Tennis Thread

[Ohwell]

When Djokovic wins he always acts like he's this poor, starving refugee who happened to pick up a battered tennis racket out of a trash bin, taught himself to play, this is his first match he has ever played, and so, therefore, he has earned the crowd's eternal love and adoration. 

[BitterApple]

3 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

When Djokovic wins he always acts like he's this poor, starving refugee who happened to pick up a battered tennis racket out of a trash bin, taught himself to play, this is his first match he has ever played, and so, therefore, he has earned the crowd's eternal love and adoration. 

I was always neutral on Djokovic until that match at the Australian Open where he beat Wawrinka in an epic five setter. After the handshake, Stan was absolutely crushed and Djokovic was show-boating, tearing his shirt off and roaring to the crowd. I have no issue with celebrations, but I feel like players should have a general sense of decency and decorum. Novak was just doing way too much and I can't stand him ever since.

[Ohwell]

Now when he wins, he stands on the court in all four directions, exhorting the crowd to cheer for him, which is what I don't like.  What about the people who were cheering for the other guy?

[TVbitch]

Kerber won that straight out. I would enjoy Kerber more if she could exude some self confidence and fire. She unfortunately seems to have this kind of "resting Eeyore face" that lacks conviction. But good on her. 

I was rooting for Dj. I think he needs it. And if we get matches like that, well, who can complain. What exactly has he "been through", does anyone know? 

Finals could still be interesting now that Dj is also worn out and he is playing a serving machine set on difficult. It could get inside his delicate mind. 

[truthaboutluv]

5 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

I would enjoy Kerber more if she could exude some self confidence and fire.

Agreed. And it would also help her be more consistent, so she doesn't have years like when she won the Australian Open and The US Open and the next year loses in early rounds of all the slams. 

 

5 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

What exactly has he "been through", does anyone know? 

Hard to tell because I've heard about a million stories at this point. First there was the emotional comedown from finally winning The French Open, which he blamed for his loss to Querry at Wimbledon, then there was an actual elbow/arm thing (and apparently he did have surgery so that was real) and then there was the personal family stuff that he never went into detail about but some think had to do with his cheating on Jelena. But I guess they seem fine now. 

eta: And don't worry, @TVbitch, you still get to gloat even if Rafa didn't win the title because he was close and made it a lot further than I would have predicted, coming into the tournament. 

Edited July 14, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[TVbitch]

You are too kind @truthaboutluv, cuz if it had gone the other way,  I most probably would have gotten a flag for excessive celebration. 

[Conotocarious]

Kerber looks like a younger Frances McDormand.

[magdalene]

Whenever Djokovic is playing I am always rooting for the other guy.  That will be doubly true tomorrow.  

[Conotocarious]

So far this final is exactly what I expected it to be. Dreadful.

The semi-final between Nadal and Djokovic was the best tennis match of the tournament. What’s going on now is a total bore.

[Conotocarious]

Anderson is just getting flat out stomped.

[Harry24]

As masterful as Djokovic is, there's something suffocating about his tennis that makes it unpleasant to watch.  Plus, you know, his personality.  Ugh.

Edited July 15, 2018 by Harry24

[BitterApple]

Poor Kevin. He seems like such a nice guy. I hope he can break through one day and win a Slam.

Novak's son is adorable.

[Dejana]

1 hour ago, Conotocarious said:

So far this final is exactly what I expected it to be. Dreadful.

The semi-final between Nadal and Djokovic was the best tennis match of the tournament. What’s going on now is a total bore.

Anderson made the third set interesting but I was thinking, "Bless his heart," during the first two.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Novak is my favorite player and I don't see the neediness and off putting personality that so many of you do.

That being said I almost feel as if his win was cheapened by the fact that Anderson had to be physically drained from his two previous matches, and perhaps this will start a conversation on the need for a fifth set tie-break.

[ombelico]

I don't like Novak but I've got to admit he's got a really cute kid. No family out-cutes the Federers' double twins, though.

I would be ok with saying that there's no fifth-set tiebreak in the final - play that match out and see who is the last one standing. It's the end of the championships and no one else will be hurt scheduling-wise if the match goes on longer than expected. But it doesn't do the game any good to have players completely exhaust themselves in the earlier rounds at the expense of having an exciting final. Plus it was rather ridiculous that Nadal/Djokovic was delayed so late that they couldn't finish the match on the same day. I don't necessarily agree that they should have been shuttled to Court 1 to start earlier - if I had purchased Centre Court tickets and knew that one of the semifinals was Nadal/Djokovic and then they were moved somewhere else in favor of an endless war of attrition as to who loses serve first, I'd be really pissed off.

ETA: I think Novak may actually be a nice guy off-court. I was impressed with the time he took talking with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, even asking them how their kids are doing. But I don't like his demeanor while he plays, acting like it's him against the world, and baiting the crowd.

Edited July 15, 2018 by ombelico

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, ombelico said:

acting like it's him against the world, and baiting the crowd.

That's it.  He acts like poor, struggling Novak.

[Spunkygal]

We were there today. Centre Court had low energy from the spectators. And of course it was so freaking hot. Weeks ago, I was so hoping for a Fedal final but it wasn't meant to be. That's the cruelty of sports. You get what you get. But I'm not complaining. A bucket list item is crossed off and I doubt if such another big item will ever be realized (for me). 

[TVbitch]

My thoughts during the final:

Damn, this could be Dj vs. Fed right now. 

Why was Fed wearing a Uniqlo shirt but Nike shoes when he played Anderson? 

Maybe Jelena would look less severe if she had had bangs.

Is that a pineapple on the top of the trophy?! 

Okay so yeah it was not exciting. But I do hope this means Dj is back to form and there will be more great matches to come. I agree he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I remember when he used to joke around on court impersonating the other players and laughing with the crowd. Where did that guy go? Who knows, but I am sure it is super freaking stressful being an elite athlete struggling to come back from an injury and whatever other shit he had going on. Anderson is clearly a super nice guy, but unfortunately, like Isner, he has to go on my list of players who matches I can skip, cuz whether they are playing well (all aces) or not well (getting crushed) it is just too boring either way. 

 Enjoyed everyone's comments and cuz it must be said: @truthaboutluv you called it! 

[selkie]

The only shoes Uniqlo currently sells globally are of the flip flop and house slipper variety. 

[NUguy514]

Yep, that was as scintillating as I thought it'd be.

I cannot wait for the 25-second, between-points clock to debut at the US Open this year.

[mojoween]

42 minutes ago, selkie said:

The only shoes Uniqlo currently sells globally are of the flip flop and house slipper variety. 

I climbed up Whiteface Mountain in flip-flops the other day so I think they are super versatile, and now I really want to see Fed on Centre Court in flip-flops.  He could really get people chattering about his new sponsor!

[cesstar]

Thrilled for Djokovic to win this one, although the real final was the fabulous semi with Rafa, what a great game that was. Anderson was clearly shattered here, although I suspect that Djokovic would have beaten him regardless because his game style seems to match up well with Anderson. But it would have been more entertaining for the crowd if it could have been closer. 

I'm always a sucker for a redemption/return storyline so I was really glad that Novak was able to return to his best form after his elbow surgery and loss in confidence. Am rooting for Murray to make a successful comeback now!

I also particularly enjoy when Novak wins at Wimbledon because I've had the fortune to watch him play there and honestly, I find the British crowds borderline disrespectful with how they treat him. It comes across on TV a bit, but is much worse in person. So I was glad to see that this time, he didn't even try to woo them over, but just used their antagonism to drive him on and motivate him!

A bit late but the Women's Final was also a great game, I was probably rooting for Serena (again, the comeback angle!) but Kerber is a worthy champion and she played extremely well. Her delight at the end was lovely.

Looking forward to the US Open now!

[theatremouse]

16 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Why was Fed wearing a Uniqlo shirt but Nike shoes when he played Anderson? 

It's common-ish for players to have separate shoe deals vs clothing deals, although with companies who make both, they usually have deals for both. I believe his deal with Uniqlo was for clothes, not shoes. So Fed is currently shoe-deal-less, so he's wearing the shoes he already has (but is not specifically being paid to wear them). It's possible Uniqlo has plans to make shoes for him-and-only-him a la Murray's Under Armor deal a few years ago, and maybe the shoes just aren't ready yet? But I haven't heard anything specific about Fed and shoes, other than "he has no shoe deal right now".

[dcalley]

On 7/15/2018 at 12:29 PM, ombelico said:

I would be ok with saying that there's no fifth-set tiebreak in the final - play that match out and see who is the last one standing. It's the end of the championships and no one else will be hurt scheduling-wise if the match goes on longer than expected.

 

The mixed doubles final is after the men's final, but they're already accustomed to waiting around.

 

5 hours ago, theatremouse said:

It's common-ish for players to have separate shoe deals vs clothing deals, although with companies who make both, they usually have deals for both. I believe his deal with Uniqlo was for clothes, not shoes. So Fed is currently shoe-deal-less, so he's wearing the shoes he already has (but is not specifically being paid to wear them). It's possible Uniqlo has plans to make shoes for him-and-only-him a la Murray's Under Armor deal a few years ago, and maybe the shoes just aren't ready yet?

And it took Under Armour a long time to make shoes that Andy was actually willing to wear, which gave the impression UA was not great at making shoes.

I noticed the RF logo that RF's not supposed to use was still on the plastic bags holding his new rackets. Tournaments should ban those bags, by the way. Just have the stringer stick something smaller and more environmentally friendly on the racket to indicate it's new/the tension. Something like a bread-bag tag made from the same material as compostable cutlery? A cotton string woven into the racket that you could just tug on to remove? The piece of tape that's around the plastic bag, just without the plastic bag? Come on, it can't be that hard.

 

Clockwise, starting with the server: Cara Black, Kim Clijsters, Rennae Stubbs, Martina Navratilova.

Edited July 16, 2018 by dcalley

[ombelico]

7 hours ago, dcalley said:

The mixed doubles final is after the men's final, but they're already accustomed to waiting around.

Ah yes, right. At least that final is only limited to 3 sets max. So it's unlikely that they wouldn't be able to finish before the end of the day, no matter how long the men's final could go.

[Jillibean]

On 7/16/2018 at 3:07 PM, dcalley said:

The mixed doubles final is after the men's final, but they're already accustomed to waiting around.

 

And it took Under Armour a long time to make shoes that Andy was actually willing to wear, which gave the impression UA was not great at making shoes.

I noticed the RF logo that RF's not supposed to use was still on the plastic bags holding his new rackets. Tournaments should ban those bags, by the way. Just have the stringer stick something smaller and more environmentally friendly on the racket to indicate it's new/the tension. Something like a bread-bag tag made from the same material as compostable cutlery? A cotton string woven into the racket that you could just tug on to remove? The piece of tape that's around the plastic bag, just without the plastic bag? Come on, it can't be that hard.

 

Clockwise, starting with the server: Cara Black, Kim Clijsters, Rennae Stubbs, Martina Navratilova.

Thank you for sharing! I love Kim. I thought it was so funny when I saw she was playing with Rennae, as I remember there was speculation way back in the day that Kim and Rennae didn't get along (this was back in the days that Rennae played with Lisa Raymond and Kim played with a few people including Jelena Dokic). 

[dcalley]

12 hours ago, Jillibean said:

Thank you for sharing! I love Kim. I thought it was so funny when I saw she was playing with Rennae, as I remember there was speculation way back in the day that Kim and Rennae didn't get along (this was back in the days that Rennae played with Lisa Raymond and Kim played with a few people including Jelena Dokic). 

Well then you will enjoy Rennae and Kim (and someone else) on two podcast episodes for Raquet: https://www.acast.com/racquet (or for iTunes).

[TVbitch]

...and I have a new American player to hate-watch, Danielle Collins! Her behavior during the semi final game in San Jose was full on CoCo V. and then some. 

Edited August 7, 2018 by TVbitch

[SuburbanHangSuite]

I never thought I'd feel this way, but Imma need Serena to go have several seats and stop talking like she's the first woman in the history of the world to give birth.  It grates.

[BitterApple]

10 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I never thought I'd feel this way, but Imma need Serena to go have several seats and stop talking like she's the first woman in the history of the world to give birth.  It grates.

I agree. She's getting obnoxious, especially now that she's using the kid as an excuse for her losses. Her "overwhelmed working mom" shtick is getting old. Either shut up and play or retire already. 

[Ohwell]

So glad I'm not the only one who's tired of hearing about Serena's motherhood issues.  

[TVbitch]

Ah, Tsitsipas finally beat Sasha. He's so adorable. Great match. Love how Cliff Drysdale really likes to give Brad Gilbert a hard time. He was cracking me up. 

[TVbitch]

Jesus God, can Dj not find a single fucking shoe in this entire world that does not make those dental-drill / nail-on-chalkboard squeaks. It is making me fucking mental! 

Enjoyed watching Kvitova beat Serena in Cincinnati, of course they immediately brought up her "mom" struggles. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by TVbitch

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Lord, give me strength.  Apparently now Serena's story is that her Konta ass-whooping was a direct result of hearing that her sister's murderer had been paroled just moments before she took to the court.

Serena, stop it.  You're gonna make me root for an early US Open exit.

[Harry24]

Quote

Apparently now Serena's story is that her Konta ass-whooping was a direct result of hearing that her sister's murderer had been paroled just moments before she took to the court.

Lord knows I'm not Serena's biggest fan, but I can buy that.  Having never had a family member murdered myself (thankfully), I'm not going to criticize.

[Ohwell]

But Serena won't just shut up and play.  She's still talking about her pregnancy. 

Sometimes you just get your ass kicked.  Yes, even it's Serena.

[BitterApple]

I feel horrible about what happened to Serena's sister and I don't doubt the killer being paroled messed with her head. However I think as far as the "mom struggles," she needs to give it a rest. Her kid is nearly a year old. If she's not in shape by this point, it's on her and nothing else. I don't expect her to dominate because it takes a while to get match tough, but it seems like she's still struggling with fitness at times.

[Jeddah]

17 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Lord, give me strength.  Apparently now Serena's story is that her Konta ass-whooping was a direct result of hearing that her sister's murderer had been paroled just moments before she took to the court.

Serena, stop it.  You're gonna make me root for an early US Open exit.

To me that seems like a completely legitimate reason to be distracted and not focused on tennis at that time.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Of course it's a legit reason but it seems like a bit of belated excuse-making.  I get annoyed with her because she never admits she's just outplayed.

15 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Sometimes you just get your ass kicked.  Yes, even it's Serena.

Or this, as Ohwell so eloquently stated.  

[TVbitch]

Another day, another Kurious meltdown. 

[Quof]

On 16/08/2018 at 5:54 PM, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Apparently now Serena's story is that her Konta ass-whooping was a direct result of hearing that her sister's murderer had been paroled just moments before she took to the court.

The family would have received notice of his hearing.  Since Serena knew when the hearing was, she could have made a conscious decision not to find out about the result until after her match - screen your phone calls, don't check the news.  It's not like she was in the locker room watching CNN and the story popped up - she was scrolling through Instagram.   

[sacrebleu]

Quote

Apparently now Serena's story is that her Konta ass-whooping was a direct result of hearing that her sister's murderer had been paroled just moments before she took to the court.

I'll admit this broke my heart a little. (personal note, a family member was one of the journalists killed @ the Capital Gazette in June, and seeing news about the trial is enough to shake me, so I get that, but also-- as a professional tennis player-- put your frikkin' phone away before a match so you don't get distracted maybe.) 

I'm feeling a little melancholy about the Open. I usually go Labor Day weekend with friends, but we decided to do the Laver Cup this year instead. I'm totally bummed they picked Goffin for Team Europe instead of Tsitsipas... Team World added Shapavalov last year, because of his incredible break-out at Rogers Cup, I was hoping for something similar for the Greek kid.   

[Jillibean]

On 8/23/2018 at 9:02 AM, sacrebleu said:

I'll admit this broke my heart a little. (personal note, a family member was one of the journalists killed @ the Capital Gazette in June, and seeing news about the trial is enough to shake me, so I get that, but also-- as a professional tennis player-- put your frikkin' phone away before a match so you don't get distracted maybe.) 

I empathize with her on this one, because even if she wasn’t looking at her phone I’m sure she knew the hearing was occurring and would have been anxious and feeling sick until she knew the outcome. I’m not sure it’s possible to not think about something like that or shut it off, even if you know you have to play. There are some things that transcend your ability to focus on your job. In this case, I imagine the only way she was getting out of that situation with any ability to set the matter aside was if the killer’s parole was denied. 

Of course, whether it was necessary to share this with the media is another story altogether. 

[mojoween]

I feel like I need to know more about the French Open banning Serena’s beautiful catsuit because “...one must respect the game and the place” before I get outraged, but it sure does sound like a bag of bullshit.

Edited August 25, 2018 by mojoween

[BitterApple]

I thought the catsuit was tacky as hell, but not inappropriate. I'm not sure why they banned it.

[CheetaraThunder]

Well the catsuit was helping with her blood clots and overall health...but fuck that right?

[FrenchCheese]

The president of the French federation wants to have control over what people are wearing before Roland Garros. And yes it is a bag of bullshit but he is getting a lot of backlash over his comment. First because of course the comment he is making has to be about a woman suit and not the atrocity that some men are wearing. And there is a lot of example even by french players. But what can we expect from a 60 years old white man that is president of a french sport federation (yes it seems like a position that can only be occupied by an old white man in France).

And second because it is to do like Wimbledon. It's been a couple of years that French tennis seems to be jealous of Wimbledon were traditions are respected. So if we have to create traditions the catsuit has to go I guess.

 

[TVbitch]

I rarely root for Serena, but she should totally bust out a new catsuit for the US Open. The crowd would go bananas.

Wow, did not see Halep going out first round. Kanepi slayed her. I have to admit, by the end I was rooting for Kanepi not to lose it due to nerves and the Si-mo-na shouting crowd. I don't remember much about Kanepi but that she's been around for a long time. The on court interview was weird! 

[Ruby Gillis]

On 8/27/2018 at 1:18 PM, TVbitch said:

I rarely root for Serena, but she should totally bust out a new catsuit for the US Open. The crowd would go bananas.

Why would the French Open announce a dress code with literally no details except ONE player’s outfit will violate it? At least wait till the code is finalized so you can pretend you’re impartial. I hope Serena puts a tiny skirt over the same catsuit and wears it again. 

[sacrebleu]

Wardrobe-based sexism, the US Open edition: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/female-player-briefly-takes-off-shirt-in-us-open-heat-hit-with-very-dumb-penalty 

 

I mean, she was wearing a sports bra-- so I don't think anyone would be offended. Seems a little bit overkill if you ask me.