 by dcalley

[dcalley]

James Blake was on Tavis Smiley promoting his book. The officer who tackled him is suing him for defamation.

Edited October 14, 2017 by dcalley

[BlackberryJam]

Roger v. Rafa in Shanghai tonight.

[Harry24]

19 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Roger v. Rafa in Shanghai tonight.

Did anyone notice if Rafa was wearing the strap on his knee in earlier matches?  I can't remember the last time he was wearing one.  Should we worry?

[shok]

7 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Did anyone notice if Rafa was wearing the strap on his knee in earlier matches?  I can't remember the last time he was wearing one.  Should we worry?

Yes, we should worry.  :-(  No, his knee wasn't strapped in earlier matches but he smacked it with his racquet in the Cilic game when he didn't get up to the net quickly enough for a volley and it was obvious in the Fed match his movement was very impeded. A French broadcaster said he heard from one of Rafa's coaches behind the scenes that it was just too much tennis on hardcourts lately. Hopefully that means some rest will do it good and it's nothing structurally significant but it's a reminder of how much credit he deserves for playing through all his maladies and playing so well.

[Spunkygal]

Looks like Serena and Alexis are set to tie the knot in New Orleans tonight! I hope she finds true love and happiness (whatever that is) with him. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5087651/Guests-arrive-dinner-bride-Serena-Williams.html

She has signed an exclusive agreement with Anna Wintour so wedding pics will appear in a future issue of Vogue.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Spunkygal

[dcalley]

The Mary Carillo Interview: Tennis, Storytelling, and Dad

A conversation with a sports legend.

11:50 AM, Nov 13, 2017 | By Jonathan V. Last

[Ohwell]

Sorry, YMMV, but I never considered Mary Carillo a sports  legend; she won one mixed doubles title.  And I never "got" what was so incredibly funny or famous about her badminton rant.

[truthaboutluv]

Wedding photo. She looked beautiful. 

 

[mojoween]

Did you see that baby?  Have mercy.

It’s weird to me to see Serena looking so dainty when she’s so damn fierce on the court.  Venus often looks a lady while Serena looks a warrior so it was nice to see her feminine side because she is SO gorgeous.

[twoods]

Awww they look so happy. And that baby is gorgeous! Congrats to them.

[truthaboutluv]

Quick detour from Serena's wedding. Well damn, go David Goffin. While I'm still bummed that Rafa's health couldn't hold up for the end of the year, I have to give Goffin props for pulling out that win against Federer, who he's never beaten. I'm pretty sure the ATP practically had Federer's name on the trophy already with the other semi-finalists being Goffin, Sock and Dimitrov. By the way, speaking of Sock, way to show up for your first ATP Finals.  

[TVbitch]

Goffin seems so humble, I dig him. I hope he wins it over Dimitrov.  Not sure how I feel about the O2 arena venue and the rock concert lighting. I think I like my tennis better outdoors, but I'm old like that. 

[woodstock]

Very sad news.

I'll always remember Jana's Wimbledon final against Steffi Graf. One of the most touching sports moments I've seen.

[truthaboutluv]

2 minutes ago, woodstock said:

Very sad news.

I'll always remember Jana's Wimbledon final against Steffi Graf. One of the most touching sports moments I've seen.

Oh that's awful to hear. I read about Pancho Segura late last night but he was at least 96 and had lived a full life. Like you I'll always remember that Wimbledon final too.

[roseha]

I came here to post about Jana Novotna too.  I remember all the sadness of her losing that Wimbledon final, and finally making the final again and winning in 1998.   Everyone was so happy for her to win it at last.  I am just so shocked though, that a tennis great could pass away at only 49.  This was definitely one of those "I can't believe it" obituary headlines.  Very sad, rest in peace Jana.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I never felt one way or another about Jana Novotna until that Wimbledon moment and from then on I was a fan.  Her passing hit me hard and she'll be missed.

[shok]

Rafa received an award as the Best Athlete from Spain for the past 50 years from the King and Queen of Spain at a grand gala in Madrid tonight. What an honor considering all the great Spanish athletes there have been in multiple other sports. Congratulations!

 

[crimsongrl]

Venus Williams will not be charged in Florida fatal accident

The way the police and the media handled the reporting of the accident was so sloppy I'm not sure what would've happened without video evidence.

[mojoween]

ESPN is reporting that Victoria Azarenka cannot leave California due to an ongoing custody dispute so she can’t play in a tournament in Melbourne and I have to say I feel badly for her.  I mean, she can’t even get a waiver to leave for work?

[Quof]

She can go anywhere she wants. She just can't remove the child from the jurisdiction. Happens all the time. 

[mojoween]

Ohhhh.  The article I saw just said she can’t leave California during the custody trial.  It didn’t say she was trying to take the child with her.

[theatremouse]

It's the same reason she wasn't at the US Open. She won't leave her son alone with his father for extended periods and his father got California to say she can't take the kid with her out of state.

[BlackberryJam]

I'm sure the father's concern is that once she gets the child to another state (or country) she won't return him. It's a valid point. However, if she goes and leaves the child with the father for those periods of time, she's essentially agreeing that the father is providing fit and appropriate care. 

[Quof]

Presumably he is or there would have been an emergency hearing to award her full custody already. 

[BlackberryJam]

Not necessarily. Her argument is probably that he is acceptable for parenting time of short periods, but not primary care for weeks at a time. Emergency custody is granted on a basis of risk of harm to the child, generally physical harm. If there’s not hard evidence he’s beating the child, the court would wait for a full trial before awarding either parent custody.

[BitterApple]

Azarenka's deal is Reason #3,456,892 why you don't have babies by random people. This guy's gonna make life miserable for her until she pays him what he wants in child support.

[Quof]

Mothers don't own their children. Fathers have just as much right to parent them. 

[theatremouse]

I was under the impression they'd been in a relationship for over a year, so not really random. She also apparently offered to pay for the father's transportation and housing during each of the tournaments she skipped since this started. So she basically said he could still see his kid during those times, he'd just have to come with. And he said no every time. So they all stay in LA because he won't let her take the kid with her, he won't go with them and she won't leave the kid alone with him.

What makes the situation confusing is they're both Belarusian and have an existing custody agreement from a Belarusian court that would let her travel and keep the kid with her. But at some point after, he decided he didn't like it and got a California judge to put the freeze on. So from an interesting-to-a-lawyer perspective, it's a touch weird the judge in CA decided to participate in the first place. So it's going to keep coming up pretty much every tournament she would've participated in...well except Stanford. Presumably she'll have no problem with that one.

[Ohwell]

I can't say I blame the father for not wanting to have to follow her all around the world, just so he can be with his kid.  Also, I don't know if he has a job but if he does, he might not be able to just take off anytime, even if she does pay expenses.

[BlackberryJam]

I'd say the real concern for the father is that once Victoria gets the kid to a foreign country, she can hope on a plane and be gone, resulting in years of legal wrangling to get the kid back in the US. 

The Belarus custody order is the most interesting part. I wonder if they reconciled after that order and that's what has made things sticky.

[caracas1914]

Wow on the Azarenka situation.   It’s lose/lose no matter what happens.   Not going to assume the father doesn’t want to genuinely be part of his daughter’s life, but I am curious if he has any visible means of support (ie a job) at this point, because he’s sure making it difficult for Azarenka to earn her living.

 

ETA:  I have no idea if he has Belarusian ethnic background, but he’s American and apparently at the least comes from an upper middle class background...

http://heavy.com/sports/2017/07/victoria-azarenka-boyfriend-billy-mckeague-baby-father-bio-age/

Edited December 29, 2017 by caracas1914

[caracas1914]

Andy Murray withdraws from the upcoming Australian Open, apparently the hip hasn’t healed non- surgically as hoped.

https://www.cbssports.com/tennis/news/andy-murray-withdraws-from-australian-open-after-suffering-setback-with-hip-injury/

Edited January 4, 2018 by caracas1914

[Spunkygal]

And Serena has withdrawn, too. http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/21962397/serena-williams-announces-withdrawn-australian-open

[Ohwell]

Not surprised about Serena.

[caracas1914]

9 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Not surprised about Serena.

The AO as her goal was insane.

It’s only been 4 months since she had her baby, it took Court, Gooolagong, Klijsters, Azarenka, etc, longer than that to come back from childbirth.  I’m just excited she wants to comeback and is training...

Much more realistic that she set her sights on Indian Wells, Miami and then the FO, Wimbledon.

[theatremouse]

I knew it was a ridiculous goal, but I'm also bummed she pulled out. That said, she wouldn't play unless she thought she could win the whole thing, so there's that.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Really, Australia Open?  The same tiresome, "Let me hear the seabirds calling..." ad from last year?  I'm going to be completely stabby by the time this tourney is over.  

Edited January 15, 2018 by SuburbanHangSuite
punctuation is my friend

[roseha]

12 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Really, Australia Open?  The same tiresome, "Let me hear the seabirds calling..." ad from last year?  I'm going to be completely shabby by the time this tourney is over.  

Totally agree, when I see that thing coming I lunge for the mute button at this point.

Sad to see Sloane Stephens going out in the first round.  Venus is having a tough one also against Belinda Bencic (Roger's Swiss mixed doubles partner from the Hopman cup).  People downplay the luck of the draw I think, but it's tough when such a good player like Bencic is unseeded and draws a champion player in the first round.

[Phebemarie]

Did anyone see the Vogue article?  It's no wonder she couldn't play in the Australian Open.  

https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-vogue-cover-interview-february-2018

[topanga]

4 minutes ago, Phebemarie said:

Did anyone see the Vogue article?  It's no wonder she couldn't play in the Australian Open.  

https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-vogue-cover-interview-february-2018

And her doctors and nurses didn’t believe her? I thought a VIP patient was supposed to be treated with kid gloves, especially a patient who’d developed a pulmonary embolism in the past that almost killed her!

[theatremouse]

Bummer, no more Williamses in Melbourne this year. Some of those angles Venus was hitting were ridiculously gorgeous, but the serve just wasn't good enough today.