The Tennis Thread

Fabbles

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That last game was just incredible - will definitely go down as one of the best games serving for a championship. Was really disappointed Rafa and Roger lost early, but I am very happy for Andy Murray because he absolutely deserves a Wimbledon and hopefully we won't have to hear the name Fred Perry ever again. Andy is actually now #4 all time in Grass court win % which is pretty neat.

Ferrer moves to #3 in the world, Nadal 4, and Federer drops to 5th for the first time since before his first Wimbledon triumph in 2003. He has decided to play some lower level clay court tournaments in the next few weeks, but at this point I don't see him finishing in the top 4 of the rankings unless he goes vintage Fed at the US Open. Pretty crazy.

US Open seems like a toss up between Djokovic and Murray - hard to know how Nadal will fare on the hard courts, and it seems Federer is not a huge threat to win majors at this point (especially if he has to face Djokovic/Murray/Nadal in the quarters from now on). Should be an exciting few months.

Also congrats to Marion Bartoli! She has gotten a lot of hateful comments which I don't understand. I lost a bit of respect for Lisicki after she began crying after every point, but I guess I can't blame her too much. Poor Aga, was probably her best shot she will ever get for a slam.
 

DHR-107

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So gooood! What a match! I'm so happy that the he won in straight sets too :D I don;t think Djok could handle him at all, Djok didn't seem like his head was in the game. 4-1 up in the second set and he lost it? That is certainly not like Djokovic at all. I think the Del Potro/Djok match was the best in the tournament though... That was simply amazing :D
 

scene

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Murray completed dominated Djokovic with his strength, stamina and work ethic- I was glad to see him get a deserved win. You noticed every time Djokovic tried to do a little dropshot, Murray always sprinted up to hit them- and lategame Djokovic couldn't return them again, so it became a great points source for Murray along with his strong first serve aces. Interested to see if Del Potro can push on from his great semis match with Murray too, because he's in the same mould and I thought he played very well too.
 
Murray has only won 2 grand slams, because both times his opponents played like shit. How do people like this guy he is nothing but a kitty and a cry baby.
 

New World Order

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Murray has only won 2 grand slams, because both times his opponents played like shit. How do people like this guy he is nothing but a kitty and a cry baby.
Media backing basically, all the media outlets have been hyping Murray for like 5 years now. It's the same reason Djokovic gets no respect because everyone in the media seems to hate him, even though he's a vastly superior player than Murray will ever be. Hopefully everyone shuts up about Murray now that he finally has his Wimbledon.
 

Fabbles

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"Vastly superior player?" Come on now. I'm not even a Murray fan, but what a ridiculous statement. Obviously on Clay Djokovic has a huge advantage, but on Grass Murray has the edge, and on Hard Court it is pretty 50-50 (outside of Australia). Does Djokovic have a more aesthetically pleasing game? Yes. But Murray is every bit as talented as the Djoker, and they should be the main threats to win any event not on Clay for the next 4-5 years.

I'm just guessing here but it is possible Djokovic isn't as liked as much, because quite frankly he made a not so great impression on the tour with the constant "injuries" and retirements for his first few years (before 2011). On the court he is a bit obnoxious as well (over-the-top fist pumps and screams); off the court he is a great personality and spokesman for the game of tennis. He has always been in the shadow of Federer and Nadal. So there are a few things going against him, but the media certainly doesn't hate the guy. He has been the best player since 2011, and I haven't seen too many media outlets try to argue otherwise. He is the overwhelming #1 - unless Nadal can produce off the dirt, and unless Murray can be a bit more consistent, then he will remain #1 for quite some time.

Lastly I really don't understand the "opponent played like shit" argument. Murray is a prime example of a player that causes other players to play badly (or worse than usual) against him. Should Nadal be discredited for all the times Fed "played like shit" against him? Of course not. Give the man some respect. Again, I am not even a Murray fan, but I am happy to see him succeed considering the absurd amount of pressure placed on him.

Kind of funny that with 2 Grand Slams and Olympic Gold (and another GS Final), Murray isn't even close to overtaking Novak at #1. If the media really disliked Novak as some of you are claiming, where are all of the articles about how that is an outrage?
 
So I'm going to the US Open next Monday!! Ground seats though, not main stadium. Any up and coming players I should try to see/other advice to make it more enjoyable?
 
An astoundingly bad day for women's tennis when Sara Errani has an easy path to the semi final. To be fair her quarter is the easiest though... Serena's is pretty easy as well, add that to the fact just about everyone is easy for her. Only Kerber should present any challenge, but then again this year has shown Serena to be more vulnerable to the no name players than the big guns. Radwanska and Li Na are the only real contenders in that quarter. Azarenkas is probably the most interesting. Azarenka has not shown great form leading up to the Open and she'll be competing with the likes of Stosur and Kvitova. I could see anything happening there.

I expect Rafa to take the men's title, but I'll be rooting for Fed and Delpo like always. Fed has had such an incredibly terrible year, though. It's amazing how far he's fallen from just last year, but I still have faith in him to get it together eventually. Even so, he hasn't given me any reason to favor him in this US Open.
 
Not a avid follower of tennis but lately I noticed there has been quite a number of upsets... with the most recent one being Venus Williams narrowly losing to Zheng Jie despite being the overwhelming favourite to win.

EDIT: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...s-open-2013-venus-williams-zheng-jie/2725295/

Quote: During her on-court interview, Zheng addressed the partisan crowd that was pulling for Williams, saying: "First, I want to say, 'Sorry, guys.' "

Sorry? Whatever for, winning the match fair and square? No, it's the crowd that should be sorry for being so unsportsmanlike. Of course, hitting back at them may not be so prudent given the way the media portrays events but IMO Zheng Jie should have still stood up for herself. What do you guys think?
 
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Camila Giorgi is giving Caroline Wozniacki a real run for her money despite being ranked over a 100 places lower... an upset is a very real possibility.
 

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I don't follow tennis too much, but I loved watching the women's open finals and was p. glad that serena won. it seemed p. shaky at some points in the match, but she really managed to pull through in the 3rd set with a nice 6-1. anyways just postin cuz i figured i'd hear what people who were more knowledgeable about the sport had to say about the match
 
It was a bit shaky sometimes, but that's not too surprising when the wind is blowing like it was. The match was pretty good overall, as to be expected when a number one and two player meet. I've NEVER seen Serena fail to close out a match like that though, a huge part of it was nerves but Azarenka was hitting the ball incredibly well in the second set. It was so incredible to see Vika come back from that two break deficit, I almost wanted her to win after that. Almost. So happy to see Serena just one Slam away from matching Navratilova and Chris Evert. Only winning one slam would have been incredibly disappointing for Serena this year, I still can't believe what happened at Wimbledon. I'll take the Roland Garros and the USO though. :) I expect at least one more from her next year. I'd say more but this year I was seriously thinking Serena would get all four so I'll be conservative haha. That said, Vika has definitely gained a fan in me after watching that match and her press conference. I'll be rooting for her next year, when she's not playing Sharapova and Serena, that is. :P

Predicting Rafa in 4 sets for tomorrow.
 

tennisace

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I don't know how you guys actually could watch that match. I have nothing against women's tennis in terms of playstyle or pace or anything, but for fucks sake the screeching was louder than a bad porno. Watching TV on mute is also incredibly dumb.

Anyway grats to Serena, though I'm not sure how there hasn't been more scrutiny re: steroids towards her. It sucks that I'm even bringing this up but she's absolutely physically dominant in an age where you have to start questioning everybody, because nothing is sacred in sports anymore.
 
Dang what is that Serena made of, the way she served a double bagel against Carla Suarez Navarro in the quarterfinals suggests that Francesca Schiavone was just unlucky enough to meet her in the first round; she at least managed to win 1 game against her. Likewise for Li Na, I'd expect a semifinalist to perform much better than 6-0, 6-3; just what is that Serena made of? At least Victoria Azarenka could keep her on her toes; pity she just faltered in the final set.
 

Fabbles

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Murray done for the rest of the year with a back injury; sad for him. Definitely the right time to have surgery though - no chance of finishing #1, and get healthy before the Australian Open. Murray's injury does open up another spot at the WTF though, which is great for Berdych / Del Po / Fed / Wawrinka / Gasquet / Tsonga. Sad not all of them will be able to make it. Will be interesting to see how the indoor season plays out. Out of those I would say Gasquet probably has the worst chance on Indoor Hard Court, but he has been very solid this season.
Other Storylines:
- Rafa will be the World #1 in a few weeks and will finish year end #1 unless Djokovic wins everything and Rafa bows out early.
- Djokovic recently hit 100 weeks at #1
- Cilic was given a 9-month ban for accidental doping (his mother bought him the wrong glucose formula in France lol), can return after the AO.
- Venus Williams is having a great throwback week at Tokyo (recorded a serve at 129 mph, fastest ever for a woman!)
 
Great to see Federer making it to the semis at the Australian Open, but Rafa is just waaaaaaay too good.

ALSO F YEAH LI NA WINNING THE WOMEN'S WOOOOOOO
 

junior

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li finally won an australian open that she so deserves, despite having a cakewalk road to the title (lbr she should've won last year over vika if she hadn't gotten injured TWICE in one match, and she made another final back in 2011 losing to kim). she really deserved a second slam because she is definitely on par with svetlana kuznetsova, mary pierce and other two time slam champions.

and stan!!!!!!! thank you for saving tennis. played superbly throughout the tournament and stayed so mentally tough against novak and tomas, and completely dismantled nadal even before nadal got injured.

also speaking of throwback, venus finally wins a premier level tournament in dubai without dropping a set; its her first premier title since she won the very same title in 2010. so insanely proud of her (she's one of my favourite women's players of all time)! she played with such controlled aggression and patience which i've never seen from her even during her peak years. i think she's slowly learning how to manage her sjogrens syndrome illness. i hope she keeps this level of success up and somehow reaches the top 24 in time for wimbledon to make things easier on herself.
 

junior

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"Vastly superior player?" Come on now. I'm not even a Murray fan, but what a ridiculous statement. Obviously on Clay Djokovic has a huge advantage, but on Grass Murray has the edge, and on Hard Court it is pretty 50-50 (outside of Australia). Does Djokovic have a more aesthetically pleasing game? Yes. But Murray is every bit as talented as the Djoker, and they should be the main threats to win any event not on Clay for the next 4-5 years.

I'm just guessing here but it is possible Djokovic isn't as liked as much, because quite frankly he made a not so great impression on the tour with the constant "injuries" and retirements for his first few years (before 2011). On the court he is a bit obnoxious as well (over-the-top fist pumps and screams); off the court he is a great personality and spokesman for the game of tennis. He has always been in the shadow of Federer and Nadal. So there are a few things going against him, but the media certainly doesn't hate the guy. He has been the best player since 2011, and I haven't seen too many media outlets try to argue otherwise. He is the overwhelming #1 - unless Nadal can produce off the dirt, and unless Murray can be a bit more consistent, then he will remain #1 for quite some time.

Lastly I really don't understand the "opponent played like shit" argument. Murray is a prime example of a player that causes other players to play badly (or worse than usual) against him. Should Nadal be discredited for all the times Fed "played like shit" against him? Of course not. Give the man some respect. Again, I am not even a Murray fan, but I am happy to see him succeed considering the absurd amount of pressure placed on him.

Kind of funny that with 2 Grand Slams and Olympic Gold (and another GS Final), Murray isn't even close to overtaking Novak at #1. If the media really disliked Novak as some of you are claiming, where are all of the articles about how that is an outrage?
novak djokovic is the vastly superior player. when they were younger, they were both cited as big prospects for tennis, but since then novak has completely pulled ahead of andy. novak has the better serve, better return of serve, and VASTLY better forehand. he is a much more complete player than andy. not to mention his mental strength rivals that of nadal.

also federer doesn't necessarily play like shit against nadal, it is just a bad match up and the modern surfaces hugely favours nadal's game. nadal's lefty forehand generates one of the highest rpm in tennis history, and its tough for a righty one handed backhander to deal with that. federer is still the most talented tennis player of all time and despite the lopsided head to head, he is still the greatest of all time imo.
 

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