Tennis Thread

[TVbitch]

Sascha was on fire during both the Fed and Dj match. It was like he REFUSED to lose. And his poise and humility after the Fed match made me want to beat the crowd up for booing him. He brought "the incident" up again in his speech after winning in a funny way and was generally charming, humble and amusing. I remember thinking earlier this year that he wasn't living up to his hype, but if he keeps playing like this...  

[truthaboutluv]

26 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

And his poise and humility after the Fed match made me want to beat the crowd up for booing him.

What exactly was that about? I had the match on in the background, so I wasn't aware there was even an issue, until I read comments on social media after, with a lot of people upset that the crowd booed Sascha after he won. 

[roseha]

46 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

What exactly was that about? I had the match on in the background, so I wasn't aware there was even an issue, until I read comments on social media after, with a lot of people upset that the crowd booed Sascha after he won. 

It was a legitimate ruling that caused people in the crowd to boo despite repeated explanations.   In the middle of a point during the 2nd set tiebreaker, a ball kid behind Roger dropped the ball and it began rolling toward the court.  Neither Roger nor the umpire, Carlos Bernardes, saw it but Sascha did and halted play because that is interference, thus a "let".  Bernardes checked with the boy (as did Roger) and he confirmed that he dropped the ball and it was rolling.  So Bermardes ruled it was a "let" that interfered with play and called for the point to be replayed.  Sascha then served an ace and won a few points later.  

Despite Bernardes, going out of his way to explain this in the moment a great many in the crowd roundly booed Sascha which was really horrible and uncalled for. It's a hard and fast rule which the umpire confirmed and which Roger also did not argue.   Both the on-court reporter Annabel Croft and Sascha himself again told the crowd what happened but many kept booing. Finally they started to lessen but I felt awful for him.  And yes he was very humble and modest in his explanation, even indicating he understood Roger having "the most fans".   Fortunately Roger supported Sascha in the press conference later and today if anything I think the crowd was pretty much supporting Sascha through out (though not booing Novak).  I do there there may have been an element in it of wanting to make up for yesterday.  At least I hope so.

Glad they supported him in the final at least.  Very happy for him.

[truthaboutluv]

13 hours ago, roseha said:

It was a legitimate ruling that caused people in the crowd to boo despite repeated explanations.   In the middle of a point during the 2nd set tiebreaker, a ball kid behind Roger dropped the ball and it began rolling toward the court.  Neither Roger nor the umpire, Carlos Bernardes, saw it but Sascha did and halted play because that is interference, thus a "let".  Bernardes checked with the boy (as did Roger) and he confirmed that he dropped the ball and it was rolling.  So Bermardes ruled it was a "let" that interfered with play and called for the point to be replayed.  Sascha then served an ace and won a few points later.  

Thanks. I really hate when crowds allow their obvious bias for one player to make them be complete unreasonable assholes to another player. It's so damn unnecessary.

Edited November 19, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[dcalley]

John Isner stands by coach Justin Gimelstob after arrest

Ugh, of course he does.

[mojoween]

Who would have thought that Andy Murray would retire before Roger Federer?

[truthaboutluv]

This breaks my heart. Admittedly Murray was never a favorite of mine, mostly because I found him to be incredibly boring but I didn't want to see his career end this way. Especially since I do think he had some more Slams in him. 

eta: Mojoween, you beat me to it. 

Link

[halopub]

I hoped he had more Majors in him too. It really wasn’t that long ago that he had gotten back to number one in the rankings. 

The press conference was hard to watch. It sounds like he’ll have to have more invasive hip surgery like Bob Bryan just to tie his shoes without pain.

[dcalley]

:(

[Sew Sumi]

I didn't realize his injuries were so debilitating. I always liked him and had hoped for a comeback this year. As Trump would say, sad. 

[TVbitch]

I just watched a clip of the press conference. I don't know how the journalists contained themselves from jumping up there and giving the poor guy a hug! I hope there is some miracle and he does really well in the tournament. To try so hard and so long and then have to accept you just can't make it back. Ugh. 

[BitterApple]

Wow, I'm truly sorry to see this. I know Andy had been struggling with injuries for a while, but I had no idea they were so severe as to push him into retirement. 

[Ohwell]

I hope he gets a great send off at the Australian Open.

[Etta Place]

I have never been a fan, but that press conference was heartbreaking. 

[theatremouse]

Generic commentating strikes again: Look I get that they're stuck in their "if you're going to play Serena, you really need a weapon" narrative, but Tatjana Maria's first serve percentage is 8% right now. I don't care who you're playing against. If it's a professional match,and you're getting 8% of first serves in, you are not going to win. Doesn't matter that she's being outplayed in just about every other way as well right now. That alone is enough to sink anyone.

[NowVoyager]

https://youtu.be/6pm3g_H3DPk

[Ohwell]

Cute kid.

I'm sorry Monfils went out so soon, but I'm ecstatic that Tiafoe made it to the 3rd round. 

[truthaboutluv]

So there seems to be a lot of buzz around the Rafa/De Minaur match, as I see De Minaur has clearly become Australia's next great hope. Should be interesting. Rafa eviscerated him the last time they played at a Slam but since then he's had some big wins. Still, I'm not sure I buy he has the tools to beat Rafa in a Best of 5 at a Slam. But hey, crazier shit has happened. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[theatremouse]

It sure would make a good story if DeMinaur won. Entertaining to say the least. I thought he was gonna get there against Cilic in NY. Not that Cilic is as much of a challenge as Rafa.

[Harry24]

3 hours ago, theatremouse said:

It sure would make a good story if DeMinaur won. Entertaining to say the least. I thought he was gonna get there against Cilic in NY. Not that Cilic is as much of a challenge as Rafa.

I don't know.  A tense five-setter is not the best prep for playing Rafa.  Perhaps DeM will luck out and this will be the match where Rafa gets his hardcourt injury (I'm definitely hoping not, but it has been a pretty regular thing lately.)  I think that's DeM's best chance.

Speaking of appealing young Aussie players, I just love Ash Barty.  She's adorable.  She could challenge Naomi O in an Adorable-Off.

ETA: Whoa, skinny American Anisimova just took out Force of Nature Sabalenka whom many thought would win this thing.  She dominated her.  WTF?

Edited January 18, 2019 by Harry24
New news.

[truthaboutluv]

15 hours ago, Harry24 said:

I don't know.  A tense five-setter is not the best prep for playing Rafa.

Yeah Agassi said as much after de Minaur won his second round. He didn't have much hope for him against Rafa, which as he noted, was already going to be incredibly tough and then to do so after an almost four hour match. And so said so done. Bless his heart, he kept trying and the crowd tried to give him some energy but every time a glimmer of hope appeared, Rafa just killed it. I am actually excited for Rafa/Berdych and Federer/Tsitsipas. I think those two matches could be really good. Oh and Dimitrov/Tiafoe should be good too. 

 

15 hours ago, Harry24 said:

ETA: Whoa, skinny American Anisimova just took out Force of Nature Sabalenka whom many thought would win this thing.  She dominated her.  WTF?

Really? Maybe I wasn't paying too much attention to the pre-Aus Open tournaments but what exactly was that prediction based on?

Sharapova vs Wozniacki was a very interesting match. Definite bad blood there between those two and I think Sharapova's feeling might smug from that win. The match up against Barty should be interesting. Caro's ranking is definitely going to suffer from that loss. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[Ohwell]

Congrats to Tiafoe for making it to the round of 16!

[theatremouse]

I'm excited to see Djoker/Shapovolov. It should be entertaining. I hope.

[TVbitch]

Finally caught up! Don't dare come here and get spoiled!

Bummer Murray went out first round, but I thought it was a bit awkward the way they had him come over for an interview and the interviewer talked about his career in the past tense, and then they showed a video of all the top players saying how they will miss him. He had a look on his face like, um, guys, I said this MAY be my last tournament...

Halep match against the American Kenin was intense.  But Halep having to go so hard in these first couple rounds does not bode well.

I usually root for Sharapova to lose (if nothing else to end the screaming) but even I couldn't begrudge her than win over Wozniacki. She wanted it, BAD.  I continue to wonder what is up with her skin, and why someone with her resources is not caring for it better! 

[Harry24]

How did I miss that Svitolina has snagged La Monf!  So cute.

Second, way to go, Naomi!  So nice to see her move past her negative demons and win the match.  I love her.

[Ohwell]

13 hours ago, Harry24 said:

How did I miss that Svitolina has snagged La Monf!  So cute.

Wait, whaaaaat???!!!

Ok, I just checked and they're dating.  I didn't see her interview.  I thought they had gotten married.

Edited January 19, 2019 by Ohwell

[theatremouse]

I didn't exactly expect Shapovolov to beat Novak, but I did expect that match to be much more competitive. I've only seen Novak trounce someone for 2/3 a match, have a rough ten minutes, throw a hissy fit, come back and win it easily, oh, 100 times? Meh. 

[Harry24]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Wait, whaaaaat???!!!

Ok, I just checked and they're dating.  I didn't see her interview.  I thought they had gotten married.

 

It was news to me that they were dating.  (Sorry, didn't mean to imply they had married.)

I'm always happy to see when star hetero guy athletes date/marry fellow athletes.   It seems far more likely that there is a relationship of respect and not possession there.

Edited January 19, 2019 by Harry24

[truthaboutluv]

2 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I didn't exactly expect Shapovolov to beat Novak, but I did expect that match to be much more competitive. I've only seen Novak trounce someone for 2/3 a match, have a rough ten minutes, throw a hissy fit, come back and win it easily, oh, 100 times? Meh. 

Honestly, it went about exactly the way I expected it to. 

[BitterApple]

I'm a bit miffed over the male announcers dismissing Martina's "double standards" comments regarding how the media is ogling shirtless Tiafoe yet acted like Alize Cornet committed a crime against humanity by removing her shirt at the US Open. She was 100% correct.

Edited January 20, 2019 by BitterApple

[truthaboutluv]

The youngsters making some big moves. I had a gut feeling Tsitsipas was going to beat Federer. I tried to stay up but I couldn't. So I didn't see the latter part of the match but the final score looks like it was a close match.  And what a way to celebrate your 21st birthday for Tiafoe. 

Meanwhile,  I don't even know how to describe that Kerber loss. True story, at one point, when I switched from Rafa's match to check the score and saw the match not on the scoreboard, I thought Kerber had retired. It never even dawned me that the match was over already. That's how quick the whole thing was. 

 

Quote

I'm a bit miffed over the male announcers dismissing Martina's "double standards" comments regarding how the media is ogling shirtless Tiafoe yet acted like Alize Cornet committed a crime against humanity by removing her shirt at the US Open. She was 100% correct.

To be fair,  when the whole incident with Cornet happened at the Open, I remember many in the media and others criticizing the umpire's call because they noted that men changed their shirts on court all the time. So the double standard was called out. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[mojoween]

I really need to find someone new to like on the men’s side because if Roger loses, my interest plummets.

Although I will still watch for Serena and hopefully Stephens pulls out this match she is in.  This is tense!

[SuburbanHangSuite]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

I really need to find someone new to like on the men’s side because if Roger loses, my interest plummets.

I am forever and always a Roger lover but this kid Tsitsipas is extremely likeable.  I couldn't even be too upset when he won because he really played a masterful match.  I think he'll be my  heir to the Federer throne because Dmitrov and Monfils constantly disappoint me.

Bye, Sloane.  That serve let you down today.

[Ohwell]

Happy Birthday, Tiafoe!  What a birthday present you gave yourself!

[crimsongrl]

What a day of tennis! I wish Tiafoe was playing anyone else but my bb Rafa in the next round! 

After Tiafoe lost the 3rd set I switched over to watch the last 4 games of Kerber/Collins and was in shock. She can definitely take out Pavlyuchenkova on Monday. 

I've seen 3 interviews of Collins' and she's VERY confident. It's going to rub some people the wrong way for sure. For now I still like her though. :)

[truthaboutluv]

44 minutes ago, crimsongrl said:

I've seen 3 interviews of Collins' and she's VERY confident. It's going to rub some people the wrong way for sure. For now I still like her though. :)

I remember Collins from her epic match against Simona at last year's Australian Open. Simona was down match point multiple times in the match. What stood out to me when the match was over was how pissed Collins looked and her whole demeanor was rather off-putting.

I get being disappointed,  I get even anger at herself but girl looked like if she could, she would have killed Simona, the umpire, her team, Simona's team, etc. It was a little intense is all I'm saying. So not surprised by your tactful summation of her. 

Thing about people like Collins and Coco a year or so ago, it's while I am fine with confidence and self belief, until you start delivering on a consistent basis, versus one good Grand Slam run, then maybe dial back the arrogance and over confidence. Just saying...

[khyber]

Somehow Collins doesn't bug me like Coco does.

[Etta Place]

Where is Alexander Zverev? He seems to have sent an angry shadow of himself who can't play tennis to the Raonic match.

[truthaboutluv]

47 minutes ago, Etta Place said:

Where is Alexander Zverev? He seems to have sent an angry shadow of himself who can't play tennis to the Raonic match.

Uh yeah, I checked in on the score and was very confused. Must have drank whenever sleeping potion Kerber had yesterday.

[Dejana]

52 minutes ago, Etta Place said:

Where is Alexander Zverev? He seems to have sent an angry shadow of himself who can't play tennis to the Raonic match.

Crumbling under pressure to live up to the hype after Tsitsipas and Tiafoe already advanced to the quarterfinals?

[theatremouse]

That was so weird. He got a GIFT in the first game. You have to go in assuming you won't break Raonic and are in for a ton of tiebreaks. First game! Gift wrapped! And then...he just spiraled into who knows what for an hour. The third set was more normal, but waaaaay too late.

[truthaboutluv]

And this is why I've said that despite his big wins at the Masters 1000 tournaments, I'm still waiting to be sold on Sacha when it comes to the really big stage. To date, he has only made one Grand Slam Quarterfinal in his career. That seems so crazy to me. Finals and even semifinals okay but the Quarterfinals?

[dcalley]

The higher-ranked player always comes onto the court second. For some reason the announcer introduced Halep first, and this happened:

[mojoween]

No tag?  No entry.

[theatremouse]

That's kinda good I think? That's the whole point of security protocols: following them.

[mojoween]

Oh I agree.  I was amused and Roger didn’t seem too put out by it.  It was nice to not see him pull out “don’t you know who I am?”

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, theatremouse said:

That's kinda good I think? That's the whole point of security protocols: following them.

Exactly. I didn't like when one of the announcers said the security guard was taking his job too seriously. In this day and age, that's certainly not a bad thing. 

[doodlebug]

7 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Exactly. I didn't like when one of the announcers said the security guard was taking his job too seriously. In this day and age, that's certainly not a bad thing. 

And that announcer was undoubtedly the guy who would be the first to complain if someone got into the complex without authorization and stole his wallet.  The only way security can work well is if everyone has to follow the same rules. So nice to see that Roger understood that even if the announcer didn't.

Edited January 22, 2019 by doodlebug

[truthaboutluv]

7 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Exactly. I didn't like when one of the announcers said the security guard was taking his job too seriously. In this day and age, that's certainly not a bad thing. 

Well you have to understand, to some of these announcers Federer walks on water, is a God amongst us mere mortals, so how dare this security guard ask for ID from him. I do like how chill Roger was about the whole thing. I was watching a Queen documentary a few weeks ago and there was backstage footage showing a security personnel asking Brian May to show his ID, when the band played Wembley Stadium. And that was the mid-80's where security probably wasn't even as intense as it is now. 

I figured Tiafoe wouldn't have much left to take on someone like Rafa. I liked his attitude though and that he kept fighting, even when it looked hopeless. I'm actually genuinely excited for Rafa/Stefanos. Of course I'm rooting for Rafa but I wouldn't be shocked if Stefanos pulls off the upset. 

So happy for Kvitova. Sweet girl and she's worked hard to get herself back in a winning position. I would be more interested in Djokovic/Nishikori, if Kei hadn't had like three straight 5-set battles. I forsee this ending in a straight sets win for Novak or Kei retires from the match.

[Ohwell]

Welp.  Tiafoe had a good run, and even though I'm disappointed, I'm not surprised how it ended.