Tennis Thread

[Ohwell]

Thanks, BitterApple!

 

Sharapova.  Ugh.  Can't stand the noise.

[VCRTracking]

Halep did a great job, but I've been rooting for Maria for 10 years and I will continue to, noise or not.

 

I like that she quoted "Mean Girls" in her speech!

[shok]

 

Rafa's got this, no prob. ;)

 

If he loses, I'm blaming you for the jinxing. ;P

 

Haha. Gotta keep the faith. :)

 

 

I think Djokovic is pretty much a prick, but I have to admit I want to see someone different win this thing.

 

I don't. I love to see this amazing history being made.and the more records Rafa sets, the more awesome it is. I don't recall anyone saying they didn't want Sampras to win more slams or more Wimbledons, nor Federer either.

 

Speaking of Djokovic's prickishness, did you see the picture he posted of himself on twitter and fb playing chess with Boris wearing a honking big bandage/splint on his wrist? I'm surprised he didn't have an intravenous too combating his 'fatigue'. Guess he's getting all his excuses set up. Anyone want to lay odds on how many times he'll bend over gasping tomorrow looking like he can't go on another minute, or grabbing at his thigh or ankle, or doing something with his wrist? Then next game he'll be running like a bunny. Fortunately Rafa has seen all of his charades any number of times before and shouldn't be affected by them.

Edited June 8, 2014 by shok

[Expat]

 

Rafa's got this, no prob. ;)

I'm sorry for doubting you. :) :D

[Mrs. P.]

Congratulations to Rafa. Great effort by both men, but Rafa played just enough better to win.

[shok]

I'm sorry for doubting you. :) :D

Told ya. Ya gotta keep the faith.  :)

 

Nine French Open Championships. Ten years in a row winning at least one slam.  66-1. Still the best. The King of Clay reigns. Long may he live.

 

I'm so happy for him. What an awesome, amazing, historical win. Vamos Rafa!

[truthaboutluv]

Interesting comment above because I was just coming in to say that I didn't feel either played their best so the match was a bit odd for me. Rafa was very flat that first set and he practically gave the set away with a series of mis-hits. And similarly, in the second set, Djokovic just completely choked his service game away at 6-5 to let Rafa even the match. There were moments and flashes but both guys looked mentally and somewhat physically spent.

 

McEnroe and Mary Carillo both said it's like they've almost worn each other out and just beaten each other down so they have nothing left anymore for these matches. Still thrilled for Rafa. I definitely think he had a mental hiccup at 4-2 but credit to him for holding it together and not losing serve, realizing that the match was still his to lose even though he'd lost the break. Now onto Wimbledon. After the last two years it'd be nice if Rafa just makes it to the second week.  I also loved Rafa's (or at least whoever runs his twitter account) #Dreamin9 tweet right after he won. 

Edited June 8, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[shok]

It was really hot and very very humid. The conditions were brutal for both of them and I think they should get a ton of credit for playing as well as they did. It's unfair to say either of them choked. Rafa didn't have a mental hiccup - he almost passed out because he was totally drained - but he pulled himself together to hit some marvelous shots. Rafa was the best and came out on top and deserves all the praise being heaped on him. We just witnessed him setting records that will likely never be broken and I for one am going to celebrate this win.

[Etta Place]

It was certainly not the best match played between Rafa and Nole. There were some moments that hinted at what we've seen in the past, but mostly they played their best in turns instead of simultaneously. Still, I think it's easy to be spoiled by these two players and to forget that their mediocre days are most people's best days of their lives.

 

I felt for Djokovic (I know, I'm surprised too) double-faulting away the championship. But it didn't make me any less thrilled for the outcome.

[truthaboutluv]

It was really hot and very very humid. The conditions were brutal for both of them and I think they should get a ton of credit for playing as well as they did. It's unfair to say either of them choked. Rafa didn't have a mental hiccup - he almost passed out because he was totally drained - but he pulled himself together to hit some marvelous shots. Rafa was the best and came out on top and deserves all the praise being heaped on him. We just witnessed him setting records that will likely never be broken and I for one am going to celebrate this win.

 

I never used the word "choke". I just said it wasn't the best from either and they both at points looked physically and mentally spent. Maybe that was because of the weather but pretty much every commentator and person on twitter/tennis boards acknowledged this was in no way one of their better matches. As for Rafa at 4-2, he admitted to McEnroe in a post match interview that he got mentally tired and felt drained at that point because McEnroe wondered if it was something with his back.  So yeah I would call that a hiccup but I give him full credit and even more respect for keeping calm, refocusing and getting those last two games, especially when he was down break point serving at 4-4. 

 

I felt for Djokovic (I know, I'm surprised too) double-faulting away the championship.

 

 

This. Goodness knows Djokovic is no favorite of mine but that's just a really crappy way to lose a GS final. 

Edited June 8, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Ohwell]

Welp, congratulations to Rafa.  He owns the French Open.

[Mrs. P.]

How much time do they have before Wimbledon begins?

[BitterApple]

Both players looked like they were struggling physically.

Congrats to Rafa, but the germophobe in me gets skeeved out every time he bites that trophy. Doesn't he have any idea how many people's hands have touched that thing before he gets it?

[Dejana]

How much time do they have before Wimbledon begins?

About two weeks. Wimbledon 2014 runs from June 23 to July 6.

[truthaboutluv]

About two weeks. Wimbledon 2014 runs from June 23 to July 6.

 

Something that I have never understood in all my years of watching tennis - why Wimbledon, a Slam played on such a vastly different surface is scheduled so closely after FO, especially when there is like 4 months between Australia and the French.

[Ohwell]

I've never understood that either.

[Dejana]

Maybe it has something to do with maximizing play time by scheduling the tournaments when the hours of sunlight per day are closest to their peak in that part in the world. Even now all of those GS facilities don't have lights on all the courts.

[Ohwell]

Hadn't considered that.  Maybe that's the reason.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Ohwell

[renard]

Deleted, my mistake.

Edited June 9, 2014 by renard

[truthaboutluv]

So apparently no one cares about Wimbledon thanks to the World Cup :) No major upsets so far. I guess Azarenka losing so early sort of counts but she's just coming back from injury and Stepanek definitely gave Djokovic a run for his money. Also Ferrer's loss sort of counts but Ferrer has always kind of sucked on grass.

The big buzz though is the second round re-match between Rafa and Rosol. Not gonna lie, a little nervous for that one considering how vulnerable Rafa has been in those early rounds of Wimbledon. It's interesting but Mary Jo Fernandez pointed out that Rafa has always sort of struggled in the first rounds of Wimbledon.

People don't remember that because he won the matches and went on to either make the finals or win. But in either 2007 or 2008, he was two points from defeat in the second round, a year later he had back to back five set matches in the second and third rounds. So he's always vulnerable in those rounds. But if he makes it pass them and into the second week, then he starts becoming really dangerous.

Edited June 26, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Ohwell]

Rafa made it through.

[truthaboutluv]

Yeah but didn't make it easy on himself for those first two sets. But once he pulled off the second set tiebreak, I had a feeling he'd win. 

[BitterApple]

I'm looking forward to the Venus Williams/Petra Kvitova match tomorrow. If Venus is feeling up to par physically that one could be very interesting.

Happy that Roger won today. I'd love to see him make one final run before things really start to go downhill. I think Wimbledon is his best chance.

[Etta Place]

I'm trying not to drive my husband too crazy with the tv on all day for Wimbledon followed by World Cup. :) But hey, no soccer tomorrow!

 

I was glad to see Tsonga pull through after the overnight break in his match. One never knows how those sorts of things will affect him.

 

Speaking of never knowing, I'm interested to see Dolgopolov face Dimitrov tomorrow.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Etta Place

[Mrs. P.]

Happy that Roger won today. I'd love to see him make one final run before things really start to go downhill. I think Wimbledon is his best chance.

I would love to see Roger win one more, though I don't know if can get past Nadal and/or Djokovich (sp.?). I'll be rooting for him all the way.

[blackwing]

I'm crushed for Venus.  This is the best she has played in a while, she hadn't made it past the first or second round in a Slam in quite some time.  She could have pulled it off but just couldn't get it done.  Hope it gives her some confidence though, I think she still has some decent years left in her.

 

Also fun to see Lleyton Hewitt almost pulling off a win against the Polish sensation Janowicz.  He knows his best years are behind him but yet he still soldiers on, that's nice to see.

[Ohwell]

I don't feel bad for Venus because she put up a hell of a fight, it was a good match, and the "better" player won that particular time.  I realize that somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose, so, in the end, what I want to see is great tennis.  And I did. 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2014 by Ohwell

[BitterApple]

Wow, what an amazing match between Venus and Petra. I was bummed that Venus didn't win, but she fought as hard as she could, she has everything to be proud of. For me it was the best match of the tournament so far.

[khyber]

How stupid that matches are delayed by rain but won't be played until Monday. It puts those people at an unfair disadvantage that could have been easily avoided by letting them play on Sunday.

[truthaboutluv]

And Serena's out. Beaten by Cornet for the second time this year. If Serena doesn't win the U.S. Open or at least make it to the Finals, this will be her worst Grand Slam performing year in a very long time. Incidentally USA Today already has a "What's Wrong With Serena" headline running. Thing is she didn't really play that badly - credit to Cornet who just played brilliantly and it was a hard fought 3-set win.

 

Will be interesting to see what happens with her for the rest of the year. Right now I'd say Sharapova is looking like the favorite if she can make it to the finals because she'll have to face Cornet and then possibly Bouchard in the semis while the second half of the draw is a little more wide open with Li Na and Azarenka both out. Maybe we'll see a repeat of the French final with Sharapova and Halep, the latter who is looking really good so far. 

 

Not that many surprises on the men's side save for Berdych being out and Gasquet blowing that 9 match points lead. I can't even get a little excited about Djokovic/Tsonga because with Tsonga, it's which version of himself decides to show up on that day. Meanwhile, when the French Open ended, my hope was just for Rafa to make it to the second week considering how badly he's sucked the last two years. Now, I hate it but my hopes are going up a little even despite the fact that he can't seem to win a first set. I just feel like the deeper he goes into the competition, the more confident he'll be and harder to beat. A possible quarterfinal match with Raonic should be interesting.

Edited June 29, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[wingster55]

How stupid that matches are delayed by rain but won't be played until Monday. It puts those people at an unfair disadvantage that could have been easily avoided by letting them play on Sunday.

 

I've never understood Middle Sunday for that reason. 

[BitterApple]

I don't know what happened to Serena today. Early in the second set she looked like she was about to burst into tears. I couldn't understand why, because at that point it was still a close match. Maybe she's just burnt out.

I agree the Middle Sunday tradition needs to go by the wayside. The game is too physical and the rallies on grass are longer now that no one serves and volleys anymore. To have a match drag out over three days when that could be avoided is ridiculous.

[renard]

Odd fact: All of Nadal's opponents so far have had a "K" in their name-Klizan, Lukas Rosol, Kukushkin and next up Kyrgios.

[Ohwell]

I don't know what happened to Serena today. Early in the second set she looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Serena has often looked like she's about to burst into tears during a match.  I started noticing it a few years ago.  I don't know if it's real emotion, or if she's trying to psych out her opponent.  If it's the latter, it clearly isn't working anymore.  

 

The only thing that bothers me about Serena's loss is that, once again, someone has done Sharapova a favor and removed Serena from a tournament so that Sharapova doesn't have to face her.  I really don't like her, and Serena still can whip her butt if they ever match up.

[shok]

 

my hope was just for Rafa to make it to the second week considering how badly he's sucked the last two years.

 

Maybe it wasn't Rafa's suckage, maybe it was his bad knees that didn't allow him to hit a backhand or scamper around the court?

 

He is so fascinating to watch how he figures out an opponent and adjusts his game to win even if he's a little tentative to start. He has a sky-high tennis IQ which he doesn't get nearly enough credit for. Why does he always get such crappy draws with all the crazy big hitters which he hates playing against while Federer gets the senior tour clay courters? But I have faith. Rafa is going to tie Bjorn Borg with his third Channel Slam. :)

[blackwing]

How stupid that matches are delayed by rain but won't be played until Monday. It puts those people at an unfair disadvantage that could have been easily avoided by letting them play on Sunday.

 

I don't understand that either.  I know "the Middle Sunday is traditionally a day of rest" but if there have been rain delays that have upset the schedule why not use that day to catch up on some of them?  The other thing I don't get is like today, when there was a period of rain that delayed all of the matches except for Murray.  After play can resume, why not delay some of the girls and boys matches and move some of the matches around to those courts/slots?  Honestly, I don't think many people watch tennis on TV looking for boys and girls tennis.  And if the boys and girls tennis have to get delayed past the second Sunday, I doubt many would care.

[truthaboutluv]

Yeah I'm all for tradition but the Wimbledon organizers have to start being realistic, especially when the weather becomes a major factor as it has in the last few days. None of the courts but centre court has a cover, they have no lights so they go by natural light before calling matches - it is just not sensible to still be doing this "Middle Sunday" when matches are getting backed up. Things have been so screwy with court changes, delays, etc. I had to go check the draws to remember who is playing who and when because I'm all confused trying to remember who has finished what round. 

 

Maybe it wasn't Rafa's suckage, maybe it was his bad knees that didn't allow him to hit a backhand or scamper around the court?

 

 

I think there's no question his knees were a factor when he lost to Rosol two years ago, considering he didn't play a match after that for 7 months. However Rafa himself was adamant that his knees were not bothering him when he lost last year to Darcis and considering he went on to solidly dominate the hard court season, I'm inclined to believe that. 

 

I think the issue is more what many of the commentators have been saying all week, that Rafa's game is difficult to transition as quickly required, from the clay to the grass. Because while he wasn't losing before, Rafa has had many early round struggles at Wimbledon. He just found a way to win those versus the loss to Rosol and Darcis but he was two points from defeat in the second round, the year he won. I also think the fact that he puts so much of himself emotionally, physically and mentally into winning the French, that he has something of a natural lull in the immediate aftermath.

Edited June 30, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Dejana]

Wimbledon organizers can't be worried about making sure the matches take place in a timely fashion when they have underwear checks to carry out. Priorities!

[Etta Place]

Dejana: That is ... special. Even for Wimbledon. I was just saying to my husband that I actually like that the players have to wear white at Wimbledon; I guess I enjoy that one tournament still looks like they did when I was a kid. But I have to confess I hadn't thought about the women's potential issues with it. I guess that in the past, the skirts were slightly longer and they didn't work as hard?

 

Edited to add: I forgot what I came here to post! I really hate watching Tsonga play anymore - he doesn't show up to the match until he's in a nearly unwinnable position. And even that's better than the times he doesn't arrive at all.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Etta Place

[jah1986]

So Sharapova lost, I'm happy.

 

But what in the world is going on with Serena? That was beyond embarrassing. What is the point of physicians if you're not going to stop play?  I think athletes, especially highly competitive ones will just try to push themselves, that's when doctors have to step in and say stop.  That was just bad.

[Etta Place]

Kyrgios-Nadal: Well, it's just a lesson to me to be careful what I wish for. I've been saying for a while that it's a long time since a kid came out of relatively nowhere and made a real run at a Grand Slam final. And Kyrgios has a long way to go for that, of course, but he did remove a large obstacle today.

[renard]

Sharapova AND Nadal out; I'm ecstatic. Just noticing first a big black man in a dark suit, now a 2nd burly guy in a suit. Nadal security? This is in addition to what appear to be British military around the court.

 

As for Serena, I have no idea. And no one else does which is why I'm beyond furious at the (mostly female-BITCHES!!!) commentators at ESPN for immediately questioning whether it is drugs. Fuck every one of you has-been/never-were bitches. (Forgive me community but HOW MANY Majors did MJF win? And the blonde chick with her?) Now if the mandatory drug tests show something positive, report it then but don't slander a great champion with NO history or proof, especially in real time when no one, not en her sister siting next to her, family and entourage, medical personnel examining here on-court or tournament officials, knows what is going on. They mentioned that she often "disappears" after a hard loss and hadn't been seen by her BF/Coach since Saturday. Did anybody think that while she has been hiding out for 3 days, she might also not have been eating? I will admit that I do too far during times of stress, depression, tumult, etc. and can get VERY loopy and spaced out, sometimes even delirious, to the point of almost passing out and needing to sit down immediately on the ground where ever I am. Someone did mention low blood sugar. I hope she sues every last one of them AND ESPN. If nothing else, maybe she'll get us better coverage and get a few announcers fired.

Edited July 1, 2014 by renard

[truthaboutluv]

It's upset day on Centre Court. I hope no one tells Petra. I love Rafa but the last two years have sort of trained me to keep my expectations low when it comes to him and Wimbledon. I did think he was looking better with every round and I actually don't think he played badly this match - he just could never get a handle on Kyrgios' serve, other than that one loose game Kyrgios served at the end of the second set that made Rafa get the break.

 

I think on some level he kept waiting for Kyrgios' confidence to drop and for him to start making more loose errors on the serve and I'm sure many thought that would be the case after Rafa leveled the match. However it didn't happen and instead Kyrgios just stayed steady, kept smashing his serve and putting pressure on Rafa. Rafa also did not play either tie-break very well IMO and made some very loose errors that cost him both sets. And I think once he went down the 2 sets to 1, he got really tight in the 4th set and had that one bad service game. Not the end of the world for sure and kudos to Kyrgios but I now have zero investment in who wins the men's title but I'll still watch. 

 

Sharapova and Kerber was an amazing match and I think either woman deserved the win. Sharapova saving all those break points was insane and credit to Kerber for holding her nerves and not going away after she lost match point after match point. The situation with Serena was scary and I hope she's okay because that was just bizarre. I almost wondered if she had some concussion or something with how it seemed like her vision was screwed up and she was slightly dizzy.

Edited July 1, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[blackwing]

I am a big Sharapova fan so I'm disappointed she's out.  With Serena gone, her path had been easier, but oh well.  Not sure what is going on with Serena, hope she is OK.  I always like when Venus and Serena play doubles together.  Now I'm pulling for Eugenie Bouchard.  It's been a long time since Canada had any singles players of note.  The last one I recall of any note was the lovely Carling Bassett-Seguso, and she wasn't that great.  Now with Bouchard and Raonic, it's good for Canada.

 

Shocked that Nadal was dumped.  I can't stand Bitter Beer Face Federer, and I hope that someone beats him.

[renard]

I'm #TeamFederer #RideorDie. Beyond that, any of the 4 in the bottom half can win as far as I'm concerned and I'm all in with Dimitrov in the top half of the draw. Federer/Dimitrov would be my dream final although Dimitrov/Kyrgios or Raonic would definitely be a next-generation calling card. Wilson has slowly been rolling out a Facebook ad campaign (probably on other social media also) for Federer's new racquet; I would expect a REALLY big ad buy at the last minute should he make the finals, then an all-out marketing blitz through the summer to the USOpen should he win. And me in need of replacing my very old Ultra FPK.

[shok]

However Rafa himself was adamant that his knees were not bothering him when he lost last year to Darcis

 

 

Link please. I don't miss much about Rafa in the media, both Spanish and English, and I don't recall him ever saying anything of the sort. In fact he has often said the opposite although he has a lot of respect for Darcis so he never talks about that defeat as bitterly as the one against Rosol.

 

Kyrgios was very impressive today, not just with his serve and winners, but how he kept his nerve and composure right til the end whereas Rafa was the one who looked edgy and tight and never did get his game going. Can't recall the last time I've seen him miss so many sitters and relatively easy shots. Credit to Kyrgios though for keeping the pressure on. Oh well, now I can get some proper sleep without having to set my alarm for 4:00 am.

[truthaboutluv]

Link please. I don't miss much about Rafa in the media, both Spanish and English, and I don't recall him ever saying anything of the sort. In fact he has often said the opposite although he has a lot of respect for Darcis so he never talks about that defeat as bitterly as the one against Rosol.

It's really not that big of a deal to me and I admit that I don't go around translating Rafa's post-match interviews so I'm going by what the commentators were discussing. And my memory of that was it was pointed out that a lot of the media immediately started asking about his knees, health, etc. considering he had only recently come off the 7 month break and he stated that physically he felt fine and didn't seem to attribute his loss to that. I don't know what else has been said in other interviews since last year but I was basically referring to his post-match conference immediately following the loss.

Edited July 2, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Ohwell]

Sharapova's out so I'm happy about that. 

 

I like Rafa but I was rooting for the kid, Krygios, because I was impressed that he kept himself together to pull it out.  Plus, it's nice to see someone playing at staid, starchy Wimbledon with bling in his ear. : )

 

I saw a  little of Serena's meltdown but I didn't hear what the announcers were saying about it.  If they suggested drug use, then yes, she should go after them and NBC because that was uncalled for.  I don't know WTF is wrong with her, but people in the media need to just STFU.  Serena's not my favorite player and she's said and done some things in the past that I haven't liked, but she doesn't deserve to be slandered like that.  I hope she's OK.

[BitterApple]

Holy shit, the announcers inferred Serena was on drugs?! How did I miss that? What did they say?

I've never been a Serena fan, but I agree that's completely uncalled for. There could have been a million different reasons for her behavior, to chalk it up to illicit substances is salacious and unfair.

[renard]

It was a long drawn out reveal but I found the most damning part. GIve me the night and I'll try to compile some of the best lines for you to weigh in on.\

 

An hour or so later there were 3 statements released through the WTA: 1 from Venus, a 2nd from Serena which they characterized as a "partial" statement (as if she didn't finish it?) and a 3rd from the WTA itself; al the statements essentially said she has/had some "bug"/virus. yada yada