Tennis Thread

[Spunkygal]

48 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Sorry, it's what we call DC, and nearby areas in Maryland and Virginia.  Tiafoe was born in Hyattsville, MD.

Thank God it wasn’t the Dept of Motor Vehicles! I was wondering too! Anyway, rooting for Tiafoe and/or Carlito. 

[blackwing]

15 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Funny, I've read the opposite, that Matteo broke up with Ajla. Of course the rumor mill was also saying he cheated. So if she was the one who did the breaking up, that may be the reason. 

In other news, looks like Tiafoe's about to have the biggest upset of his life. Good for him, I guess. I wish I could like him more, were it not for the OTT on court reactions but at least it's not a visceral dislike like I have for Kyrgios.

In fact, I don't dislike Frances at all. I just find his on court antics when he's winning a bit too extra at times. But for the most part, he seems like an okay guy. 

15 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

This so much. To be honest, I'm actually excited to see who of these guys (NOT Kyrgios) has it in them to really step up and seize this moment. For the first time in a long time, there's no Djokovic or Rafa or Federer. Let's just hope whoever wins doesn't follow it up with the bad luck poor Thiem had.

My personal favorite to win it all is either Carlos because I think it'll be a fitting end to what has been a pretty amazing year on tour or Sinner who I think really has the game to win the big titles but just hasn't stepped up yet like Carlos has at say the Masters. 

14 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

That would be great!

Regarding Francis, I wish he'd knock off the strip show of him taking off his shirt.  He does that a lot and seems to think he's hot.  Not. 

I was hoping for Nadal to take it all, just to put another notch in over Novaxx, but great show from Tiafoe.  Good for him.  I too don't really care for his showboat personality on the court.  Although part of me is slightly impressed that he enters himself into the draws using his full given name of Frances.  I realise that Frances is his father's name and his father is an immigrant from Sierra Leone, but Frances was born and raised in the States, where the "Frances" spelling is considered the female spelling of the name (as opposed to Francis).  I would have thought he would have become "Frank" years ago.  But perhaps in the age of Riley, Taylor, Avery, Jordan, Harper, etc. it doesn't matter.

I'm all in for a Berrettini win, although at this point, I just want it to be anyone but Kyrgios.  On the women's side, anyone but Pliskova or Sabalenka would make me happy, but I'd be happiest if Coco, Ons or Ajla win.  

[TVbitch]

33 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Although part of me is slightly impressed that he enters himself into the draws using his full given name of Frances

I'm just glad he doesn't enter as "Big Foe!" 

Happy for Sinner, but I like Avashka too, and he was really giving it his all. Sinner was very kind to him at the net and made a point of clapping for him for a long time. I think I will be rooting for Sinner over Alcaraz, cuz I just really like his demeanor and his play ...and, I might have a thing for gingers! : D

[roseha]

I’m in the anyone but Kyrgios camp as well especially after the accusations that have come out against him.  I’d like to see any of Tiafoe, Berrettini  Or Alcaraz take it.  I wonder what will happen between Alcaraz and Sinner.  Carlos has had a lot of losses lately to the Italians, including in the final back in July to my fave young player Lorenzo Musetti.  Will Sinner keep  It going or will Carlos break through?

The women’s side looks exciting as well especially if we get a new champion although I like Iga.  Coco or Ons would be exciting.

Edited September 6, 2022 by roseha

[Crashcourse]

Rough day for Berrettini, he looked worn out, but congratulations to Ruud.

And why is Pam Shriver hyping Kyrgios when she's interviewing Ruud? 

[Spunkygal]

Ooh, poor fashion choice for Alexandra today. That purple dress is hideous on anyone! 

[Crashcourse]

I hope the ball kids get new uniforms next year.  

[Crashcourse]

Congratulations to Ons.  Alja had a great run, especially taking out Serena. 

I watched the interview with Ons, and I wish the on-court interviews weren't so long since these players have just finished their matches.   

Since Alja and Matteo both lost today, maybe they can console each other and get back together.   Yeah, I'm cupid. 😍

Edited September 6, 2022 by Crashcourse

[NUguy514]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

Since Alja and Matteo both lost today, maybe they can console each other and get back together.   Yeah, I'm cupid. 😍

Ajla can console herself because Matteo is MINE! #delusions

[CountryGirl]

On 9/5/2022 at 5:38 AM, shok said:

She was terrific, especially in her last match after the Serena spectacle. Gotta give her credit for keeping herself together and playing so well. Have to wonder about her judgement though. I mean, she dumped the gorgeous and charming Matteo Berrettini!!! He is so cute! How could she??!!  :D

Matteo is single???

[Crashcourse]

Well, Coco had a rough night but congrats to Garcia.

I'm not watching the next match with Kyrgios in it.  

Edited September 7, 2022 by Crashcourse

[Salacious Kitty]

Looks like Kyrgios is on his way out. I turned it on to see the physio rubbing some cream into his left leg. Not sure if he took painkillers, but those take a while to kick in. Match might be over by then. 

Crowd is lifeless.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I am ready for Kyrios to go.  And no, I don’t think the crowd wants to get behind him,  tv commentators,

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I am ready for Kyrios to go.  And no, I don’t think the crowd wants to get behind him,  tv commentators,

I’m puzzled at the continual tongue bathing of Kyrgios by the tournament organisers and the TV commentators.  Has he gotten a show arena court and night time slot for every one of his singles matches?   Even though he is lower ranked than some of the guys that were pushed to daytime outside courts?

Is he really that popular with fans?  Judging from comments here, he is roundly disliked.  Why do the TV people love him so much?

Edited September 7, 2022 by blackwing

[roseha]

I discussed this over on the tennis Reddit page.  this is typical US Open behavior.  They indeed gave Kyrgios the showtime night match slot in every single round, which was totally undeserved compared to the higher ranked players.  It’s all about box office and hype to them.   They also put Sharapova on the showtime courts back when she was coming back from her drug suspension.  They don’t care about fair play.

I just think they are trying to elevate him above his actual achievements.  

[Harry24]

Way to go, Handsome Karen!  (He looks like a brown-haired Hemsworth!)

And thank you for removing the twisted, toxic NK from my TV.

Has anyone here heard any of the ESPN apologists mention his indictment?

Edited September 7, 2022 by Harry24

[NUguy514]

19 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

Matteo is single???

No, he's very much taken.  BY ME.

I see that Kyrgios lost.

Edited September 7, 2022 by NUguy514

[shok]

I'm rooting for Casper Ruud. He doesn't get any publicity despite having such a terrific year. He's already #2 in the rankings and could end up #1 with most of the world having almost never heard of him because the media won't quit yapping about Kyrgios or Alcaraz. Casper might not be all that flashy but he's really very good and on top of that, is such a nice guy.

[BitterApple]

6 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Way to go, Handsome Karen!  (He looks like a brown-haired Hemsworth!

Arrrggghh, thank you!!!! I was trying to figure out forever who Khachanov reminded me of and that's it!

Poor Coco. I think she was really feeling the pressure last night. I was surprised the crowd wasn't pumping her up. I don't know if the fans had a bad day at work or what but the atmosphere was so lethargic. 

I watched two sets of Kyrgios and gave up. It was nothing but aces with an occasional five shot rally thrown in. Maybe the final three sets were better, but I was too tired to stay up and find out. 

[Jillibean]

7 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Way to go, Handsome Karen!  (He looks like a brown-haired Hemsworth!)

And thank you for removing the twisted, toxic NK from my TV.

Has anyone here heard any of the ESPN apologists mention his indictment?

Not only have I not heard them mention it, but there also seems to be a high focus on his current girlfriend--lots of shots of her in his box, walking into the tennis center with him, hanging out with him after the match. I think there is a clear effort to rehabilitate his image and try to make him into a superstar, but I don't think they're being realistic about who they're working with. Kyrgios is unable to stay out of his own way for very long, and it's not like his "improved" on court behavior is good. I don't think the fans have warmed to him despite the effort, and I wonder how the women on the ESPN team truly feel about him. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

10 hours ago, blackwing said:

Is he really that popular with fans?  Judging from comments here, he is roundly disliked.  Why do the TV people love him so much?

I think it’s because his temperament gives them something to talk about.  He seems to have inherited the “I’m John McEnroe and I’m a bad boy” mantle.  He has a bad rep with fans because of his tantrums (didn’t he break like 3 rackets last night?), often unsportsmanlike like behavior and the fact that he has said he doesn’t really like tennis all that much.

[Crashcourse]

Thank you, Mr. Khachanov, with your handsome self.  Now I can enjoy the rest of the men's matches and be happy with any one of them winning.

[CountryGirl]

10 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Way to go, Handsome Karen!  (He looks like a brown-haired Hemsworth!)

He could easily pass for Liam's brother, even more than his actual brother, Chris, LOL.

There's have been quite a few side-by-side comparisons.

[Medicine Crow]

12 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Way to go, Handsome Karen!  (He looks like a brown-haired Hemsworth!)

And thank you for removing the twisted, toxic NK from my TV.

Has anyone here heard any of the ESPN apologists mention his indictment?

Yes, John McEnroe mentioned it the other night & I think "Killer" chimed in quickly.

[Harry24]

Just now, Medicine Crow said:

Yes, John McEnroe mentioned it the other night & I think "Killer" chimed in quickly.

Glad to hear that it at least merited a mention.  Was it framed as something Poor Nick was dealing with?

[Medicine Crow]

Just now, Harry24 said:

Glad to hear that it at least merited a mention.  Was it framed as something Poor Nick was dealing with?

No, just saying he had to "appear" after the tennis was finished.

[dcalley]

I think Mary Carillo brought it up (on ESPN3/world feed). Remember that she refused to commentate the Laver Cup because of Zverev.

[TVbitch]

That is the way you do it, Karen! The first couple sets were blah, but it got quite good after that with some fantastic rallies. Karen played the best I've ever seen him play to get that win and good on him! 

It is kind of sad that every player who has to play Kyrgios has to: "just keep their head down" "try to stay focused" "don't get drawn into it" etc, just to get through it. Why does one player get to be so disruptive like that, and since when can you repeatedly scream "what the fuck!" and "fuck me!" so loud as to clearly be heard over the TV with not so much as a warning?! Ridiculous. 

They do talk about and show Kyrgios' girlfriend a lot and say what a great influence she is on him. Uh huh. The problem with that is, couples break up, and you cannot rely on another person to keep you stable and grounded. He needs to do that for himself. 

[Crashcourse]

Congrats to Tiafoe!  

[Crashcourse]

On 9/6/2022 at 10:09 AM, TVbitch said:

I'm just glad he doesn't enter as "Big Foe!" 

Of course, he's getting a lot of press around here, but I hate them calling him "Big Foe." 

He celebrated on the court after the win, but I'm glad he's cut out the "aren't I adorable?" antics during matches.  

[TVbitch]

I really did not expect him to dispatch with Rublev that efficiently. He does seem to be settling down lately, and I hope that continues. 

[Spunkygal]

You all are welcome to fight over Karen. I’ve got dibs on Delpo. Dang, he looks fine in a suit! So good to see him tonight. 

[Harry24]

4 minutes ago, Spunkygal said:

You all are welcome to fight over Karen. I’ve got dibs on Delpo. Dang, he looks fine in a suit! So good to see him tonight. 

I was JUST coming here to remark on JMDP’s fineness.

I love tennis. :-)

[Medicine Crow]

29 minutes ago, Harry24 said:

I was JUST coming here to remark on JMDP’s fineness.

I love tennis. :-)

You're all a bunch of Hussies!!!

[NUguy514]

4 hours ago, Medicine Crow said:

You're all a bunch of Hussies!!!

Also, it's almost midnight here on the West Coast, and this match...

[shok]

Damn I didn't want Alcaraz to win that. 😪 I don't like his attitude and his constant fist shaking and glaring and yelling and begging the crowd for applause and adulation. The MacEnroes are already calling him the GOAT. 🙄

[Spunkygal]

6 hours ago, Medicine Crow said:

You're all a bunch of Hussies!!!

I’ve been called worse! 🤣

[CountryGirl]

10 hours ago, Medicine Crow said:

You're all a bunch of Hussies!!!

6 hours ago, shok said:

Damn I didn't want Alcaraz to win that. 😪 I don't like his attitude and his constant fist shaking and glaring and yelling and begging the crowd for applause and adulation. The MacEnroes are already calling him the GOAT. 🙄

Slow your roll, Brothers Mac. It is way too premature for that. Come back in about a decade.

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, CountryGirl said:

Slow your roll, Brothers Mac. It is way too premature for that. Come back in about a decade.

Admittedly I didn't see the whole match because I had to get to bed and I tend to watch matches mostly on mute because most commentators in general bug me. All that said, I still find it hard to believe this was said to mean the present time, as in, "he's a current GOAT."

That would just be batshit crazy hyperbole on a next level, seeing as Carlos still has yet to even win one slam. I'm guessing they meant it more as in the future of the game type of thing. 

The match was definitely epic in terms of ups and downs for both players. However, while it showed great athleticism and mental toughness from them both, it also showed youth and inexperience.

Because both Carlos and Jannik had ample chances to finish this match a lot sooner than they did. There were sloppy and uncharacteristic errors on both their parts at some of the most inopportune times, allowing the other back into the match. I do like them both and I hope they both stay healthy so we can see this turn into a true rivalry for the future. 

I will say, something that bothered me and others' pointed it out on social media, is that the tennis/sports media have clearly designated Carlos the future of men's tennis and that is, in some cases, even to the exclusion of other players, like Jannik. I did sense a clear bias in the little commentary I listened to, towards Carlos.

As someone noted on Twitter, when Carlos made a great shot, it was all, "he's so amazing and brilliant." When Sinner made a great shot, it was, "Carlos took his eye off the ball" or something that suggested it was a failure on his part as opposed to Sinner was just brilliant in that moment.

And this is the kind of thing that also frustrates hardcore tennis fans when you then have some blue check guy on Twitter talking about how Frances or Carlos have to be there in the end because "no offense to the other guys, but no one's interested in a Ruud vs Rublev" final.

Well yeah that may be because the media tends to focus all attention and hype on one or two players and then seem baffled when casual viewers of the sport don't know some other players. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by truthaboutluv

[BitterApple]

I didn't make it to the end of the match but I did watch long enough to see DelPo in the luxury suite, and yowza. I agree with all the above. Man is looking good. 😍

My feelings for Alcaraz are the same as my current opinion on Tiafoe. I don't love or hate them either way, nor do I root against them but there's some element of their personas that's holding me back from becoming a fan. I prefer Sinner out of the new crop, so I'm probably a bit biased. I do think it's great that we're going to have a first time Grand Slam champ amongst the men, so the semis and final should be some competitive matches. 

[roseha]

About the fist pumping, I can see getting excited in a big match, but yes it really looked bad with Carlos *and his box* working up the crowd after Jannik absolutely gave the game away with errors while serving for the match.   I am willing to cut Carlos some slack at 19 but if he's still doing this in 5 years I don't think it will look so cute.  And frankly JCF shouldn't be encouraging this.

On that note, I *hate*  this legal coaching that's been added to the Open.  It's a major distraction to hear certain coaches, not to mention physios and whoever else is in the box, shouting out instructions in the middle of the match.  It's bad for the players who should be thinking for themselves and I find it really distracting as a viewer.

That said, it was a really great match.  I had to watch the last 2 hours on my computer on mute, I do have neighbors!  But it was dramatic.  I still am hoping Tiafoe will win this, but any of the 4 men left are likeable enough!

[Crashcourse]

I fell asleep and I'm sorry I missed seeing Delpo.

 I saw replays of the match this morning, and that was one helluva match.  I like Sinner and I like Carlos (minus the fist pumps) so it was sad that one of them had to lose.  However, I'm fine with Carlos or any of the remaining players winning the whole darn thing.  

[xaxat]

Does Nike only have one shirt for the men this US Open quarter final?

Tiafoe

Rublev

Alcaraz

[truthaboutluv]

22 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Does Nike only have one shirt for the men this US Open quarter final?

Tiafoe

Rublev

Alcaraz

Yeah there's a standard kit that all their sponsored players receive. The only ones that get their own unique looks are the players who have reached true GOAT status - i.e. Serena and Rafa. 

[Crashcourse]

I'm guessing Tiafoe stayed up watching that match, while his coaches were trying to convince him to go to sleep! 😄

[dcalley]

33 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Does Nike only have one shirt for the men this US Open quarter final?

Khachanov wore the one with the zipper, and Kyrgios wore the sleeveless one (but over another shirt). Alcaraz wore the sleeveless one at an event shortly before the US Open.

[TVbitch]

Ah, I was rooting for Sinner and was so bummed, but they gave everything they had, and it was a fantastic, totally suspenseful match! Going forward, may the best man win.  

Daren Cahill was hilarious watching Sinner play as he really lets his emotions show, but in a fun, animated way that says he really cares but understand it is still just tennis. Meanwhile JCF is a stone cold cutie patootie. 

[theatremouse]

Ons vs Caroline was an extremely underwhelming match.

[shok]

13 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Admittedly I didn't see the whole match because I had to get to bed and I tend to watch matches mostly on mute because most commentators in general bug me. All that said, I still find it hard to believe this was said to mean the present time, as in, "he's a current GOAT."

That would just be batshit crazy hyperbole on a next level, seeing as Carlos still has yet to even win one slam. I'm guessing they meant it more as in the future of the game type of thing. 

Nope, they meant it as in current. They were proclaiming the match the best ever in history, better even than Sampras v Agassis, and Fed/Rafa/W08 didn't even get a mention. And that's only what I heard because I had it on mute most of the time because what they were saying was driving me crazy.  🤬

Yay for Iga!!! She really pulled that match out of the fire. I hope she can win it all on Saturday. 

[CountryGirl]

I'm fine with any of the men winning, but am rooting for Iga, who refused to give up or give in, to win on Saturday.