Tennis Thread

[BitterApple]

Serious question: How could athletes dope and not get caught? Aren't they given both regular and random drug screenings?

Regarding the women's final, I'm truly happy for Sloane and Madison, but I really need Venus to win one more Slam before she retires. She's a classy lady and it's killing me to see her get so close only to come up short.

[roseha]

I like Venus a lot but I had a strange reaction to seeing Sloane and Madison reach the final, it was finally time to see two new rising stars compete for a major.  This is not going to be a dominant star wiping the court  with some one-time finalist from the other side of the draw.  I'm kind of hoping that after the current top stars inevitably retire - when ever that is - we will see more young players and even perhaps a couple of the older players get the chance.  For instance, I love Roger, he is an artist and an amazing champion and I hope he makes it to 20 slams (I never felt that good about his chances here, it was like something was wrong with his back or maybe he needed more matches leading up to the tournament).   But he's going to retire some day and I hope some more new people get to win majors.   I just hope they will be fun to watch  and sympathetic personalities (ahem, as in not like CoCo - thanks Madison!).  But it might be nice for awhile to see a little variety though tennis has a history of dominant players; I just mean a break in that might be interesting.

I really think either Madison or Sloane winning would be nice, but based on performance I would have to pick Madison for the final, she was amazing.  For the men I can only say go Delpo!

[Irlandesa]

9 hours ago, caracas1914 said:

Ah, the reliable unnamed , unverifiable "source" which happens to throw dirt on a player; all be it the messenger relays it reluctantly and then  states that is the last word on the matter.

B...b...but it's on the internet.  It must be true! 

Disclaimer:  I haven't really been into men's tennis since the Sampras/Agassi era so I have no opinions on any of the current male stars.

50 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Serious question: How could athletes dope and not get caught? Aren't they given both regular and random drug screenings?

Lance Armstrong got away with it for years and wasn't exposed until after he retired.  There are a lot of reasons and I don't know all of them but one of the reasons is doping is ahead of the professional sports organizations and testing.  They invent new PEDs that aren't banned or tested for yet.  There are things that can be hard to test for.  And I've heard that 'random' isn't always so random.  In other words, you can kind of pattern out when you're more likely to get tested.  It's why some people now are caught through testing while others through the investigation of certain programs.

I am cheering for Sloane in the finals.  While Madison was impressive in how she handled Coco, that third set between Sloane and Venus was epic.  (And so typical of women's tennis sometimes.  Lopsided Set-Lopsided set-battle to the death set.)

[shok]

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Lance Armstrong got away with it for years and wasn't exposed until after he retired.  There are a lot of reasons and I don't know all of them but one of the reasons is doping is ahead of the professional sports organizations and testing.  They invent new PEDs that aren't banned or tested for yet.  There are things that can be hard to test for.  And I've heard that 'random' isn't always so random.  In other words, you can kind of pattern out when you're more likely to get tested.  It's why some people now are caught through testing while others through the investigation of certain programs.

 

But Lance didn't get away with it for years. It was well known that he doped, teammates wrote books about it, other associates gave many interviews about what he was doing but Lance sued and had good lawyers working for him trying to keep it relatively quiet. There certainly aren't stories like that about tennis players and their teams. But that was all 20 years ago and sports and anti-doping procedures have changed a lot. Yes, the guys working to con the system try hard to stay one step ahead but the scientists are that dumb. Biological profiles are a big break through in keeping up with them.

I disagree with you that random isn't always so random. Tennis players are tested more often than airline pilots! They've really stepped up their out of competition testing and the guys never know when doping control is going to show up at their door at 7:00 am, even during the off season. Hell, Andy Murray was almost late for his big knighthood ceremony from Prince William because doping control knocked on his door twenty minutes before he was supposed to leave! Players that are injured are subjected to even more testing because they're making sure they don't use something to speed up their healing. A couple of years ago, Rafa was subjected to surprise testing three mornings in a row when he was dealing with one of his knee injuries. But as you say, the internet has lots of horror stories and if it's on the internet, it must be true!

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, shok said:

But Lance didn't get away with it for years.

There were rumors, talk, suspicion and "knowledge," sure.  But he doped during his professional career, submitted to numerous drug tests and yet he didn't face any consequences until after his career.

4 hours ago, shok said:

They've really stepped up their out of competition testing and the guys never know when doping control is going to show up at their door at 7:00 am, even during the off season.

My response was geared towards athletes in general, not tennis players specifically.  However, I did find this article about tennis and PEDs to be interesting. One of the things mentioned is that they used to mostly test at tournaments, although off-tournament testing has increased, and that they don't test for every drug on their collections.  So an athlete can be taking one type of drug, get tested and still only have a 1 in 16 chance of having the sample tested for the specific drug the're taking.

[TVbitch]

Del Potro should have had the trainer bring him more of those magic pills from his last two matches. :) I thought this one would be more exciting. He was seriously out of gas. 

[theatremouse]

Seriously underwhelming after the first set.

[pennben]

15 hours ago, roseha said:

I really think either Madison or Sloane winning would be nice, but based on performance I would have to pick Madison for the final, she was amazing.  For the men I can only say go Delpo!

I think it was the round to get into the quarters that Madison won the first set in a close fashion, then was utterly blown out in the second set, broken early in the third.  Typical Madison meant that it was all over but for the final score.  However, she went from something like 1-3 down, the other player ultimately got to 4 in the match and Madison won 6-4.  She ran over to her box for handshakes  after winning.  That win meant something to her. It feels like that was the moment that changed something in her.  

What Sloane did in the quarters, to come back from a break down in the third (I didn't see that one); and then her match with Venus getting up....getting buried.....being brilliant at the end.....is equally compelling.  She's pushed through something as well.  It feels like that Venus match was something that changed something in her. 

I feel as though we have seen a turning point in each woman's career from being goodish to potentially great moving forward. 

If push came to shove, I think Sloane will win.  I think I'll be rooting for Madison (sometimes I really don't know until a match is underway), for no reason other than I got invested with her comeback one round earlier than Sloane's.  Regardless, I hope it is the kind of final match that propels both of them to great tennis for years to come.  

ETA:  Except that along the way I need Serena to win two more slams so Margaret Court can sit her homophobic ass down in the irrelevant section forever, Venus to get one somewhere on her way out, and for Kvitova to grab one to show that you can slice her hand but can't keep her from holding a trophy.  

Other than that , I just want to see really good tennis.  I don't think I ask for that much:)!

Edited September 9, 2017 by pennben

[Ohwell]

I kind of figured Delpo would run out of gas against Nadal.  He had a good run in the Open but  I'm just sorry he couldn't win it all.   He and Monfils are my two favorite players.

I've wanted to like Nadal over the years but he is just too intense and there's an OCD quality about him.  

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

 

I've wanted to like Nadal over the years but he is just too intense and there's an OCD quality about him.  

He is wayyyyy too nitpicky about everything. The crowd noise, his stupid water bottles, the way he twitches and picks at his shorts. His girlfriend must be a patient woman, because he would drive me crazy.

I also agree with your sentiments on DelPo and Monfils. DelPo seems like such a sweetheart and Monfils seems like he'd be a ton of fun to hang out with. I can't really think of any other players I'd want to get to know, if given the chance. Maybe Feliciano Lopez for the eye candy factor, but that's it.

[truthaboutluv]

But having OCD is not really being nitpicky. That's two different things. People who are OCD literally cannot control their obsessive nature with certain things. Many would like to. Although for the record, I'm not sure it's ever been formally declared that Rafa has OCD, though it wouldn't surprise me.  And regarding the crowd noise, my friend worked at the Open this year and she said it was very loud at Ashe to the point of distraction and pretty much all the players were commenting about it. 

[Ohwell]

33 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Maybe Feliciano Lopez for the eye candy factor, but that's it.

Oooh, forgot about Feliciano.  Eye candy, indeed.  

There are also a couple of other players I've liked over the years, David "The Beast" Ferrer and Marcos "Pizza Delivery Guy" Baghdatis.  They seem like they'd be fun guys to hang out with.  I mention them because I've seen them at the Citi Open in DC and they were nice and patient posing for pictures and seemed like nice guys.      

[roseha]

27 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

 Marcos "Pizza Delivery Guy" Baghdatis. 

That's so funny.  do you know Baghdatis was reportedly quoted as saying he dreamed he could just eat and never gain weight?  Really.

Regarding Nadal, I have tried to figure out reasons why I find him so impossible to watch.   Just to point out some things that are matters of record:  his violation of the time clock over and over on serves and his twice threatening to ban from his matches umpires who correctly called him on it.  In addition, he slows down long slam matches enormously this way, I was even bothered by this in the Australian Open classic final between him and Federer this year.  He also seriously proposed a two year ranking because "we aren't getting any younger."  Never mind that that would be enormously unfair to everyone but the top stars. 

I also don't like his heavy hitting style but I never liked Djokovic's style either and somehow I've become more neutral about him though I can't say I'm a fan.

I guess it was one round too many for Delpo.   I am wondering though, if the announcers were correct that his wrist has healed and the issue is all mental now?  I never heard that before.  I thought I heard recently that his backhand was still affected by it?

Quote

for Kvitova to grab one to show that you can slice her hand but can't keep her from holding a trophy.  

I really hope to see that someday.  I can only imagine what Petra went through.  Seles never came all the way back from her attack (though she looked great at the women's semis).  I hope there is still time for Kvitova.

[dcalley]

11 hours ago, pennben said:

I think I'll be rooting for Madison (sometimes I really don't know until a match is underway)

I'm frequently like this and am so glad to hear I'm not alone!

[Spunkygal]

I was fine with either of the ladies winning, but expected more of a battle. Congrats to Sloane! 

ETA: loved seeing them hug and laugh and cry. Their friendship seems so genuine.

Edited September 9, 2017 by Spunkygal

[khyber]

Very happy for Sloane and even more happy that she didn't fall to her knees or onto her back.  She just took in the win.  I hate it when they interview random celebs in the stands during the match.

[Ohwell]

Yay Sloane, I was happy for her!  I must admit I got a little teary eyed with the hugging at the end.  That was so nice.

[BitterApple]

Congrats to Sloane. Well deserved win and I loved her speech. Both ladies are class acts and I hope to see more Slam wins from them in the future.

Edited September 9, 2017 by BitterApple

[shok]

19 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Del Potro should have had the trainer bring him more of those magic pills from his last two matches. :) I thought this one would be more exciting. He was seriously out of gas. 

 

19 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Seriously underwhelming after the first set.

Not exciting? Underwhelming? Millions of fans around the world would beg to differ. That was a wonderful match and it was a treat to watch Rafa play as well as he did, to think through his strategy and change what wasn't working for him and then come up with his blistering shots that had Delpo flummoxed. In his post match presser Delpo mentioned a couple of times that Rafa had played so smart and was just too good for him.

 

5 hours ago, roseha said:

Regarding Nadal, I have tried to figure out reasons why I find him so impossible to watch.   Just to point out some things that are matters of record:  his violation of the time clock over and over on serves and his twice threatening to ban from his matches umpires who correctly called him on it.  In addition, he slows down long slam matches enormously this way, I was even bothered by this in the Australian Open classic final between him and Federer this year.  He also seriously proposed a two year ranking because "we aren't getting any younger."  Never mind that that would be enormously unfair to everyone but the top stars.

May I just point out that your 'matters of record' are biased and not quite what you are making them out to be. Yes, Rafa often takes too long between points. So do many many other players. Delpo is a slug out there on the court and takes longer than Rafa. Djokovic bounces the ball a million times. Andy Murray rants and screams and grabs at body parts and wastes time. What about all the players having temper tantrums and smashing raquets - they're not doing it within the allotted 20/25 seconds. It's a matter of record that the ATP officials have said that it's quite common for players to ask that certain umpires not be assigned to their matches. It's even more common for umpires to ask not to be assigned to certain players. This isn't just a Rafa problem.

Rafa has for many years suggested that a two year ranking system like they have in golf would be better for tennis. And it has nothing to do with 'not getting any younger', it's to protect players recuperating from injuries. Both lower ranked players and the top stars. It would actually benefit the lower ranked players more since it takes them so long to build up their rankings to get direct entry into tournaments where they can finally accumulate some decent points and one injury can throw them back onto the Challenger Circuit if they lose their hard earned points. Rafa's argument for this is well thought out and is supported by a large majority of the players themselves. Rafa is a thinker and a philosopher and has many good ideas for the tennis tour but as he has said, it's hard to get the tournament owners to change and any improvements wouldn't help him or the other top guys because they'll be retired before the changes will be made since 'they're not getting any younger'.

[Harry24]

Sigh.  What a dispiriting final.  I'm glad for Sloane to get this great title, but I was really hoping for a great final.  I hope Madison responds by getting angry at herself and doubling down on determination to win a few majors herself!

[roseha]

44 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Congrats to Sloane. Well deserved win and I loved her speech. Both ladies are class acts and I hope to see more Slam wins from them in the future.

I had to leave the apartment right as the match finished and I was glad to read that Madison recovered well enough to make a gracious speech.  She looked to me that she was devastated that she just didn't have it today, but I am sure that both of them will be back many times.   As for Sloane, what can anyone say, she was just amazing.  It's great to watch someone becoming a star.

[TVbitch]

Sloane was on fire while Keys seemed flumoxed. I hope the men's is more of a contest, but I can't imagine Rafa not dominating for the same reasons. He's got the power plus a lot more options in his game than Anderson. 

[BitterApple]

A Rafa/Anderson final has about as much appeal and excitement for me as soggy Wonder Bread. I just can't get into it. 

[dcalley]

[truthaboutluv]

4 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Sigh.  What a dispiriting final.  I'm glad for Sloane to get this great title, but I was really hoping for a great final.  I hope Madison responds by getting angry at herself and doubling down on determination to win a few majors herself!

Yeah definitely was not expecting such a one-sided final. Considering some of the comebacks she's had in her career, wasn't expecting Madison to fall apart so badly under the pressure. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[MyAimIsTrue]

On ‎9‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:18 AM, Ohwell said:

I've wanted to like Nadal over the years but he is just too intense and there's an OCD quality about him.  

I've tried to like him too but never have been able to.  That doesn't mean I dislike the guy, I just prefer other players.

Anyone know what time the championship match airs today?  I'm in the path of Hurricane Irma so I expect to lose power later today but I hope to be able to watch as long as it's not being preempted for hurricane coverage locally.

[Spunkygal]

25 minutes ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

I've tried to like him too but never have been able to.  That doesn't mean I dislike the guy, I just prefer other players.

Anyone know what time the championship match airs today?  I'm in the path of Hurricane Irma so I expect to lose power later today but I hope to be able to watch as long as it's not being preempted for hurricane coverage locally.

It airs at 3 pm central time, so 4 pm for you. Hope you are safe and dry. Please keep us posted. 

[theatremouse]

@MyAimIsTrue, the official start is (ie they announce the players to walk into the stadium) at 1p PT/ 4ET, but then there's warm up and coin toss and blah blah blah so probably not actually playing before 1:15/4:15.

[Spunkygal]

Ok, who is that gorgeous line judge located at the "south" end of the court? His Ralph Lauren togs look so good on him that he should model for them!

[Ohwell]

No surprise that Nadal won.  I forgot it was even on until I turned to it and saw him with his hands up in the air in triumph.  Oh well.

[BitterApple]

9 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

No surprise that Nadal won.  I forgot it was even on until I turned to it and saw him with his hands up in the air in triumph.  Oh well.

You didn't miss anything. I had it on as background noise and it was three sets if unmemorable tennis. 

[Ohwell]

4 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

You didn't miss anything. I had it on as background noise and it was three sets if unmemorable tennis. 

Just three sets?  Wow.  Glad I didn't watch.

[crimsongrl]

Vamos! So happy to see Rafa get to sweet 16. 

[TVbitch]

Congrats to the winners, but I hate it when the finals aren't competetive. I was hoping on the men's side at least one of the young guns would come crashing through, but the old guard held. Sloane almost looked like she could have taken on Serena the way she was playing ...that will be a match up to watch.  

[caracas1914]

It was hardly a competitive final but congrats to Rafa for winning his 3rd USO title and his 16th Major overall and in the drivers seat to end the year as the World's # 1.

 

Practically everyone wrote him off after his last bout of injuries in 15/16 and somehow he's back again.  The man just doesn't give up.

[BlackberryJam]

I really appreciated that Kevin Anderson didn't stop trying. And Rafa was brilliant at net. Rafa, brilliant at net. Just not something I thought I would ever say.

There are always players who are on my 'irrational dislike list' and then I turn around to rationalize the dislike, but the truth is that they just rub me the wrong way. For more than a decade I loathed everything about Roger Federer from his skin care to what I viewed as his arrogant comments. I found everything he said suspect and viewed it in the worst possible light. Now, although I don't despise him, I find myself just bored. I no longer care enough to irrationally dislike him. But at the same time, I don't interpret his every comment negatively.

It's fine to irrationally dislike players, but I just think it's better to recognize that the feeling is based on interpretation and bias, not fact.

Congrats to Rafa. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by BlackberryJam

[Qoass]

Quote

Ok, I'm ridiculously superstitious and I need to know why Venus changed her dress from the pink she's worn ALL TOURNAMENT to this black / pink combo???  She needs to take a restroom timeout and go change.  Quickly.

During the men's final, one of the commentators noted that Nadal had changed from a pink shirt he was wearing in the earlier rounds to a black shirt for the final and said that no player had ever won the U.S. Open while wearing pink.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

I was getting ready to say that Sloane just did but if I look at her again, it's more of an orangey hue.  Oh well.  What a random piece of trivia for them to report.

[sacrebleu]

I'll admit to being superstitious and cringing whenever I see Rafa in pink-- it reminds me of his loss to Soderling at the French in '09. I wish the final was a little more exciting-- but happy to see Rafa win-- after enduring what seemed like an endless stream of "is Rafa finished?" articles.

Quote

During the men's final, one of the commentators noted that Nadal had changed from a pink shirt he was wearing in the earlier rounds to a black shirt for the final and said that no player had ever won the U.S. Open while wearing pink.

[BlackberryJam]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

During the men's final, one of the commentators noted that Nadal had changed from a pink shirt he was wearing in the earlier rounds to a black shirt for the final and said that no player had ever won the U.S. Open while wearing pink.

 

6 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I was getting ready to say that Sloane just did but if I look at her again, it's more of an orangey hue.  Oh well.  What a random piece of trivia for them to report.

This was Chris Fowler and he fully acknowledge that he might have made it up. McEnroe was clearly bored with the match and Fowler was trying to entertain him.

[truthaboutluv]

While the final wasn't the most competitive and it was particularly surprising how ineffective Anderson was on his serve considering that's what many figured would be the best weapon he had to try and make the match competitive, credit to Rafa for how much he elevated his game throughout the two weeks. As the poster above noted - the man was perfect at the net. Rafa Nadal, was perfect at the net - who knew? His movement throughout the match was pretty impressive and he showed a lot of versatility with his shot selection. So yes, Anderson certainly wasn't at his best but credit to Rafa who was at many points of the match, absolutely brilliant. 

[BlackberryJam]

9 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

While the final wasn't the most competitive and it was particularly surprising how ineffective Anderson was on his serve considering that's what many figured would be the best weapon he had to try and make the match competitive, credit to Rafa for how much he elevated his game throughout the two weeks. As the poster above noted - the man was perfect at the net. Rafa Nadal, was perfect at the net - who knew? His movement throughout the match was pretty impressive and he showed a lot of versatility with his shot selection. So yes, Anderson certainly wasn't at his best but credit to Rafa who was at many points of the match, absolutely brilliant. 

Not just that, but Rafa absolutely scouted Anderson and created a specific game plan. Rafa has never had the reputation of a "thinker" on court, but I was so impressed with his interview after the del Potro match where he discussed how he analyzed after the first set what was working, what was not and then adjusted his shot selection. With Anderson, his stood practically against the back wall to counter the big serve. He was able to do that because of his quickness in that he could get into the court after the return, and his stamina, that he can go for days.

I'm not sure if this is Carlos Moya's influence or if Rafa has just become more willing to articulate his thinking process on the Court.

[shok]

10 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Not just that, but Rafa absolutely scouted Anderson and created a specific game plan. Rafa has never had the reputation of a "thinker" on court, but I was so impressed with his interview after the del Potro match where he discussed how he analyzed after the first set what was working, what was not and then adjusted his shot selection. With Anderson, his stood practically against the back wall to counter the big serve. He was able to do that because of his quickness in that he could get into the court after the return, and his stamina, that he can go for days.

I'm not sure if this is Carlos Moya's influence or if Rafa has just become more willing to articulate his thinking process on the Court.

Rafa's always been a 'thinker'. I know the media since the very beginning of his career has labeled him as a grinder, a baseliner, a claycourter, a defensive player, yada yada yada, and that characterization of him has stuck like glue, especially in contrast to Roger who has been canonized by the media as this brilliant gliding player. They have, in fact, been very unfair to Rafa in not giving him his due. He has always had terrific tennis smarts and constructed points beautifully and 'sees' the play in his mind and anticipated the next shot which is why he has always been able to get to so many balls because he's moving towards them often before the opponent has even hit them.

Have you had a chance to read his book? It was written about eight years ago but is still relevant and much of it was about his 2008 Wimbledon match against Roger and you really get the picture of how much he thinks the game and each point. It goes without saying that Uncle Toni has been a huge part of teaching him that game too. In his Spanish interviews and postmatch pressers, he's been able to articulate his thoughts much better than he was able to in English and the English language media unfortunately never took advantage of all the good translations that were out there to flesh out their conceptions of who Rafa really is and to transmit that information to us, their readers and viewers. I mean, hell, you've still got Chris Fowler and Frew MacMillan and most other commentators still repeating the canard that Uncle Toni forced Rafa to play with his left hand!

[sacrebleu]

Quote

Rafa's always been a 'thinker'.

Agreed! the media generated a lot of articles doing the Rafa/Roger compare/contrast over the years. And Rafa was Brute strength while Roger was graceful.  Lost in all those comparisons was the fact that his play was always strategic. One of the reasons he played those long points was that he was trying to set up a high percentage shot to win the point.

[BlackberryJam]

On 9/12/2017 at 2:23 AM, shok said:

Rafa's always been a 'thinker'. I know the media since the very beginning of his career has labeled him as a grinder, a baseliner, a claycourter, a defensive player, yada yada yada, and that characterization of him has stuck like glue, especially in contrast to Roger who has been canonized by the media as this brilliant gliding player. They have, in fact, been very unfair to Rafa in not giving him his due. He has always had terrific tennis smarts and constructed points beautifully and 'sees' the play in his mind and anticipated the next shot which is why he has always been able to get to so many balls because he's moving towards them often before the opponent has even hit them.

Have you had a chance to read his book? It was written about eight years ago but is still relevant and much of it was about his 2008 Wimbledon match against Roger and you really get the picture of how much he thinks the game and each point. It goes without saying that Uncle Toni has been a huge part of teaching him that game too. In his Spanish interviews and postmatch pressers, he's been able to articulate his thoughts much better than he was able to in English and the English language media unfortunately never took advantage of all the good translations that were out there to flesh out their conceptions of who Rafa really is and to transmit that information to us, their readers and viewers. I mean, hell, you've still got Chris Fowler and Frew MacMillan and most other commentators still repeating the canard that Uncle Toni forced Rafa to play with his left hand!

 

21 hours ago, sacrebleu said:

Agreed! the media generated a lot of articles doing the Rafa/Roger compare/contrast over the years. And Rafa was Brute strength while Roger was graceful.  Lost in all those comparisons was the fact that his play was always strategic. One of the reasons he played those long points was that he was trying to set up a high percentage shot to win the point.

Absolutely! Over the years, as Rafa's English has improved, I think it's become more apparent that he is out there thinking through points and strategies. I remember in the Rafa/Roger heyday how Rafa always had a clearly defined game plan against Roger, and commentators would even mention it, but then still call Rafa a grinder and a bully on the court.

[BitterApple]

Serena's daughter is adorable and thank you Jesus for not giving her some awful celebrity baby name:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BY-7H9zhQD7/

[Miss Chevious]

Enjoying the Laver Cup. The lineup of players is phenomenal. Can't wait to see Roger & Rafa playing doubles together tonight! An added plus is seeing Bjorn Borg again <sigh>

[Miss Chevious]

That black court is awesome!

[shok]

I'm really enjoying it too, and seeing Roger and Rafa play together was terrific. It was great seeing them enjoy themselves so much. I've seen some videos taken by people in the crowd and the noise was deafening, the tv didn't pick up the cheering and clapping nearly enough but I guess it might have been hard to hear the commentators (which would have been an improvement for me! :D ).

[Harry24]

Wow.  Much to my surprise, the Laver Cup was REALLY exciting.  I hope they can keep the momentum up.  It was more exciting than the US Open or Wimbledon this year.