OT: Pro Tennis Thread

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:53 am

Don't know how popular tennis can be with Americans when the sport is dominated at this moment by Europeans on the men's side.

And in women's tennis, aside from the Williams sisters, it's all Russians and former Eastern Bloc nations with names which can't be pronounced.

Maybe tennis did better in this country when Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe and others dominated.

It would probably take a Tiger Woods type of figure to draw more Americans to the sport.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:43 am

I don't think America has to worry about the state of their Tennis program. It's a sport that goes in cycles and once you past the age of 28, your game starts to fall a bit as younger players catch up to you, unless your name is Roger Federer. You have a very good and upcoming dude in John Isner, a 6'9" monster that has a huge serve and just has to put his package together.

On the women side, you have Oudin coming up and the Williams sister will be on top for another three years easily. The problem is that they expect a home grown hero to fill in for prime time coverage on TV and for reasons that PK and Wco just mentioned before, that will never happen with the NFL opening week. Ever.

It never happened when we were used to Connors-McEnroe, Agassi-Sampras, so no matter which day you try to cover the sport on TV, with Americans in the final or not, the NFL coverage will always get the broader audience.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:47 pm

They should have the Men's Final Sat or Sun nite. Either way, Football is going to get the lion's share of the ratings, but Sun afternoon seems to compete more directly against the NFL.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:21 pm

Never was a fan of the Williams sisters and the way Serena ended her match, accentuated my feeling towards them.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 12:28 am

10spro wrote:Never was a fan of the Williams sisters and the way Serena ended her match, accentuated my feeling towards them.

Agreed...I think she was beyond abusive to that official.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:30 pm

Zlax45 wrote:
10spro wrote:Never was a fan of the Williams sisters and the way Serena ended her match, accentuated my feeling towards them.
Agreed...I think she was beyond abusive to that official.

She NEVER even apologized for her behavior in the post match press conference. Her attitude seemed to be "How dare they make that call on Serena Williams?" I would love to see a Youtube video where you can hear everything she said. Supposidly she threatened to kill the line offical. She can't blame her loss on one penalty point. If she was winning like she was supposed to, one point isn't a big deal. She put heself in that position where it WAS a big deal and she already had a warning after smashing her racquet when she lost the 1st set. A winner also knows how to lose gracefully.

vinny-b · Post by **vinny-b** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:29 pm

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:42 pm

Congrats to the two unlikely finalist in the Women's final. What a shock of a win for K. Clijsters after just recently coming back on the tour, giving birth a year ago and win it all on a wild card. Classy speech by C. Wozniacki giving her opponent all the praises in three languages and no excuses whatsoever.

Maybe someone should learn a thing or two about courtesy and professionalism. Being fined 10 K's is no big deal for that spoiled brat.

Too bad Nadal didn't have anything left in his tank, but then again as I pointed out earlier, Del Potro is playing his best tennis yet. He may take a set or two from Federer but the best player ever will win it all tomorrow.

rhymes450 · Post by **rhymes450** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 3:51 am

What about this shot from Roger Federer in the final game of his semi-final against Djokovic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qyvTRVus8

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:30 am

rhymes450 wrote:What about this shot from Roger Federer in the final game of his semi-final against Djokovic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qyvTRVus8

I would have walked away if I was Djokovic. The Swiss was hot last night.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:40 am

10spro wrote:
rhymes450 wrote:What about this shot from Roger Federer in the final game of his semi-final against Djokovic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qyvTRVus8
I would have walked away if I was Djokovic. The Swiss was hot last night.

That was an unbelievable thru the legs shot by Federer. And what about that one exchange where they were blasting volly's back and forth and Djokovic just turned his back and "gave up"?

I have to say, Djokovoc strikes me as very odd. The guy is pissed at himself after losing a game and while sitting down starts slamming his own racquet into his own thigh repeatedly. That couldn't feel too good.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:44 am

10spro wrote:Congrats to the two unlikely finalist in the Women's final. What a shock of a win for K. Clijsters after just recently coming back on the tour, giving birth a year ago and win it all on a wild card. Classy speech by C. Wozniacki giving her opponent all the praises in three languages and no excuses whatsoever.

Maybe someone should learn a thing or two about courtesy and professionalism. Being fined 10 K's is no big deal for that spoiled brat.

Too bad Nadal didn't have anything left in his tank, but then again as I pointed out earlier, Del Potro is playing his best tennis yet. He may take a set or two from Federer but the best player ever will win it all tomorrow.

The finals kind of ended up being a letdown......Clijsters vs Woz? WHo would have expected that? And then for the men.......no Nadal.....no Roddick..? Del Potro is an up and comer, but he won't stand a chance against the Finals veteran and all time best player, Federer. I think Nadal's stomach injury is the cause of his poor play against Del Potro.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:04 am

JackB1 wrote: The finals kind of ended up being a letdown......Clijsters vs Woz? WHo would have expected that? And then for the men.......no Nadal.....no Roddick..? Del Potro is an up and comer, but he won't stand a chance against the Finals veteran and all time best player, Federer. I think Nadal's stomach injury is the cause of his poor play against Del Potro.

I enjoyed the women finals. I don't need to see some spoiled brat bragging about her self ego in the last dance, and I always thought that Clijsters had some serious game, even before she retired.

Nadal was never 100% even before he entered the US Open and to go as far as did, it's an accomplishment. He would be the first person to tell you that, yes his abdominal pain affected his play, bu that started already with Gonzalez whom he killed in the final set.

Give credit to Del Potro, he's been hot this summer and with all the rain delay over the weekend playing two days in a row, just drained Nadal in the end.

I think Federer wins too, but it won't be in straight sets.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 12:25 pm

10spro wrote:
I think Federer wins too, but it won't be in straight sets.

If Del Potro doesn't win the 1st set, it's over. The longer it goes, the more it favors R-Fed.

rhymes450 · Post by **rhymes450** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:01 pm

Great credit due to Del Potro. He really burst on the scene last year by winning those 4 consecutive "minor" events and getting to the QFs in New York. Pretty tough guy mentally too. Not even the terrible beating he took against Fed in Melbourne could halt his progress. He was back for more at Roland Garros and did a hell of a lot better. The way he plays though (flat and low over the net) suits Fed's groundies pretty well IMO. Have to agree with you guys and go for the main man in three or four sets.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 1:39 pm

I don't know how Djokovic gets as far as he does. Maybe he just plays poorly in big matches but all I saw were unforced errors when he tried to overhit and not much shotmaking when he wasn't hitting it long.

Many of his shots landed inside the service line, so Federer rarely had to be defensive.

His gf or whoever that was tried to urge him on, doing the Serbian fist salute/scream several times. But he didn't seem to be into it.

Probably doesn't help that in most of these big matches, the fans root against him no matter the opponent.

JackB1 · Post by **JackB1** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 3:01 pm

wco81 wrote:I don't know how Djokovic gets as far as he does. Maybe he just plays poorly in big matches but all I saw were unforced errors when he tried to overhit and not much shotmaking when he wasn't hitting it long.

Many of his shots landed inside the service line, so Federer rarely had to be defensive.

His gf or whoever that was tried to urge him on, doing the Serbian fist salute/scream several times. But he didn't seem to be into it.

Probably doesn't help that in most of these big matches, the fans root against him no matter the opponent.

Unforced errors are misleading because they are largely due to your opponent (Federer) returning everything back at you. I agree Djokovic
could have been sharper, but I thought he played pretty well. I think you'll see Roger have an easier time with Del Potro.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:14 pm

JackB1 wrote:
10spro wrote:
I think Federer wins too, but it won't be in straight sets.
If Del Potro doesn't win the 1st set, it's over. The longer it goes, the more it favors R-Fed.

Game on. You gotta give Juan Martin more credit. Rhymes' assessment on Del potro is spot on. He's not a fluke, he's been one of the hottest players for awhile now and since the overrule in the second set, he seemed to have found his reach.

It's still Federer's game to lose though. He seemed to have a bit of a mental lapse at 5-4, 30-15 when he could have played that amazing shot that you saw on youtube again, yet he decided to go for a defensive lob. the following point was the overrule and then the rest is history.

rhymes450 · Post by **rhymes450** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:12 pm

Anybody who isn't watching this should change channel pretty quick. Awesome hitting by Delpo to get back in the match. Breaks to go 3-2 in the 4th. He's not finished yet. Just when you think the guy can't hit any harder, he moveds it up 10% to take the 2nd. Brilliant stuff.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:28 pm

The twenty one hitting rally was just awesome to watch with Del Potro celebrating with the crowd. It's a see-saw battle, just when you thought the Argentinian could wrap up the 4th set, Federer comes fighting back. He seems to have the momentum now, but momentum is something both players can't seem to keep for long.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:51 pm

I think I know who Maradona should call for the national team now.

This final is turning out to be as good as the Wimbledon finals. Some heavy rock and roll hitting going on.

rhymes450 · Post by **rhymes450** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:57 pm

Delpo would be sure to knock in a goal or two

I haven't seen this kind of hitting maybe ever. And I've seen a fair bit of tennis. Hell, I've even seen Franco Davin (Delpo's coach) beat Boris Becker on clay in the early nineties.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:07 pm

rhymes450 wrote:Delpo would be sure to knock in a goal or two I haven't seen this kind of hitting maybe ever. And I've seen a fair bit of tennis. Hell, I've even seen Franco Davin (Delpo's coach) beat Boris Becker on clay in the early nineties.

I remember that one, boy I am old. With 3-0 up in the last set, you would think that Del Potro has the momentum. Does he?

rhymes450 · Post by **rhymes450** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:10 pm

To use your expression 10spro, it's his to lose now. Drama at its best

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 8:31 pm

Well, for those that never heard about Juan Martin, now you definitely know who this dude is. What a tremendous upset. As the match wore on, Federer's serve started to deteriorate and he kept playing to Del Potro's strong side, the forehand. Can't figure that one from the great Roger, rhymes.

A great 4+ marathon, well deserved and beatifully executed. It's been so long for an Argentinian to win at the US Open since my idol, Guillermo Vilas.