Tennis Thread

[BlackberryJam]

3 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Berrettini did well to pull off the third set tiebreaker but I think the suspension in play is going to hurt him and Novak's going to win this one in 4. One, because it's allowing Novak to reset, when he'd started making a few more uncharacteristic errors and two, I think the crowd's presence and energy definitely helped Matteo in the last two sets. 

Regarding Rafa/Schwartzman's quarterfinal, I cracked up at the one commentator who noted, as Rafa was delivering that fourth set beatdown, "I think he takes it personally when he loses a set here". 

Just suspended. There's a curfew on spectators being present and they reached it. So they had to clear the arena. 

I hate it when I have to work and not watch tennis, especially when it's Rafa delivering a beatdown. The only thing I like more than a Rafa beatdown of Novak is a Serena beatdown of Maria.

I mean, I like Diego, but Rafa is the French for me. 

Why WHY does Novak get a mental health break? NOOOoooooooOOo. Yes, I know there are valid reasons, I'm whining, okay?

[emmawoodhouse]

 Novak's faceplant was entertaining. 

[truthaboutluv]

Is Djokovic high? Because he's really doing the absolute most right now in his reaction to this win that most people kind of expected him to win. 

[emmawoodhouse]

14 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Is Djokovic high? Because he's really doing the absolute most right now in his reaction to this win that most people kind of expected him to win. 

He acted like a total ass.

[theatremouse]

His default mode is to be an ass who overreacts to winning when he was absolutely expected to win.

[Crashcourse]

And he wants the crowd to love him and cheer for him like he was an underdog.

Ass.

[TVbitch]

The good news is that Rafa, and, God forbid it gets this far, both Stefanos or Zverev still have a chance to beat Novak!

I had to stop rooting for Sakkari today after she demanded so many ball checks for balls that were clearly way out, then got all flabbergasted when the ref didn't agree with her. She did it so often that eventually the ref got a couple incorrect and wrongly wiped away both a game and a match point from her competitor. 

[Crashcourse]

Sakkari plays mixed doubles with Tsisipas but it would be a hoot to see her teamed with Fognini because they both walk around the court wide-legged like they have a load in their diaper. 

[CouchTater]

30 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Sakkari plays mixed doubles with Tsisipas but it would be a hoot to see her teamed with Fognini because they both walk around the court wide-legged like they have a load in their diaper. 

Yesssss!!!  I was wondering if Sakkari is too muscled for her body and can't close her legs or put her arms down all the way.  LOL

[truthaboutluv]

This is not to take anything away from Djokovic, despite my general disinterest in him but the fact that this set got as tight as it did and Rafa even managed to have a set point at one point, is a strong indication that a lot of this match has been dictated off Rafa's play.

Which for the record, has not been great. This man had something like 20+ unforced errors and he still came very close to winning the set. Djokovic will probably end up winning but I can't say Rafa was exactly at his best here. 

Edited June 11, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[emmawoodhouse]

I'm too nervous to watch, but just flipped it over to see that Novak took the 3rd set. Ugh. 

VAMOS RAFA!!!

[truthaboutluv]

11 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I'm too nervous to watch, but just flipped it over to see that Novak took the 3rd set. Ugh. 

VAMOS RAFA!!!

Oddly, I feel very calm. As I said, outside of some very amazing points by Djokovic at some key moments, which I will concede, Rafa is losing this match for himself.

He either needs to get it together and clean up a lot of these errors (my goodness I don't know the last time I saw this many awful forehand errors from him) or he is going to lose. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I hope Novak doesn't show up Rafa if he wins like he did in the quarters. His behavior was embarrassing.

[Jane Tuesday]

19 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I'm too nervous to watch, but just flipped it over to see that Novak took the 3rd set. Ugh. 

VAMOS RAFA!!!

That's weird. It's 5-4 in the third set here. I assumed it was live. I guess I'd best get out of this thread. Lol

Edited June 11, 2021 by Jane Tuesday
Edited to the right set.

[dcalley]

16 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

That's weird. It's 5-4 in the third set here. I assumed it was live. I guess I'd best get out of this thread. Lol

Yes, I've read that NBC is on a delay in the west. They're getting ready for the Olympics, after all. 🙄

(NBC is live in ET, where I am.)

Edited June 11, 2021 by dcalley

[emmawoodhouse]

NBC's coverage isn't live. They're deep into the 4th set on NBCSN. Fuck, it's match point.

eta It's over. I has the sads. 

Edited June 11, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Crashcourse]

Shit.

Pardon my French.

 

[truthaboutluv]

I have been a fan of Rafa's long enough to know when he's not at his best. And he was never at his best this French Open. There were flashes and moments, like when he went balls out against Schwartzman in that fourth set. but throughout all his rounds, there were a lot of uncharacteristic errors and his form just dropping during the match.

He needed to be his best to beat Djokovic, which I'm sure he knew and he simply wasn't. He started well but his form dipped and he never ever really got it back together. Sports is funny though because I am curious how things would have gone had he won that set point and somehow pulled off that third set. 

eta: I'm mildly curious about the Finals because I know Tsitsipas can beat Djokovic but he has quite the ability to self-implode in a match when he's leading. 

Edited June 11, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[TVbitch]

Ah, pooh! Some spectacular points though. That third set was crazy. So glad they let the crowd stay.

All our hopes now lie with Tsitsipas. I will be rooting for him, even though he is a bit too much turning into a "brand" for my taste. 

[khyber]

Obi-wan Tsitsipas you are my only hope.

[Harry24]

I am so bummed.

ETA: I just can’t stand Djokovic.  (Obvious.).  This Roger fan was totally pulling for dear Rafa, Grand Slam record be damned.

Edited June 11, 2021 by Harry24

[mojoween]

Fucking hell.  Gross.

[theatremouse]

I am team Tsitsipas? And experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance.

[Harry24]

41 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

I am team Tsitsipas? And experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance.

I gather you normally don’t care for ST?  Is it that ND alchemy that magically turns you into a Stefanos fan?

[theatremouse]

I cannot stand Novak. So him vs almost any other player, I'd root for the other player. I had been, if not a fan, not anti-Stefanos, but I saw a couple of matches in which he was kind of bratty? for lack of better word. So I'm sort of soured on him. But nowhere near as soured as I am on ND.

[CouchTater]

That match was amazing.  I didn't see Rafa as not being at his best.  I saw Novak not letting Rafa be at his best.

I know this has been hashed and rehashed, but I'd like to hear from my Primetimer friends:  why do you hate Novak so much, and why do you love Rafa so much?  Granted, Novak can be annoying, but I don't hate him.  And I admire Rafa's success, but I don't love him above all others.  I don't really have a favorite active male player, but if I had to choose I'd say Roger comes closest for his smooth style of play.

**edited to add:  I know Novak has made some stupid decisions during the pandemic, but the hate pre-dates COVID. 

I'll be rooting for Stefanos tomorrow mainly just to see a new grand slam winner (I'm tired of the Big 3), but it's a pro-new winner vote, not an anti-Novak vote, at least for me.

*I will admit to having an irrational dislike of both the Tsitsipas and Zverev camps.  Their dads bug me.

Edited June 12, 2021 by CouchTater

[topanga]

Great first person article about Taylor Townsend. It reads like the transcript of an  interview. 

I never knew much about her tennis story. She talks about being fat-shamed from the time she started playing tennis, when she was around five years old. And I didn’t know she had direct conflicts with the USTA. 
 

I know we’ve discussed Taylor on this site (or maybe it was TWOP). I don’t remember any of us saying she was too fat to play tennis. But I remember posting myself that while she was a great tennis player, she almost definitely would be faster, more agile, and have better stamina if her overall fitness was better. I remember us going back and forth about nutritionists and personal chefs. 
 

Taylor was never going to be lean and lanky like Venus Williams or some Eastern European players. And possibly never as muscular and curvy as Serena. While I stand by my opinion that she could be fitter, but I don’t think a professional tennis player—especially one who’s winning matches— should be told directly or indirectly by a tennis organization that they can’t play in a tournament because of how their body looks. 

 

 

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, CouchTater said:

I didn't see Rafa as not being at his best.  I saw Novak not letting Rafa be at his best.

YMMV but that third set was riddled with errors from Rafa, many of which was all his own doing and nothing to do with Djokovic. Many of the commentators were stating how they'd never seen him miss that many easy down the line forehands. 

By the fourth set for sure, the fight from the first three sets had taken everything out of him. But there was a lot of unforced, sloppy errors from Rafa's end in that match. 

 

1 hour ago, CouchTater said:

I know this has been hashed and rehashed, but I'd like to hear from my Primetimer friends:  why do you hate Novak so much, and why do you love Rafa so much?  Granted, Novak can be annoying, but I don't hate him.  And I admire Rafa's success, but I don't love him above all others.  I don't really have a favorite active male player, but if I had to choose I'd say Roger comes closest for his smooth style of play.

This was asked before, perhaps by you but I think it was someone else. And I'll give the same answer that I did back then. As a longtime Rafa fan, I think it's honestly a big misconception that he's this beloved, can do no wrong, everyone's fave on this board. 

I have seen plenty of negative comments regarding Rafa. People who insist he always fakes injuries when he's losing, the doping allegations, he constantly gets passes from the umpires for a lot of his time wasting, etc. It's just that in a case of him vs.  Novak, some just dislike Novak more. 

I think the difference between the two that's helped create this perception of Rafa being so loved and Novak so hated, is that Djokovic has had more controversies if you will, than Rafa.  For the most part, Rafa is very much that person who does what he needs to do on the court but is very keeps his head down off the court. So it's easy for many to vacillate between liking him or mostly being indifferent.

Djokovic has had the obnoxious antics on court when winning, his douchey parents running off at the mouth, his sagas with the ATP, some of his more arrogant statements that's turned some off, etc. 

At the end of the day, the ONLY person beloved in the tennis world is Roger Federer. I myself have always been indifferent to Roger in that I respect his talent, actually love watching him play but not particularly invested in whether he wins or not. So I don't make the obvious deifying he gets bother me, but bottom line is, THAT'S who the tennis world reveres. 

Edited June 12, 2021 by truthaboutluv

[TVbitch]

I woke up at 7 and turned on the ladies final and it was so quiet I thought my TV sound was muted. But no, it was just that boring! The crowd was dead silent and even Johnny Mac and Mary were struggling to find anything to say. Sheesh! Hope tomorrow is more lively. 

I don't hate Dj, but he rubs me the wrong way with some of his on and off court behavior, so I don't usually root for him. I respect, but don't love Rafa. I tend to pick out players that are up and coming (like Med and Tsitsipas a couple years ago) and then root for them. Musetti is looking interesting to me lately!  

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by TVbitch

[theatremouse]

Reasons I dislike Novak:

• He's a sore winner: the insisting the crowd cheer for him when he's the frontrunner anyway.
• The whining that if only Rafa and Roger had been 5 years older/younger than they are he'd have won so many more slams.
• He's hella sexist.
• He bounces before his toss way too many fucking times and doesn't get called on numerous time violations he should've.
• He believes in quack science, and I mean pre-COVID he espoused all sorts of nonsense, and I think was irresponsible in his manner of doing so.
• His COVID-fest exhibition match.
• The incidence with the linesperson's throat.

Reasons I dislike Rafa (and really...I'm not even sure I dislike Rafa. I don't like Rafa, but not sure it goes as far as active dislike, if that makes sense)

• He doesn't get called for time violations that every other player, except possibly Novak, does. Although this is less a beef against him personally and more a beef with the lack of enforcement of that rule across the board.
• The grunting. He's obviously not the only one who does it, and I don't like it when anyone does it, but his particularly bugs my ears.
• The butt-picking.
• Blatant coaching violations from Uncle Toni over the years, and yes I know sometimes they did get called on it, but way more often than they didn't. And you could say, well that's Toni not Rafa, but if he'd cared he could've insisted it stop. But this is another one where it's really more that I'm pissed the tennis body as a whole does not consistently enforce their own rules.

ETA: I think I figured out my feelings on Rafa. It's not that I dislike Rafa; it's that I do not enjoy watching him play because of the reasons above.

[Crashcourse]

Of the younger players, Musetti and Sinner interest me the most, and I just hope and pray they don't turn into a Djokovic or Fognini.  I also like Ymer and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.  There are a few other younger ones whose names escape me right now.  

[theatremouse]

Coric seems to have the goods. I'm also very into Auger-Aliassime.

[mojoween]

ESPN app alert - Novak rallies from two sets down to win

Me - God DAMMIT

[Crashcourse]

Fuck you, Djoker.

Pardon my French again.

[Spunkygal]

I switched over to college baseball at the start of the fifth. I knew where it was going and couldn’t take any more of the 500 bounces before serve. 

[dcalley]

Peacock butchered the women's doubles final, only showing a few games of it.

[Harry24]

On 6/12/2021 at 11:10 AM, CouchTater said:

I know this has been hashed and rehashed, but I'd like to hear from my Primetimer friends:  why do you hate Novak so much?

**edited to add:  I know Novak has made some stupid decisions during the pandemic, but the hate pre-dates COVID. 

I'm quoting myself from about a year ago re my feelings about Djokovic: "My dislike started during his first prominent match at the US Open against Gael Monfis when both were fresh out of juniors, and Djoker pulled out ALL the gamesmanship stops, arguing, calling dubious injury timeouts etc.  It was a repulsive display that smacked of desperation and duplicitousness (both of which he has continued to display in various forms since then) and got him off on the wrong foot with me.  That plus his parents were/are terrifying."

And that was the start.  Repulsive.  Desperate.  Duplicitous.  Plus other yucky stuff.  That about sums it up.  And I still find his parents disturbing, even more than other awful tennis parents.  There’s a sense of underlying violence to them.  (Hopefully I’ve got it totally wrong, but I haven’t been able to shake that feeling for 15 years.)

[TVbitch]

Cheese and crackers! Novak was looking a little defeated in that second set, but of course he rallied. Sometimes I think he just loses the first two sets to torture his haters into thinking the other guy has a chance. Dude is a machine though, credit where it is due.  

Tsitsipas did get worn out I think. His accuracy just totally fell off and he was not able to get back into form. He has worked so hard to get fitter and more muscular. He must be wondering what the hell it's gonna take! (I guess you gotta drink gluten-free baby's blood like Novak!!)   : D

[Crashcourse]

41 minutes ago, Harry24 said:

I'm quoting myself from about a year ago re my feelings about Djokovic: "My dislike started during his first prominent match at the US Open against Gael Monfis when both were fresh out of juniors, and Djoker pulled out ALL the gamesmanship stops, arguing, calling dubious injury timeouts etc.  It was a repulsive display that smacked of desperation and duplicitousness (both of which he has continued to display in various forms since then) and got him off on the wrong foot with me.  

I remember that match and that's when my dislike of him began as well.     

[CountryGirl]

I dislike Joker for all of the reasons mentioned. I especially hate his fake "love me, I'm the underdog" nonsense.

And I'll never forget this moment. So klassy.

Rafa annoys me with the grunting and his tics before every point, but I generally enjoy watching him play and think he's a nice enough guy.

Federer is a great player but I find him the epitome of smug arrogance and the sorest of sore losers, which turned me off of him years ago.

Like the time he beat Joker to go to his 8th Wimbledon final: "People were saying [about past losses], 'How are we going to survive a Wimbledon final without you?'" Really, Roger? And he wasn't joking.

His constant cracks about Andy Murray (dismissing his wins in Asian tournaments, including Tokyo, claiming the competition wasn't there). Or another shitty comment about Andy and England as a whole leading up the 2013 Wimbledon championships to "I know he'd like to win the first championship for British tennis for, what is it, 150,000 years?"

His dismissive attitude against anyone who beat him, often referring to them as "lucky." Murray, Joker, Rafa. Until he had to STFU when they beat him. 

His Betterer t-shirt. 🙄

[NUguy514]

The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, which is voted on by ATP players themselves, has gone to Roger Federer thirteen times, Rafael Nadal four times, and Novak Djokovic zero times.  Roger and Rafa have their foibles, but they also at least seem to have the respect of their fellow players; the same cannot be said of Djoker.

[Spunkygal]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9684975/Caroline-Wozniacki-gives-birth-baby-girl-named-Olivia.html
 

Olivia Wozniacki Lee has arrived! 

[CouchTater]

56 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award, which is voted on by ATP players themselves, has gone to Roger Federer thirteen times, Rafael Nadal four times, and Novak Djokovic zero times.  Roger and Rafa have their foibles, but they also at least seem to have the respect of their fellow players; the same cannot be said of Djoker.

Yeah, I'm more of a Roger fan.  I just posed the question of Rafa vs. Novak a few days ago because the vitriol seems very personal with Novak.  I don't really have a strong opinion.

Oddly enough I have stronger opinions of the ladies.  

Thanks to everyone on your insights about these guys.  

[I Want My MBTV]

Well that match was a roller coaster.  I wish there was some way to mute the commentators but still hear the sounds of the game.  I enjoy hearing the crowd, players, ball striking, etc. but find the commentators nearly universally annoying.  There are a few I don't mind but they don't seem to be the ones that do most of the matches.   One of the things I especially don't like is when the commentators start "awarding" games, sets, matches well before they're over.  Heck they were basically giving Novak the calendar grand slam when we were only on our 2nd slam of the year and the match hadn't even started!   No matter who you're rooting for it's just not right. If they're saying you're player is going to win you may think it's a jinx and if they're saying the other player is going to win it's disrespectful to the opponent.  I don't know how many different times they switched who was winning this one before the 5th set.

To conclude my rant I'll just say - if you do the sports for the local news, learn to say the players names!  I mean like him or not Djokovic has been the #1 tennis player for some time and around for nearly 20 years.  Learn to pronounce his name.  That is your only job.  I guess I should have been grateful that they even mentioned tennis during the sports part of the news.  

[Spunkygal]

https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/rafael-nadal-to-miss-wimbledon-olympic-games-injury-grand-slams
 

Rafa to miss Wimbledon and the Olympics. I hope that one of the young guys can turn it up a notch to make sure Novaxx gets knocked out.

ETA: forgot to add that it was nice to see Murray back at Queen’s and defeat Paire. He was pretty emotional at the post-match interview. He has fought so hard to be able to compete again. Roger lost to Auger-Aliassime yesterday at Halle. Can he get back to a stronger fighting form this time and pose a real threat? I’m not so sure. After all, he will be 40 in August!

Edited June 17, 2021 by Spunkygal

[TVbitch]

I don't think Roger can win another slam. He can still go far though, so can still compete if he wants to. ...but not drop out like he did in the French. Wimbledon will be telling. 

[emmawoodhouse]

Naomi Osaka will also miss Wimbledon but will play in the Olympics.

eta the article.

Edited June 17, 2021 by emmawoodhouse

[Crashcourse]

I hope she skips the U.S. Open this year as well, because I want to avoid the controversy surrounding her, and you just know the announcers will bring it up every time she's on the court.  I just want to enjoy the Open (I don't watch Olympic tennis).

She can come back next year.

[Harry24]

Do you close Rafa watchers have information/theories about his skipping Wimbledon?  I was dismayed how he seemed to run out of steam against Djokovic.  And now this.

[shok]

11 hours ago, Harry24 said:

Do you close Rafa watchers have information/theories about his skipping Wimbledon?  I was dismayed how he seemed to run out of steam against Djokovic.  And now this.

It's the genital bone defect in his foot. It started acting up in the FO match again - I wouldn't be surprised if he has some fractures in that bone again. He had the trainer on to cut the tape off his foot and ankle because his foot had swelled so much the tape was constricting his blood flow and there's video of him limping quite badly when he left Roland Garros the next day. He hasn't been seen back on a court in Mallorca yet either. He was asked about it in the Spanish portion of his press conference but declined to say much about it other than that it was the scaphoid bone acting up again.