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Tennis: Lob Off

SnideAsides

By SnideAsides
in 2016 Olympics

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PaulaO

PaulaO

(edited)

Total bummer about Dustin Brown.  I feel so bad for him, having to retire due to injury at his first Olympics.

Dennis Briggs and Jon somebody are calling the game on Bravo.

Edited by PaulaO
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Superpole2000

Superpole2000

On 8/5/2016 at 1:04 PM, Princess Sparkle said:

Serena mentioned on her snapchat today that for the first time in history, the USA is fielding four african american singles players - Serena, Venus, Sloane Stevens, and Madison Keys.  I thought that was pretty cool.

I think it would be much cooler if Serena stopped keeping track of such things. She feels that way about being labeled a women's tennis player instead of a tennis player, so I don't see why she feels differently about race than sex.

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KenyaJ

KenyaJ

Because if you've grown up black in this country, and remember the days when there were only one or two black players on tour, seeing four black players representing the USA is a big deal. As a black woman, I think it's great and historic and Serena doesn't need to stop mentioning her race for anyone.

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blackwing

blackwing

18 hours ago, KenyaJ said:

Because if you've grown up black in this country, and remember the days when there were only one or two black players on tour, seeing four black players representing the USA is a big deal. As a black woman, I think it's great and historic and Serena doesn't need to stop mentioning her race for anyone.

I agree, I think it's a big deal.  There was Althea Gibson of course.  Then Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil and Chanda Rubin.  But before Venus and Serena came on the scene, there really weren't a lot of black players.  It's a testament to their impact on the sport.

I'm disappointed that Venus is out in the first round and the sisters are out in doubles in the first round.  I know she was so driven to compete in Rio, too bad she apparently was sick.  

I'm happy for del Potro.  I don't dislike Djokovic, I just like variety.  Although of course, now that Djokovic is out, media seems to have already annointed Andy Murray as the likely winner.  I'm hoping for a surprise.

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kittykat

kittykat

Del Potro won Bronze in London.  Here's hoping he does well.

It will be interesting to see how far Murray gets coming off his Wimbledon win.  I was hoping for Roger to get a chance for the Career Golden Slam but alas, injuries.

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blackwing

blackwing

Who is Monica Puig and why have I never heard of her?  She just beat the formidable Petra Kvitova in the semifinals and will be playing for gold against either Angelique Kerber or Madison Keys.   Puerto Rico has never won a gold medal at the Olympics, and has only 2 silvers since it started competing in 1948.  Puig is guaranteed to bring home gold or silver.

I am really liking this tennis tournament for all of the surprises.  Steve Johnson took Andy Murray to a third set tiebreak before Murray prevailed, was hoping for that upset, but oh well.

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Ohwell

Ohwell

I am so, so happy for Del Potro winning against Rafa.  I was kind of torn because I do like Rafa but I've been rooting for Del Potro to make a successful comeback after the wrist injuries.  I laughed when he basically said he didn't care about gold because he'd already won silver and he's happy.  The Argentine fans in the stands seemed ecstatic as well.  I'm hoping he beats Murray for the gold, but I won't be that disappointed if he doesn't.   

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Bewitched

Bewitched

(edited)

I had never heard of Monica Puig either but she is playing so well against Kerber.  What a story!  

My kids asked what anthem they play for Puerto Rico and I while I assume it will be the Star Spangled Banner, I should be able to find out for sure in a few minutes.

EDIT:. I was wrong.  They have their own anthem.  Very cool and major congratulations to Puig.  

Edited by Bewitched
The more you know...
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BitterApple

BitterApple

Wow, that's a shocker. Who would've predicted that Puig would win gold?

It's nice to see things shaken up a bit, but I wonder how much effort the big names were really putting into this, especially with the US Open coming up at the end of August. 

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MyAimIsTrue

MyAimIsTrue

I live in an area with a large Puerto Rican population and have many friends who were born on the island.  Kudos to Bravo for showing the full medal ceremony! The mothership should take note!  I'd never heard the Puerto Rican anthem before and was crying along with Monica Puig.

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blackwing

blackwing

3 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Wow, that's a shocker. Who would've predicted that Puig would win gold?

It's nice to see things shaken up a bit, but I wonder how much effort the big names were really putting into this, especially with the US Open coming up at the end of August. 

Kudos to Puig.  She took out some big names along the way on her way to gold.  Bet people will take notice of her now.

I disagree that the big names weren't trying.  Both Serena and Venus are fierce competitors, they live for the Olympics, they talked about how much it meant to them to represent their country.

Even thought Puerto Rico is an American territory and its people are U.S. citizens, it is curious that the IOC decides that it sends its own team to the Olympics.  I read that it is the IOC that determines this.  I'm sure that's the same reason why Hong Kong has its own team as opposed to being in China's.  Never knew that Puerto Rico had its own anthem.  Now I am wondering if any of the 50 states have their own anthem.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

2 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Kudos to Puig.  She took out some big names along the way on her way to gold.  Bet people will take notice of her now.

I disagree that the big names weren't trying.  Both Serena and Venus are fierce competitors, they live for the Olympics, they talked about how much it meant to them to represent their country.

Even thought Puerto Rico is an American territory and its people are U.S. citizens, it is curious that the IOC decides that it sends its own team to the Olympics.  I read that it is the IOC that determines this.  I'm sure that's the same reason why Hong Kong has its own team as opposed to being in China's.  Never knew that Puerto Rico had its own anthem.  Now I am wondering if any of the 50 states have their own anthem.

They all do, only they're called "state songs" rather than state anthems.  My state Arizona's, for example, is simply titled "I Love You, Arizona." 

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greyhorse

greyhorse

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

Kudos to Puig.  She took out some big names along the way on her way to gold.  Bet people will take notice of her now.

I disagree that the big names weren't trying.  Both Serena and Venus are fierce competitors, they live for the Olympics, they talked about how much it meant to them to represent their country.

I think the problem with Olympic tennis is that so many big names just didn't show up.  Wawrinka, Federer, and Raonic, I think all because of injury.  Dominic Thiem, John Isner, Feliciano Lopez, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios, and Bernard Tomic, all for one reason or another.  That's practically half the top 25 in the world.  Less of an issue I think on the women's side.  Another issue I find with the coverage is that it's never included in the nightly recaps, so I'm sure much of America was surprised not to see Serena playing for the gold medal yesterday.  I know I was.  I just kind of assumed that she would make it there.  So apparently she lost and it didn't even register a blip on the radar for Bob Costas to mention it. 

I'm sure some of the athletes view the Olympics as a "big thing".  Others, like some of the professional golfers, do not.  They don't get paid to play in the Olympics, I'm presuming.  And there is no prize money associated with a medal either, I'm presuming, unless there's some sort of monetary bonus from your country's Olympic committee.  I think also what hurts the men is that the matches are only 3 sets, so there is a bigger chance for an upset.

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mojoween

mojoween

While I am not trying to take anything away from Murray AT ALL, I do like the guy, but I find it curious that one of the guys calling the match on Bravo was postulating that if Andy wins here, then reaches the US Open final, that maybe he's the best player now.

And I would like to pump the brakes on that a bit, because Andy wins all of these things when he doesn't face Novak, yes?

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BitterApple

BitterApple

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

While I am not trying to take anything away from Murray AT ALL, I do like the guy, but I find it curious that one of the guys calling the match on Bravo was postulating that if Andy wins here, then reaches the US Open final, that maybe he's the best player now.

And I would like to pump the brakes on that a bit, because Andy wins all of these things when he doesn't face Novak, yes?

He does, yes. Murray lost to Djokovic in the final of the French, Djokovic went out early this year at Wimbledon and the year Murray beat him to win his first Wimbledon title Djokovic was exhausted after coming off a brutal five set semi against Del Potro. If Andy beats Novak at the US Open, I think you could make a legit argument that he's the best player in the world, but until that happens I'm putting him at No. 2.

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kittykat

kittykat

Excellent run by Del Potro.  I still remember his US Open win in 09 beating Federer, I hope he's coming back because at his peak he was up there with the big 4.  Congrats to Murray. 

Glad to see Nadal with another medal as well.  I didn't really follow the tennis as much but even with so many big hitters out early it was an interesting run.

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dcalley

dcalley

10 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I'm proud of del Potro as well.  Looking forward to him playing in the U.S Open.

I believe as of right now he's got to qualify. :( And he's got to be exhausted.

2 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I don't usually think one way or the other about Andy Murray, but this just shot him up a whole lot in my estimation.  Kudos to you Andy Murray.

He's frequently said great things off the court. I love it.

I love that Jack got a bronze and a gold (for more than just the BG burn, but that's good too).

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Ohwell

Ohwell

14 minutes ago, dcalley said:

I believe as of right now he's got to qualify. :( And he's got to be exhausted.

Oh damn, I forgot he might have to qualify.  That sucks.  Oh well, the good thing is that he should be able to beat the other qualifiers he's up against to get in but, yeah, he'll be exhausted for the 1st round of play.   

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azshadowwalker

azshadowwalker

On 8/15/2016 at 2:07 PM, Princess Sparkle said:

I don't usually think one way or the other about Andy Murray, but this just shot him up a whole lot in my estimation.  Kudos to you Andy Murray.

I used to despise Murray, but he is one of the only guys who speaks up for the women. I still don't like his style of tennis, but I respect the man the more he says. 

I didn't watch the tennis this year. The only player I really wanted to see was Federer. He had planned to play mixed doubles with Hingis, and I was looking forward to that as much as the singles. Most of the guys who sat out don't matter and I couldn't care less about them. But he is unlikely to still be playing in Tokyo, so it really bummed me out. With his injuries this year, it's not surprising, though. 

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