OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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10spro
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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by 10spro »

In my view, he’s the GOAT. Obviously after a few setbacks on his knee surgery, Roger decided to call it quits. A classy guy with a beautiful game, he’ll be missed for sure.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

According to Trivia Crack, Fed still holds the record for the longest stint at ATP #1 ranking.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by rhymes450 »

If we look back through the years on this site, and I particularly remember exchanging comments with 10s and others during the 2009 US Open final between Fed and Del Potro, probably none of us would have expected Roger to be announcing his retirement in 2022. We've been lucky to have him for so long. Regardless of how many grand slams Rafa and Novak have won, Fed defies comparison in terms of pure style.

My favorite Fed point is the inside out forehand he played against Tommy Haas at Roland Garros in 2009, because if he had missed it, he probably would never have won the French Open. But because I can't find it as a single point on YouTube, I'll pick this as my second favorite:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixFR_pONigk

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by 10spro »

I don’t think I saw a dry eye in London tonight as the crowd said good bye to RF. From all the players involved, family and fans, the respect he received from everyone was just beautiful to watch. A role model on and off the court, he made Tennis look so easy when he played, something that we all still struggle at no matter what age.

Carry on Roger, you’re the GOAT in my view. The world of tennis misses a legend in the sport.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Regardless of the tennis, people just like Federer and Nadal a lot more than Djokovic

So he will be remembered much more fondly than Djokovic.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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For NOVAX to say that it was perhaps the “Biggest victory of his career”, the way he crumbled in front of his camp on Live TV, you can tell that he went thru a lot the past 2-3 weeks which included an undisclosed injury and was pretty wrapped up during the Aussie Open, not to mentioned he was sent back last year due to his vaccine status.

It was an emotional victory, once Nadal pulled out in the 2nd round, he was an instant candidate to win it all, and only a potential injury to himself was the only doubt.

He matches 22 GS to Rafa’s, and at his age I can easily see him winning a couple of more before he calls it a career.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by rhymes450 »

Big day tomorrow in Paris. In the absence of Nadal, perhaps another Spaniard will bring the curtain down on the era of the big three. In many ways, I feel that Rafa, Nole and Fed were lucky that Alcaraz didn't come on the scene earlier. Djokovic might prove me slightly wrong tomorrow. The other semi is fascinating too and I wouldn't completely rule out the winner of the Zverev v Ruud match lifting the title on Sunday.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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A generational clash of titans in top form. Winner goes to win RG. Still, slightly favoring the Spaniard…

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by rhymes450 »

Unfortunate ending for Alcaraz, who had managed to weather the storm created by a magnificent Djokovic at the beginning of the match and get back on level terms before falling victim to cramp. Novak now has to be recognized as the GOAT in terms of GS and Masters 1000 titles won, barring a spectacular Nadal comeback, which I feel is unlikely. The next few months will be interesting in terms of seeing whether Alcaraz and others can threaten Djokovic at Wimbledon and in New York. And the coming years will tell us whether Alcaraz can emerge as a real contender to challenge the records Novak ends up with.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Ironically, I'm in France right now but haven't been able to catch any of it, just haven't really looked for it on TV nor the Champions League final over the weekend.

They are holding the tournament later this year aren't they? Usually they're finished by the end of May.

In any event, inevitable that Djoko would get the record. He's relatively healthier than his rivals.

He's probably going to add another 3-4 or more masters before he's done.


Some other player may threaten it. I don't know where tennis will be in the future, whether it will be like golf, which just had to take all that Saudi money just to survive.

But it has broad appeal so kids will aspire to play and some parents will be able to get them trained with the best.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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If you asked me early in June when Alcaraz met Djokovic @RG which major he would be favored to conquer vs one of the best players ever, I would have said of course the French Open. Incredible what Carlos accomplished today winning in 5 sets, fantastic forehand winners mixed with the best drop shot in the world. Novak was graceful in his defeat, he will win another GS in my opinion but the new generation is here officially to challenge him now with Roger gone and Nadal almost following his steps.

Alcaraz is only 20, he got a great future to say the least and if he continues to stay humble and work hard, one day he may break Nadal’s GS record. Not necessarily RG which Rafa will always own but with his unique play style, he will win many US Opens, Australia and the big W.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Even at 20 he can't be too humble with his mental toughness.

He has to have some ego to be able to take down not only maybe the greatest player of all time but several other accomplished players. He won pretty easily vs. Medvedev.

Challenge for him will be how he handles the fame and of course injuries over time. It looked like the crowd at Center Court was behind him, not the guy who was trying to tie the all-time Men's Singles record.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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Watched the final from the front row yesterday (not sure if there's an option to upload a video or image). Awesome match from any perspective but immense at court-side level. Glad that Carlitos made a statement by beating Novak at his best (I really believe that) but Novak was very close to winning. If he had taken that set point in the second set, it was surely pretty much over. Carlitos seems to be the top gun man going forward and the US Open promises to be fascinating. I wouldn't bet against a third consecutive major final between these two. Total box office stuff.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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rhymes450 wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:09 pm
Watched the final from the front row yesterday (not sure if there's an option to upload a video or image). Awesome match from any perspective but immense at court-side level. Glad that Carlitos made a statement by beating Novak at his best (I really believe that) but Novak was very close to winning. If he had taken that set point in the second set, it was surely pretty much over. Carlitos seems to be the top gun man going forward and the US Open promises to be fascinating. I wouldn't bet against a third consecutive major final between these two. Total box office stuff.
Well, excuse me your Royalty, how cool was that? And you’re right about the second set, a couple of unusual loose points from Novak that cost him the tie breaker. Having said that, Alcaraz could have settle the matter perhaps in 4 if he converted on his chances but Novak’s experience never faltered. I would not be surprised at all if the meet again in the US finals, the generation that everyone was wondering where it was, or hope long it would take to arrive is here. Now, all the pressure should be on the likes of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rublev, Sinner and even Krygios to match the early accomplishment of Carlos.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

10spro wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:44 pm
rhymes450 wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:09 pm
Watched the final from the front row yesterday (not sure if there's an option to upload a video or image). Awesome match from any perspective but immense at court-side level. Glad that Carlitos made a statement by beating Novak at his best (I really believe that) but Novak was very close to winning. If he had taken that set point in the second set, it was surely pretty much over. Carlitos seems to be the top gun man going forward and the US Open promises to be fascinating. I wouldn't bet against a third consecutive major final between these two. Total box office stuff.
Well, excuse me your Royalty, how cool was that? And you’re right about the second set, a couple of unusual loose points from Novak that cost him the tie breaker. Having said that, Alcaraz could have settle the matter perhaps in 4 if he converted on his chances but Novak’s experience never faltered. I would not be surprised at all if the meet again in the US finals, the generation that everyone was wondering where it was, or hope long it would take to arrive is here. Now, all the pressure should be on the likes of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rublev, Sinner and even Krygios to match the early accomplishment of Carlos.
Seems like those players have all been around for several years, several of them getting pretty far in some Slams, but none have broken through and here is Alcaraz at 20 already with two Slam titles.

But they're all successful financially already so how much drive do these players have to pursue greatness?

Krygios in particular, he doesn't seem like he's ever going to be in the right headspace to be a big winner.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by rhymes450 »

10spro wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:44 pm
rhymes450 wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:09 pm
Watched the final from the front row yesterday (not sure if there's an option to upload a video or image). Awesome match from any perspective but immense at court-side level. Glad that Carlitos made a statement by beating Novak at his best (I really believe that) but Novak was very close to winning. If he had taken that set point in the second set, it was surely pretty much over. Carlitos seems to be the top gun man going forward and the US Open promises to be fascinating. I wouldn't bet against a third consecutive major final between these two. Total box office stuff.
Well, excuse me your Royalty, how cool was that? And you’re right about the second set, a couple of unusual loose points from Novak that cost him the tie breaker. Having said that, Alcaraz could have settle the matter perhaps in 4 if he converted on his chances but Novak’s experience never faltered. I would not be surprised at all if the meet again in the US finals, the generation that everyone was wondering where it was, or hope long it would take to arrive is here. Now, all the pressure should be on the likes of Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rublev, Sinner and even Krygios to match the early accomplishment of Carlos.
Yes 10s. Novak acknowledged in his pressie that he basically missed three routine backhands in quick succession to blow the tie breaker. Tsitsipas seems to have gone off the boil a bit and the match-up with Carlitos is a nightmare for him. Sinner's game matches up quite well to Alcaraz's but thus far, Medvedev and Novak seem to have his number. And for some reason, he seems a bit mechanical to me, like a latter-day Davydenko who just pounds backhands and forehand with incredible power and consistency but lacks a bit of variety and tactical nous. That's possibly unfair of me and I still think he has the potential to be a multiple GS winner. I think Zverev is beginning to show a bit of form after last year's terrible injury and time will tell in his case. Lets see if I can paste this photo of my big day out at Wimby :? Obviously not :)

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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wco81 wrote:
Wed Jul 19, 2023 5:16 am
But they're all successful financially already so how much drive do these players have to pursue greatness?
Wrong take. If these group of individuals think this way they better look at another sport. Guys like Fed, Nadal and now Novak could have retired long long ago if it wasn’t for the pursuit of greatness and winning as many GS as possible.

Now if you’re saying that they are already financially sound without ever winning a GS event, I would agree with you. They are. But all professional 10s players seek for that elusive GS trophy no matter where you’re ranked, no matter how much $$$ you make…

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Do all of them have enough hunger?

I remember Safin when he first broke through, there were stories of him and other young players racing their expensive sports cars against one another.

Yes there are both financial and historical incentives to win Grand Slams but there are distractions as well, because just being on tour, being say top 40 or 50 in the world with major sponsorship deals, they have a lot of money thrown at them at a young age.

After a few years on the tour, if they haven’t managed to at least get to a Slam final and be competitive, maybe their drive isn’t the same but they could still make great money on the tour and retire around 30 with a lot in the bank. By that time, they’d have played tennis for 20 years, starting when they were children, witH pressure to hit it big.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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The question of hunger is interesting. No doubt some players have more than others. I was impressed by Gasquet winning the ATP 250 in Auckland this year. A guy who didn't quite achieve what many people predicted he would 18 years ago but he's still capable of going through the grind to win an ATP tournament at his age, something the majority of pros never achieve. $34,000 for his efforts, but probably not what motivated him. A Eurosport commentator wondered whether it was good that players received $69,000 for losing in the first round of Roland Garros. Myles MacClagan turned that observation on its head by saying, "they get $69,000 for making it to the first round of Roland Garros", something that most aspiring pros never achieve. Safin was a great talent. His win over Fed in 2005 in the AO, saving a match point in the process, proved that but it probably also proved that he would have to make a lot of sacrifices to be able to repeat the feat in subsequent years. The difference between Nadal, Djokovic and Federer is possibly that they were never satisfied. Whether Alcaraz is that driven remains to be seen, but if he is and stays injury-free, he's likely to challenge all their records, perhaps barring Rafa's at RG.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by Sudz »

Why is the US open having a men's semi-final on a Friday at 3 EST?

f***in dumb.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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Very impressed with Shelton’s performance at this US Open. Obviously, he was taught a tough lesson vs Novak today but showed that if he slowed down his energy a notch and chose his power shots wisely on either side while being mentally tough, he will be here to stay. In the third set he showed all these attributes and with a bit of a slow down by Djoko, the tiebreaker was close that could have gone either way.

He can be flashy too, his game reminded me a bit of a younger Agassi, and with time he’ll learn to town down that energy and power. Had a great tournament, fans critique Novak for imitating Ben’s celebration but in all fun, he’s gotta to be also more careful how to conduct himself in his young career. When he did it to Tiafoe, no one said much, I get Novak is not the most likes person in the world but at the same time you have to show some respect to one of the best tennis players ever.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Something just leaves me cold about Gauff.

Then she had to call out the haters after her big win, rather than being gracious. She could have saved that stuff for social media, not the post-tournament press conference. OK, maybe a reflection of her immaturity and the social media age where dunking on unnamed detractors is the thing to do.

It was easier to root for the Williams sisters when they were younger for some reason.

It seems like she was groomed to be this media darling, with her unique name, everyone saying it when she first appeared a couple of years ago at the US Open.

As for her game, it's strong but it makes sense that some older women players are ranked ahead of her.

She can still improve but this is a sport that favors those under 25, especially on the women's side. That's assuming she does the full grueling tennis circuit, where youth confers advantages.

But props for winning a major at 19. Could be the start of a big legacy or she can flame out as many have well before they reached 30.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

Post by wco81 »

Never heard of this 22 year old Jannik Sinner, who almost swept Djokovic in the Australian Open Semis.

Italian but with a name like that, probably from South Tyrol.

But he was the 4th seed and apparently ranked high.

Most of the top 10 are in their mid 20s but the youngest are Alcaraz, a Holger Rune, and Sinner.

Let's see if their play sustains but other than Alcaraz, not seeing star potential, which is partly about charisma.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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wco81 wrote:
Fri Jan 26, 2024 1:50 pm
Never heard of this 22 year old Jannik Sinner, who almost swept Djokovic in the Australian Open Semis.

Italian but with a name like that, probably from South Tyrol.

But he was the 4th seed and apparently ranked high.

Most of the top 10 are in their mid 20s but the youngest are Alcaraz, a Holger Rune, and Sinner.

Let's see if their play sustains but other than Alcaraz, not seeing star potential, which is partly about charisma.
Really? Where have you been? He’s been in the top 10 for the past 2-3 seasons, in fact have been playing remarkably well in his past grand Slam events. Obviously, this is his best show yet beating a man that many consider the GOAT yet, because of his odd behavior at times on/off the court leaves a lot of fans disappointed.

But, beside his big serve one aspect of his game that needed always improvement was decreasing his unforced errors. He’s technically sound on both sides but at times lacked energy when the match would call for a 5th setter. Great win, Djoko definitely committed too many errors too and was far from his usual solid game.

Yes, he’s’ from Tyrol where he grew up as a skier first but eventually took tennis as his main sport.

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Re: OT: Pro Tennis Thread

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Good to see Sinner building on a fantastic end to last year. Third win in four meetings with Djokovic since November, I think. The big question was whether he could do it over five sets on the big stage. Bit sorry for Zverev, who played amazingly to beat Alcaraz and looked a likely winner for most of the semi-final but Medvedev is a great competitor. Between Sinner's great form and the fact that he's expended far less energy in reaching the final, I'd favour him to win it. It'll be interesting to see if Medvedev can recover well yet again.

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