Tennis Thread

[Ohwell]

4 minutes ago, xaxat said:

I only  watch the majors, but is Alexandra Stephenson. . . not good at her job as a commentator?

Also, did I hear Patrick McEnroe refer to a panoramic shot of the Upper East Side as being Midtown? He should know better. He's a local.

I commented about Alexandra Stephenson a couple days ago.  I'm so sorry that she's been hired.  I can't exactly explain why I don't like her, but there's something quirky and "off" about her.  Her chattering annoys me.

[BitterApple]

Just now, Ohwell said:

I commented about Alexandra Stephenson a couple days ago.  I'm so sorry that she's been hired.  I can't exactly explain why I don't like her, but there's something quirky and "off" about her.  Her chattering annoys me.

She has an annoyingly slow speech pattern and vocal uptick that's reminiscent of the Kardashians.  

[EVS]

33 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

She has an annoyingly slow speech pattern and vocal uptick that's reminiscent of the Kardashians.  

Personally, I keep waiting for her to say, “This one time, at tennis camp...” 

[Harry24]

Wow, did anyone see the match between McCoco (love that name!) and Barty-Azarenka? One and love?  What the heck happened?

[Ohwell]

43 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

She has an annoyingly slow speech pattern and vocal uptick that's reminiscent of the Kardashians.  

That's what it is!  I couldn't put my finger on it.

[NUguy514]

Alexandra Stevenson is laughably shitty at commentating.  She said something about Halep a few weeks ago that had infamous moron Chris Evert looking at her like she was the dumbest thing Evert had ever seen, which is truly an accomplishment.

What even is the point of Sasha Zverev?

[topanga]

35 minutes ago, Harry24 said:

Wow, did anyone see the match between McCoco (love that name!) and Barty-Azarenka? One and love?  What the heck happened?

McCoco was fighting hard, but Barty-Azarenka simply had more skills and more experience.

[ombelico]

7 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Wow. I did not know all that stuff about Medvedev.  From now on I'll just call him Asshole #5.

I can't help but read "Asshole #5" in the voice of Lou Bega.

1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said:

I need Serena to surpass that bitch Margaret Court.  I mean, I love Serena but my need to have that bitch Margaret Court down a few pegs in the record books is almost over powering. 

Sing it, sister!

[Ohwell]

Monfils! 

I ❤️ him, I can't help it.  He hugged the guy at the end but I also thought he was gonna kiss him.   

[Etta Place]

8 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

 My loathing of Novak goes back a long time, back when I hated Roger with the hate of a thousand fiery suns. I don't feel that way about Roger anymore. He really mellowed for me when he had kids. Now he's okay to me. 

But it was always the desperation to be liked that I saw in Novak. And I've only ever seen that desperate need to be liked in people who were inherently unlikable. It was the way he always tried to play for the crowd. The way he seems so needy all of the time. And he was constantly for many years retiring when he was behind. I never respected him for that.

He's also completely charmless. Every one of his cute little smiles seems a studied cute little smile that I suspect he has practiced in the mirror for hours. He is the complete epitome of a try-hard.

I've also never forgotten the time when his asshole father tried to beat up some Serbian radio announcers for speaking negatively about Novak. His dad has always been a total jackass. And whatever happened to that brother of his that was never in school?

Same, as far as Roger and Djokovic go. I used to really hate Roger and I've gotten over it, pretty much around the time that he started losing a fair amount. Not that it was about a dominant player, I've always been a fan of Rafa even with the practically pre-ordained results at the French. But the dislike of Novak has stayed, or maybe intensified. I used to find him uncomfortable to watch - so much angst and so many attempts to get the crowd behind him, mostly by demanding it.

It actually had been long enough since I've watched him/he's done the injury complaining and retiring thing that I really didn't think he would do it. Then when he did, it brought all those other times to mind again. 

8 hours ago, Ohwell said:

11 hours ago, Etta Place said:

Wow. I did not know all that stuff about Medvedev.  From now on I'll just call him Asshole #5.

Yeah, he was disqualified from the match after talking over his comments with the tournament director. So, if what he said audibly on court left any doubts, whatever he said in that conversation certainly didn't. I just can't with anyone who is going to be racist. Dead to me.

Anyway, Zverev. I liked him when I first started noticing him but he's a mess. He is maybe going through some sort of breakdown similar to what Dimitrov went (is going?) through. Or maybe he should just quit being coached by his dad. I saw that a German-language interviewer asked him pointedly if he was going to make any changes in his team following this loss. (He said no.)

[sacrebleu]

Quote

And yet I feel secure in saying the U.S. Open will STILL not get the epic final they want. I'm convinced that tournament's cursed when it comes to Rafa/Federer match ups. 

co-sign. At this point, I'm kind of hoping it becomes an epic 'what might have been' match-up.

(also, as I've mentioned previously, I'm still pissed at Fed for losing to Tommy Effin' Robrado in the fourth round in 2013, after I sold my US Open tickets and bought quarterfinal tickets, in the hopes of seeing Fed-Nadal in the quarters).

I'm kind of enjoying the Medvedev villainy. Tennis hasn't had an actual villain since the early Llendl days. (also quite selfishly, I'm in a US Open pool, and I had Medvedev taking out Novak-- and making it to the finals. If he's the one who denies the world a Fed-Nadal US Open final whoo-boy!)

[BitterApple]

I'd love to see Monfils shock the hell out of everybody and win the whole thing. 

[truthaboutluv]

Just now, BitterApple said:

I'd love to see Monfils shock the hell out of everybody and win the whole thing. 

Not impossible, IMO. At this point with Monfils, I think it's a combination of his body holding up and self belief. I remember when he came so close to beating Federer a few years ago in the Quarterfinals I think and he got tight the closer victory was in reach and of course Fed came back to win.

[Crs97]

Why was Lendl a villain?  I don’t remember him ever doing anything on the court that comes close to these clowns.  I thought the dis on him was that he was too robotic.  I remember McEnroe hated him, which frankly was enough to make me like him.

[Ohwell]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

I'd love to see Monfils shock the hell out of everybody and win the whole thing. 

I would lose my shit with glee!

[KittenPokerCheater]

Come on Wawrinka!  I'm rooting for you.

[Ohwell]

I'm so nervous I can't watch.

[BitterApple]

What in gold lamé hell is Medvedev's wife wearing? 

[sacrebleu]

Quote

Why was Lendl a villain?  I don’t remember him ever doing anything on the court that comes close to these clowns.

I didn't mean to imply he behaved badly. I just remember people rooting against him all the time, because of the whole robotic demeanor, and the Reagan era mistrust of people from the Eastern bloc. (granted, later in his career, when he emigrated to the US, and people sort of felt bad because he tried so hard to win Wimbledon and couldn't quite get there, he became less of a 'bad guy') 

[Etta Place]

Well, that was ... something. Not anything good, but something.

[Rickster]

23 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I don't know about the women but for the men, if it's not Rafa, it'll probably be Federer winning 21. I'd like to be wrong and yes, a fresh face would be nice but I mean come on, we are going on two straight years where the men's singles champion at every Grand Slam has been Roger, Rafa or Djokovic. Though to be fair Novak did win four out of those seven (which is insane when I type it out) so there is that. 

While it makes sense when you think about, it was still amazing to hear last night the stat that the last 39 majors men’s singles champions have all been Europeans. The last non European being Del Potro at the US Open in 2010.

[TVbitch]

Y'all might boo me :) but I was rooting for Daniil to pull it out. If nothing else, he showed incredible grit, determination and problem solving. He didn't quit. I'm glad I get to see him play again when he is feeling better. Also glad the crowd at least gave him some applause at the end and that he didn't quadruple down on his Snidely Whiplash stuff. I thought he handled the post-match interview pretty well.  

Can't believe Stan could not put him away! Daniil was barely able to run and is held together by string and tape at this point. Stan was an amazing sport as always, giving Daniil that sweet thumbs up after Daniil took an incredible net point. Then Daniil waved back at him with a little grin on his face like a social outcast who just got a shout out from the captain of the football team or something. It was cute. And of course Stan was very gracious at the net. I think Stans sportmanship softened the crowd up a little. Really don't understand why Stan didn't try to run him around more. Maybe he was flummoxed, cuz he sure did not play with the confidence he had the other night. 

Last night, Andreescu was impressive. She jumps all over the court like Spiderman. I have not seen her play Serena, but it could be interesting.   

[Ohwell]

I'm pissed that Asshole #5 beat Warwinka.

Damn damn damn!

[mojoween]

What is the asshole ranking?  Novak one, Zverev three, Medvedev five?  Who are the other two?  

Oh wait is Kyrgios one?  And I’m still missing someone.

[Ohwell]

19 minutes ago, mojoween said:

What is the asshole ranking?  Novak one, Zverev three, Medvedev five?  Who are the other two?  

Oh wait is Kyrgios one?  And I’m still missing someone.

Here's my ranking, although I don't expect that everyone will agree:

Krygios - Asshole #1

Shapovalov - Asshole #2

Tsisipas - Asshole #3

Zverev - Asshole #4

Medvedev - Asshole #5

Of course my focus is on the young'uns and while it might not be fair, it is what it is, lol.  

Novak is just needy and I really don't pay that much attention to him anymore.  I just enjoy watching him lose but that's about all. 

[BitterApple]

Aside from that one time where he nailed the umpire with the ball, has Shapovalov had many dust-ups? I don't follow him too closely, so I can't recall hearing anything.

[Rickster]

I’m glad I didn’t pay money to see that Williams match. Could hardly have been more boring.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Rickster said:

I’m glad I didn’t pay money to see that Williams match. Could hardly have been more boring.

Fed/Dmitrov isn't much better. Talk about a dud of a night session.

Eta: looks like I spoke too soon, lol.

Edited September 4, 2019 by BitterApple

[Mrs. P.]

Even with Serena playing lights out like she played tonight, I still think her match with Svitolina is going to be very competitive.

[Spunkygal]

4 minutes ago, Mrs. P. said:

Even with Serena playing lights out like she played tonight, I still think her match with Svitolina is going to be very competitive.

From your lips to God’s ears!

i hate Pam’s interviews during matches, no matter how runaway the match is.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Yea, Pam's post game interview with Serena tonight was very odd...and bad.  I was embarrassed for Serena.

[Spunkygal]

5 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Yea, Pam's post game interview with Serena tonight was very odd...and bad.  I was embarrassed for Serena.

I didn’t see that one. I meant the interviews during matches, like the one she just had with Adam Silver, and other mid-match interviews with other celebs.

[Etta Place]

Well, Dimitrov has taken a set, at least. And although he double faulted away his first opportunity, breaking Federer to take the set is not a bad way to do it.

[CouchTater]

On 9/2/2019 at 9:00 PM, Etta Place said:

Same, as far as Roger and Djokovic go. I used to really hate Roger and I've gotten over it, pretty much around the time that he started losing a fair amount. Not that it was about a dominant player, I've always been a fan of Rafa even with the practically pre-ordained results at the French. But the dislike of Novak has stayed, or maybe intensified. I used to find him uncomfortable to watch - so much angst and so many attempts to get the crowd behind him, mostly by demanding it.

I get super-uncomfortable watching Rafa's OCD on display during both his serve and the opponent's serve, as if I'm seeing something that shouldn't be on display (hard to explain) I feel bad for the guy.  Does anyone know if he goes through the whole ritual when he's practicing his serves?

I'm a big fan of the all 3 of the Big 3, plus Andy, Stan, Kei, etc.  I don't get the universal love of Rafa, though, seemingly above everyone else.  They all work hard and are damn-near super-human at what they do. 

I can't say that Djokovic is fake because I can only go by what he brings to the court, and who doesn't want to be loved?

[BlackberryJam]

I tune into the Dmitrov Federer match in the middle of the third. It was like all the energy had been sucked out of the stadium. Now Dmitrov is serving for the 4th.

Roger looks really uncomfortable.

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, CouchTater said:

I don't get the universal love of Rafa, though, seemingly above everyone else. 

Rafa is not universally loved, trust me.

People may just be more aware of those who didn't always love Roger (and I think those people go back to the days when he was dominating everyone, before Rafa and Novak started challenging him. I know Andy Roddick fans really hate him for those Wimbledon finals, though these just bring back great memories for me) and the current dislike for Novak. 

If anything, I'd say it's that feelings for Rafa tend to be more neutral. So he has his fans who adore him (hi) and those for whom he's not their fave but they don't dislike him. It may be more indifference. So that's why it may seem like he's universally loved but again, trust me, he's not. 

Edited September 4, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[truthaboutluv]

Okay no offense Grigor, but after blowing those many break chances to go up two breaks and going down triple break points, I was positive Federer would break back and win this in four. My apologies for doubting you. 

[theatremouse]

Dmitrov has hit a handful of really great shots, but really the only reason he's still in this match is that Roger is playing terribly. He has something like 3x as many unforced as winners. That is Not Normal for him. It's not even just when he goes for the line and misses... he keeps all out mis-hitting, like shanking it completely. It's weird.

[truthaboutluv]

Just now, theatremouse said:

Dmitrov has hit a handful of really great shots, but really the only reason he's still in this match is that Roger is playing terribly.

To be fair, I thought they were fairly even in the first two sets and then Grigor played some terrible games in the third set that gifted Roger the breaks. And Federer played as terribly in the fourth set with a number of wild forehand errors. 

[BlackberryJam]

Roger looks terrible and his play is uninspired. I don't really have a dog in this fight, but I really wanted to go to bed and was hoping it would finish in four. I'm not sure if I can be bothered to stay up for all of it. If it's as dull as the third set I'm out. I'll probably watch two games in.

Count me as someone who loves Rafa. I have a lot of reasons why. I was never, ever a Roddick fan. I remember laughing at those Andy's Mojo commercials.

[BitterApple]

Wow, Roger called for a trainer? What's going on? Legit injury or hoping to disrupt Grigor's momentum?

Edited September 4, 2019 by BitterApple

[theatremouse]

He's not usually the mind-games type. Plus if they evaluated him off-court it means the thing he was complaining about would require him to be somewhat undressed. Stalling for time injuries aren't usually that specific. There was one shot of his wife and his agent? And the agent was on the phone. And I thought I saw pretty clearly him saying "back" to her as he hung up the phone. So I'm assuming Roger's back is hurting, presumably lower back.

They keep saying this is going to be the win of Dmitrov's career and I mean, I guess it'll be a confidence booster, and yay a semi at a slam, but like...your opponent hits 60 unforced errors you SHOULD win.

[BlackberryJam]

Hey Novak, see how Roger is hurting, losing and still out there trying? Take a hint.

[theatremouse]

Oh I don't want Novak to take that hint. I hate watching him play. I don't mind when he bails because it means he's off the screen sooner. (I'd actually turned his match off, I think, one game before he retired and I didn't bother checking the results for hours because I assumed it was still ongoing. Was totally surprised to realize I could've kept the TV on.)

[BitterApple]

The night session crowds have become so obnoxious this year. I can't stand when people yell right as players are about to serve.

Poor Roger. This is a dismal way to go out.

[BlackberryJam]

1 minute ago, theatremouse said:

Oh I don't want Novak to take that hint. I hate watching him play. I don't mind when he bails because it means he's off the screen sooner. (I'd actually turned his match off, I think, one game before he retired and I didn't bother checking the results for hours because I assumed it was still ongoing. Was totally surprised to realize I could've kept the TV on.)

Good point.

[truthaboutluv]

9 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

And I thought I saw pretty clearly him saying "back" to her as he hung up the phone. So I'm assuming Roger's back is hurting, presumably lower back.

McEnroe and company were saying they thought the back was troubling him during the fourth set because you could see him subtly twisting it a few times. 

10 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

and yay a semi at a slam,

Grigor's made the semis of a Slam before - Wimbledon, where he lost to Djokovic and Australian Open, where he lost to Rafa. But I see your point. I guess it's a big deal because he's never beaten Federer but yeah, you know many will say, "well Roger wasn't exactly at his best".

Like I said, the U.S. Open is cursed and will never see a Federer/Rafa match. 

[BlackberryJam]

And no Rafa/Roger at the USO again. 

[theatremouse]

Right that's my point. Like I'm not saying this is a bad result for Grigor. Of course it's not, but the way they're talking about this as an accomplishment strikes me as odd because he was not winning because of what he was doing right, he was winning because of what his opponent was doing wrong. I mean on paper, sure yeah, no one will remember the circumstances of the win later...but this is one of those like Player A lost the math more than Player B won it, you know? Like "how'd you do it?" Um, I stood there and didn't double fault too much and waited for him to shank the return.

[pennben]

41 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

Hey Novak, see how Roger is hurting, losing and still out there trying? Take a hint.

While I understand disliking Novak, I think the risk in playing through a shoulder injury and that of an apparent back problem are profoundly different.