OT: Pro Tennis Thread

[F308GTB]

Djokovich just didn't seem to be playing well the last 3 games, and it really hurt him in the final. Nonetheless, a great match.

Felt sorry for Serena battling the wind on Sunday. Sure they both were playing it in, but in better conditions, the way Serena has been playing this year, it would have been really one-sided.

[rhymes450]

Felt sorry for Serena battling the wind on Sunday. Sure they both were playing it in, but in better conditions, the way Serena has been playing this year, it would have been really one-sided.

Serena did seem to be very uncomfortable with the windy conditions early on but she did pretty well to recover and win the first set. How she lost the 2nd after being a couple of breaks up could be put down to a combination of nerves and great battling by Azarenka. While Serena is and has been the best female player for years now and amongst the best of all time, she sometimes seems to let nerves and circumstances get to her. I think she's described herself as her own biggest rival, which is probably fair enough.

In fairness to Azarenka, I think she has done a great job in bridging the gap in the past year after running Serena very close in New York last year. She picked up her 2nd Australian Open title in January and is 2-2 in the H2H with Serena this year, having started it 1-11. She's got a very good game, moves well and is fiercely competitive. I think she looks set to be Serena's biggest rival in the near future, after Serena herself of course. That being said, Serena at the top of her game is practically unbeatable, no matter how well Azarenka or anyone else plays.

Two to look out for IMO are Sloane Stephens and Agnetha Radwanska, though the latter might not have the power to back up her great movement and ability to mix things up.

[wco81]

Who is the next great American hope for men's tennis?

Seems the latter rounds of the grand slams are strikingly devoid of Americans.

Is Bolliteri not turning out significant players any more?

[10spro]

Who is the next great American hope for men's tennis?

Seems the latter rounds of the grand slams are strikingly devoid of Americans.

Is Bolliteri not turning out significant players any more?

It's concerning. Sock and Harrison were supposed to take the next step but fared poorly at the US Open. You still got Fish who is getting injured too often. Ditto for the #2 player where wrists injuries take awhile to heal, so it'll take some time for Querrey to show his stuff. If Isner can maintain some kind of consistency, he's the only hope for now.

[rhymes450]

Who is the next great American hope for men's tennis?

Seems the latter rounds of the grand slams are strikingly devoid of Americans.

Is Bolliteri not turning out significant players any more?

It's concerning. Sock and Harrison were supposed to take the next step but fared poorly at the US Open. You still got Fish who is getting injured too often. Ditto for the #2 player where wrists injuries take awhile to heal, so it'll take some time for Querrey to show his stuff. If Isner can maintain some kind of consistency, he's the only hope for now.

Nobody on the horizon just now as far as I can see. All the players 10spro mentions are excellent and Isner in particular could upset anybody on his day and maybe even sneak a major tournament, though I'd personally question his capacity to string together 7 consecutive wins in best of 5 set matches against the top guys. There's a rich tradition of tennis in USA. It's still the number 1 country in terms of hosting top tournaments and probably in terms of total number of grand slams wins. The day will surely come in the near future when an American or maybe two or three Americans are fighting for the big events. And speaking of Bolletieri, those players might be more modern-day versions of Agassi and Courier, who worked with him, than the current crop of top American players. In saying that I'm a bit influenced by Nadal, Djokovic and Murray, who have set a trend that suggests you have to be able to attack and defend, and generally be prepared to go to hell and back to win slams. An extreme example would be the gut-busting rally in the US Open final that has gone round the world a few times this week. For anybody who somehow managed to miss it, here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHsH69XKLE

[wco81]

Actually, I wonder if tennis in general is having problems attracting youngsters because it seems golf can be more lucrative and offer a much longer career.

Bartoli retires after the biggest win of her career because of injuries. Meanwhile, you see a lot of players with tape on their joints all the time.

I guess all the events being done on hard courts now, with bigger racquets so everyone hits harder is taking a greater physical toll on the players than back in the days of the wooden racquets, more clay court events, and generally a smaller and less grueling tour schedule.

Meanwhile, you have very young players in some professional golf tournaments, so they're cultivating them early, diverting them away from soccer and other sports, rather than getting the left overs of those who didn't opt for other sports.

[10spro]

Actually, I wonder if tennis in general is having problems attracting youngsters because it seems golf can be more lucrative and offer a much longer career.

Bartoli retires after the biggest win of her career because of injuries. Meanwhile, you see a lot of players with tape on their joints all the time.

I guess all the events being done on hard courts now, with bigger racquets so everyone hits harder is taking a greater physical toll on the players than back in the days of the wooden racquets, more clay court events, and generally a smaller and less grueling tour schedule.

Meanwhile, you have very young players in some professional golf tournaments, so they're cultivating them early, diverting them away from soccer and other sports, rather than getting the left overs of those who didn't opt for other sports.

Comparing golf and tennis is like comparing apples with oranges. I play both sports and tennis is by far more physical and demanding on your body. I think the interest is there, S. Stephens has a very bright future for the girls south of the border.

The key thing nowadays is to know how to defend properly and counter attack at the right time as the top 3-4 players do it so well for so long. You just can't have a big serve followed with solid groundstrokes.

Li NA is one of those players all banged up but with a new coach and vision, she's one of the real threats for S. Williams and she's not a puppy either. No one is questioning Serena's age either.

As rhymes was mentioning, the future is not bright at the moment, because the current crop needs to settle themselves and win consistently. But with such a large population, that American player will come eventually, what I do miss are the brats of Mac and Connors of yesteryear.

Not right away, but the programs are there.

[10spro]

Looks like a French Open of upsets so far. Li NA on the women's side and Wawrinka yesterday getting the early shower. Picking Djokovic to win it all after watching him control Nadal in Rome played at the Spaniards' favorite surface.

[JackB1]

Looks like a French Open of upsets so far. Li NA on the women's side and Wawrinka yesterday getting the early shower. Picking Djokovic to win it all after watching him control Nadal in Rome played at the Spaniards' favorite surface.

Wow, Li Na? That's huge.

Hope some new faces make it far in this one. Rafa will be there for sure....his draw is a joke.

[rhymes450]

Maybe one of the problems for Wawrinka is that success has come late in his career so he doesn't have the same intimidation factor as the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. As far as I know, yesterday was his third loss to Garcia Lopez on clay. I think there are guys out there who fancy their chances more against Stan than against the "big 4" because they've done better against him in the past.

Rafa's draw was considered tough enough before the tournament got underway with a possible round of 16 against Almagro and quarters against Ferrer, both of whom have wins against him on clay this year. Now of course Almagro is gone. Given Rafa's relatively poor form prior to RG, the second round match against the up and coming Thiem, who beat Wawrinka in Madrid, might provide a good indication of where his game is at.

[10spro]

The upsets continue. The Williams are out, but Serena gone this early?

[rhymes450]

The upsets continue. The Williams are out, but Serena gone this early?

I only caught a few points here and there towards the end of the Serena match and I'd imagine that Williams didn't play very well but that Spanish girl was hitting pretty big and seemed very unfazed by the occasion. Served it out to love. Only 20 years old so it'll be interesting to see if we hear more of her.

[JackB1]

The upsets continue. The Williams are out, but Serena gone this early?

Saw that. That 19 yr old that beat Venus (Russian?) was hitting the snot out of the ball. I like it when the women
play that way.

Venus wasn't too surprising, but Serena? That's crazy. Who's the favorite now? Shreikapova?

[10spro]

The upsets continue. The Williams are out, but Serena gone this early?

Saw that. That 19 yr old that beat Venus (Russian?) was hitting the snot out of the ball. I like it when the women
play that way.

Venus wasn't too surprising, but Serena? That's crazy. Who's the favorite now? Shreikapova?

It's her moment to shine after a poor season last year plagued with injuries. Watch out for Eugene Bouchard an up and coming Canadian beauty but any European clay courter has a chance.

[JackB1]

The upsets continue. The Williams are out, but Serena gone this early?

Saw that. That 19 yr old that beat Venus (Russian?) was hitting the snot out of the ball. I like it when the women
play that way.

Venus wasn't too surprising, but Serena? That's crazy. Who's the favorite now? Shreikapova?

It's her moment to shine after a poor season last year plagued with injuries. Watch out for Eugene Bouchard an up and coming Canadian beauty but any European clay courter has a chance.

Yes I have seen Bouchard and yes see is impressive and not bad to look at either
Ivanovic has been playing well lately too. Would be nice to see Sloan Stephens make some noise.

Donald Young with a big win for him today against Lopez.

[JackB1]

Eugenie Bouchard with a nice win today

[rhymes450]

Caught bits and pieces of the action today and got these impressions:

Kuznetsova played some great defensive tennis in an epic with Kvitova, who was taking some huge cuts at the ball.

Leonardo Mayer gave the impression of an excellent claycourter who could've done with a better draw.

Donald Young did well to fight back from a couple of sets down against the in-form García-López but couldn't quite make it...be nice to see the American building on a good tournament.

Murray was in winning positions in all 5 sets against the excellent Kohlschreiber...tough on both of them having to come out at 7-7 in the fifth tomorrow after bad light stopped play.

Some attractive matches tomorrow, with Fed facing Gulbis and Djokovic taking on Tsonga and the home crowd. Not sure if the Berdych v Isner match is down for tomorrow. Isner has had some decent results on clay in his time and beating Robredo in the last round wasn't the least of them, though all that strapping on one of his legs might not auger well.

[10spro]

Caught bits and pieces of the action today and got these impressions:

Kuznetsova played some great defensive tennis in an epic with Kvitova, who was taking some huge cuts at the ball.

Leonardo Mayer gave the impression of an excellent claycourter who could've done with a better draw.

Donald Young did well to fight back from a couple of sets down against the in-form García-López but couldn't quite make it...be nice to see the American building on a good tournament.

Murray was in winning positions in all 5 sets against the excellent Kohlschreiber...tough on both of them having to come out at 7-7 in the fifth tomorrow after bad light stopped play.

Some attractive matches tomorrow, with Fed facing Gulbis and Djokovic taking on Tsonga and the home crowd. Not sure if the Berdych v Isner match is down for tomorrow. Isner has had some decent results on clay in his time and beating Robredo in the last round wasn't the least of them, though all that strapping on one of his legs might not auger well.

Yes, Murray was just cruising easily after the third set and I knew that Kohlschreiber was a better player than what he was showing for. I am sure both players wanted to finish it today. I like what Young did too, he took Lopez to the ropes and look forward to see his progress in the hardcourts.

Nadal and Ferrer look very good so far.

[10spro]

Big upset today as Federer could not figure Gulbis' game while Murray had to dig deep to advance 12-10 in the fifth set.

[rhymes450]

Big upset today as Federer could not figure Gulbis' game while Murray had to dig deep to advance 12-10 in the fifth set.

When Gulbis reached the RG quarters in 2008, people were saying that he'd be a future No. 1. Didn't happen but he's got a lot of firepower, great serve and backhand though I preferred his forehand before he opted for a reconstruction that seems modelled on Soderling. Fed did well to come through the tiebreaker in the first but wasted 2 set points in the 2nd, which ultimately cost him dear but wasting big opportunities has been part of his career, though it sounds strange to say that about such a great champion.

Djokovic and Berdych were clinical and Sharapova was outstanding in not losing a game from a set and 4-3 down. Murray will have to up his game against Verdasco tomorrow. Got a sneaking feeling about Verdasco in this tournament.

[JackB1]

Big upset today as Federer could not figure Gulbis' game while Murray had to dig deep to advance 12-10 in the fifth set.

Roger seems to have these lapses in matches where his strategy seems lost and confused. He never should have let that 2nd set tiebreaker slip away. But give credit to Gulbis...he was just "on"...especially late in the match.

Nice win by Sharapova today. She seems headed for the finals.

[rhymes450]

Nadal was much too big a hurdle for Lajovic. I'm sure Ferrer will be much tougher.

Murray looked really impressive so there goes my sneaking feeling about Verdasco, who played pretty well but was second best at the business end of each set.

The top half of the draw is finally looking at least as strong as the bottom half.

Looks like a Nadal v Murray and Berdych v Djokovic semi-final lineup to me

[10spro]

Nadal was much too big a hurdle for Lajovic. I'm sure Ferrer will be much tougher.

Murray looked really impressive so there goes my sneaking feeling about Verdasco, who played pretty well but was second best at the business end of each set.

The top half of the draw is finally looking at least as strong as the bottom half.

Looks like a Nadal v Murray and Berdych v Djokovic semi-final lineup to me

Verldasco didn't play poorly, he just didn't execute properly his shots when he had a chance to break Murray which were many. He plays with an aggression that he can't quite control sometimes getting the better of him emotionally. Like today against the Ump. If I were to coach him, he's got such a nice shoulder turn on his backhand that he could hit it with a one hander as he made too many unforced errors on that side.

At times I thought he was just beating himself.

Nadal-Ferrer should be great to watch, both have been cruising along, a rematch of last years.

Perhaps Raonic may take a set from Djoko tomorrow, in fact he scared him a bit in Rome but it should be Djoko advancing.

[rhymes450]

Nadal was much too big a hurdle for Lajovic. I'm sure Ferrer will be much tougher.

Murray looked really impressive so there goes my sneaking feeling about Verdasco, who played pretty well but was second best at the business end of each set.

The top half of the draw is finally looking at least as strong as the bottom half.

Looks like a Nadal v Murray and Berdych v Djokovic semi-final lineup to me

Verldasco didn't play poorly, he just didn't execute properly his shots when he had a chance to break Murray which were many. He plays with an aggression that he can't quite control sometimes getting the better of him emotionally. Like today against the Ump. If I were to coach him, he's got such a nice shoulder turn on his backhand that he could hit it with a one hander as he made too many unforced errors on that side.

At times I thought he was just beating himself.

On Verdasco, Mats Wilander pointed out that he wasn't really going after his first serve enough and that it cost him against a returner as good as Murray. Could be because Verdasco has a bit of a history with double faults and prefers not to hit too many second serves. If you tune into this video of his match in Rome with Soderling at around 2:35 mins, look at the scoreline and follow what happens until the end of that game, you get an idea of the problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSyDs-uLHSA

[JackB1]

Djokovich looked strong today versus Raonic! Looks like it will be the finals for him.

Bouchard continues to be the big story among the women. How far can she go?

Does Monfils have a chance against Murray? Muzza seems to be gaining his stride as well.
The French crowd will surely enjoy this one. Maybe Monfils can FINALLY fulfill some of his
potential in this one, but I would be shocked if he bested Murray.