Tennis Thread - Grand Slams & The Tour

Collins beats the artist Jabeur.
The only good thing about her winning is that she plays Kenin in the quarters so one of them has to lose.
Horrid,shrieking players.

 

Yes Kvitova probably favourite but Swiatek is at it again and is some talent.
Sounded a great match with Thiem and Schwartzman. One to the little guy!

 

Sinner,who reminds me of Becker,certainly a lot more teutonic than Italian,had chances but got tight on a few points.
Nadal opened with blistering love hold,blasting his forehand. Sinner held comfortably and it was clear to see the nerves impact on Rafa. He started hitting his forehand with too much spin and consequently it was landing mid court. He couldn't land his up the line forehand and Sinner was crushing the ball,very little finesse but very accurate and strong.
Nadal piched the first set when really he should have lost it and very similar in the second too and by now he had found his line forehand.
The third set was much more straightforward.
Sinner will be top ten within a year.

 

Well well well.
Kvitova to play Kenin.
Tsitsipas v Djokovic who I hear was complaining of a bad neck.
Mr IBB is getting quite irritated by what he calls Djokovic's "mind games".
I heard his pigeon french speech on my drive home and it was quite painful to listen to.
Tsitsi must have played well as Rublev has improved over the last year although one report I heard said he choked a little at 5-3 first set.
My fingers will be crossed for The Greek God.He plays the game with panache and flair. Djokovic is to be admired but does not inspire warmth and delight and this irks him no end.
All set up nicely for Swiatek to reach the final if she can maintain her level.

 

Just watching the Swiatek game now and she is most certainly a star in the making. Poise,variety,athleticism,the whole package.
I saw bits of PK with a couple of my players,good to analyse and for them to watch specific aspects,a good learning tool. Kvitova was bad,really bad. Clearly couldn't cope with the wind. Hit the ball harder than Pearson allegedly hit Gino but rarely in court.
Kenin is efficient but unspectacular.
Swiatek would be as welcome a win as Barty was last year.
As for tomorrow,COME ON TSITSI!

 

Djokovic wins.

YAAAAAAWN.

 

Gutsy from Tsitsi,I only saw from 5all in the third but heroic effort, he's getting closer, another two years I think, possibly less.
I suspect as you say wfc Rafa was laughing all the way through that.
Hoping Swiatek can win but who knows how the nerves will impact her.
Podoroska clearly has the talent to be a top 50 player so I'd expect to see more of her.

 

Got back to see the presentation.
A superb effort and great for a player to beat a ball striker.
Hingis of course was hardly out of her pram when she won the doubles at the AE with Helena Sukova and won the u18 singles at RG at 12!
Austin, Jaeger,Capriati were all precocious and Austin won the US very young, Capriati older at RG.
Swiatek seems remarkably composed and plays joyously. She appears to have the most important characteristic, a love of the game.
Long may that remain.

 

Oh I'd like one of those!
Can I apply do you think or shall I just steal hers?!
I finish on court at 2.30pm and will be back,via Lidl's,just to see Djokovic ( or Nadal) bouncing the ball pre serve,in the fifth game no doubt!
HURRY UP for goodness sake!

 

Nothing more boring in sport than the men's Roland Garros, the most predictable tournament in sport for 15 years.

 

Rafa must buy Tsitsi a beer or two.
Nadal wins his 127th Roland Garros and Djokovic looked as flat as a pancake,the little I saw.
Not a good spectacle I suspect given the scoreline.
Federer and Rafa going to penalties?

 

Yes Swiss tennis is on the up but the transition to the adult game is long and hard and few make it.
The Italians, after years in the wilderness are thriving, ridiculous number of players,male and female.

 

Rafa just needs to win the French next year. Federer won't win another title.

 

Probably correct on both counts.

 

The undeniable truth.....

 

The real truth is that Nadal is already ahead of Federer in that he won Olympic gold in Beijing. Federer has not done so.
I still maintain the case for the Rockhampton Rocket,Laver having missed six years of titles having turned pro.

 

Federer is without doubt the better player but he has had to compete with others on the main surfaces. Nadal has found his niche on clay and gets an easy route to one GS title every year. A tragedy that Nadal will end up with most titles and therefore be considered the best of all time, which he clearly isn't.....

 

Highly subjective.
Nadal fans could justifiably argue that Federer won his one RG v Soderling,a player who did not make another major final. In addition Nadal was ill during that tournament.
RF is a more aesthetic player but it's not ice skating or diving,there are no marks for style and grace.
All of these discussions are good for debating, similar to is Puskas better than Cruyff,Messi, Ronaldo,Maradona,Pele,Beckenbauer and so on.
All players will have their advocates and Djokovic may yet surpass both Nadal and Federer.

 

Don't try to pretend that you know more about tennis than me

 

This will be but a handful of dust in comparison to the new ballot regulations for Wimbledon tickets that are now in place.
Some clubs may end up with zero and there's going to be uproar.
Most of course haven't read the email that came out a few weeks ago announcing this.
'Fan,s*** the hitting needs to be re arranged' would best describe the reaction I expect.

 

Edmund out first round in Cologne to Lloyd Harris of S Africa.
Murray just started against Verdasco. If he wins he plays Zverev next.

 

Murray loses 4&4 to Verdasco.
I can't see him continuing after Wimbledon next year.
Too few tournaments for him to gain any form and too low a ranking to get a decent draw to get far enough to gain ranking points. That's assuming his body can last long enough in a tournament.

 

Rublev v Coric in the final of St Petersburg.
That will make last night's game seem like Brazil v Italy in 1982.