ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

Meanwhile, 15yo CiCi Bellis has just won a USO WC by winning the USTA U18s championship; she hadn't yet been born when Venus and Serena first played each other on tour (Jan '98).

Sugarpova advert during the changeover at 2-5 in the final set lmaaoooooo

Venus wins for the first time in five years and Serena looks like thunder

awesome

Tsonga really may have turned a corner. Certainly looks fitter.

A-Rad/Makarova is a really good match. A second tie-break. Absorbing enough that I can't bother watching Fed squander lots of break points but still win.

Venus started well. 1-0.
Aga dug herself out of two straight 0-30 games, 1-2.
And then Venus has COMPLETELY fallen apart and can't land a ball in court. 1-4!

For a few games it looked like Venus was going to pull level, then she descended again. Aga takes the first set.

Aga serves out to love, closing with an ace. Looked like all those three-setters caught up with Venus, who occasionally got first-strike blows in (but mostly missed them wildly) but struggled in every longer rally.

wow Tsonga. This title was completely out of nowhere

terrible performance from Federer but at least he didn't lose 2-6 2-6 like honeymoonovic

Tsonga regularly served over 140mph in this tourney, definitely something going on fitness wise

Just watched the Rad/Villiams highlights. Venus may not have won, but wow did she look good in that short blue thing she was wearing.

Do hope Tsonga keeps this up and bags a slam somehow.

lol dam paire wanted off the court

novak is playing p poorly

Simon has to work so hard against Novak and Rafa, fun to watch in a sadistic way

man what a brutal match

remember when Simon was the only man to beat all of the top 4 (other than the top 4) within 12 months? still, Djokovic still in honeymoon phase (both re: wedding and Wimbledon) I presume.

I guess Tsonga was tired but flopping to Youzhny in R1 is funny given the hopes he raised last week.

Stephens' win over Petkovic is her first semi-impressive win in so long.

Watched all of Sharapova/Keys, Ma$ha is light years better than last week, Madison is the same old same old. I know she's still young but I wish she'd just go POW on the tour rather than this halting, error-filled one step fwd one step back. I thought Eastbourne would have unlocked something but no :(

I expect Sweta to teach Bouchard another lesson in R2 :)

Meanwhile, Barthel had a 5-2 lead and a SP over BZS. And didn't win another game.

Can't believe Petra nearly fooled me into thinking she'd become consistently great this time

*ignores her until 2017*

Sholz ‏@attheapollo 2m
Fixed MT @theoverrule Congratulations [all of Petra's future opponents] first career top 10 win beating a 2-time Wimbledon champion.

djokovic looks so average

fabulously entertaining match from Monfils and Federer. No clowning from Monfils and spectacular shotmaking from both.

fed looking good

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/sports/tennis/applebees-a-suburban-staple-for-cincinnati-masters-players.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

haha Gulbis really did a 180 on Cincy. I remember him saying that it was the most boring stop on tour.

I never really thought that this was the only suburban Masters event but I guess it is. Indian Wells is sort of suburbanish right?

fucking ugh @ Halep never getting over the finish line vs Ma$ha

Did anyone see Stan btw, how did he lose to Bennetau after winning 6-1?

ivanovic went into a coma mid 2nd set

fucking ugh @ Halep never getting over the finish line vs Ma$ha

― lex pretend, Saturday, August 16, 2014 1:00 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

seriously getting pissed about this, finish her off already

i went to new haven qualifiers today - p fun, saw nicalescu lose, she plays like unless she can win the pt on a sic slice drop shot shes not interested in winning the pt @ all, respect

this is bzarre

yea this is turning into a slopfest

holy shit

class running forehand. just tuned into this at 5-5

(3rd set)

that ivanovic winner is like the only 1 shes needed to hit in the last 8 games

Maria's been supbar all season, even hustling through the clay courts. Her RG final vs Halep is the most impressed I've ever been with her, not nbecause it was her game at its best, but because she upped her level from truly shabby to meet in-form Halep - that was a great career moment, but coach or herself it's been a grimey year. Some miracle of willpower will have to happen to make a dent in the USO.

Ivanovic pulled a bullshit mid-game MTO and Sharapova called her out, it seems? Ivanovic has done this before at the Doha YEC. Really shameless gamesmanship.

(I watched Serena/Woz, first set Serena seemed determined to match Woz in the pushing stakes but thankfully decided to get it together. Mini-choke at the end but very straightfoward otherwise.)

Thought Ferrer was about to have his Vitas Gerulaitis moment here ("no one beats David Ferrer sixteen times in a row!") but Fed completely on top in the decider. So far.

Ha - on a challenge, by a millimetre. Federer's 80th title.

Ferrer played about as well as he can in the first 2 sets.

those wacky Cincy trophies smh

Rafa out of the USO, not that unsurprisingly

It is very odd to think that the favourite is probably...Federer. Nadal out, Murray shit, Djokovic still honeymooning mentally

yea hes def the favorite

Can see Fed being 'surprised' on the way though.

The most open major...in an era?