Oh yeah also a special mention to the xenophobic British ATPers whinging about Bedene changing nationality. Evans and Golding, looking at you. Evans' claim that he's a better player is also laughable. If you're the better player how come you still haven't been ranked in the top 100, unlike Bedene?
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 13:11 (nine years ago) link
Yeah unsurprisingly it's been one dumb comment after another.
― abcfsk, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 13:19 (nine years ago) link
Not Stepanek of all people to make sense about this
‘I think that the view from the others has no sense because it’s his choice. […] I think we have, you know, nothing to say to that. Nobody’s asking different guys when somebody is taking a different coach.’
But ugh at the extent of this
The fossilized attitudes in question may have reached their zenith when Murray was asked about the advantages of having hired a ‘lady’ rather than a ‘chap’.
‘Lady and chap?’ Murray repeated, understandably amused. ‘Man and woman. Let's stick with that.’ http://www.livetennis.com/category/livetennis-news/atp-queens-tennis-live-andy-murrays-appointment-of-amelie-mauresmo-under-intense-scrutiny-at-the-aegon-championships-201406110008/
― abcfsk, Wednesday, 11 June 2014 17:58 (nine years ago) link
Haha, Radek of all people. Kukushkin was good on it too -
Kukushkin – who lost in straight sets to Radek Stepanek on Tuesday – said gender was not an issue in determining if someone was a good coach or not. And the Kazakh predicts women coaches will become more common on the ATP Tour in the future. "I see a lot of players and coaches, and I see some coaches on tour who do almost nothing on tour," he said. "It's not so important if it's a man or a woman, what's important for me is really working hard to build together. "My coach, my wife, she really knows my game and how to improve that. It's a relationship that's really good for me. "It's not important if it's a man or a woman. It's a tough relationship at times, because she has to push me, she can't be soft on me. "But for me it's really working good. "Very few players have a female coach - but for me there's no difference between a man and a woman and I wouldn't be surprised to see more women coaching men in the future."
A relevant stat:
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bpy9u5PIMAEL8KO.png
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 07:34 (nine years ago) link
Most of the main tennis journalists have been cool with it but I'm just WAITING for some nonsense to start once Wimbledon rolls around
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 07:35 (nine years ago) link
Kimiko d. Hantuchova 64 60. Superlative grass court tennis, a joy to watch.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 13:27 (nine years ago) link
Kimiko is amazing
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Thursday, 12 June 2014 13:37 (nine years ago) link
She first reached the QF at this tournament the first time she played it, in 1989
NINETEEN EIGHTY-NINE
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 13:49 (nine years ago) link
in other news, fed just lost a set to sousa on grass despite serving 90% first serves.
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 14:31 (nine years ago) link
ludicrous TB between Murray and Stepanek
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 15:18 (nine years ago) link
Meanwhile:
Victoria Chiesa @vrcsports 45sCoco misses, screams "YOU PIECE OF CRAP. I'M PLAYING LIKE A FREAKIN' RETARD." Umpire: "Coco, you can't say that here. Not in this country."
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
this nadal/dustin match is amazing already. one point ended with both of them lying on the ground.
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 15:55 (nine years ago) link
dustin takes the first set! this match is so much fun, very high quality.
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:22 (nine years ago) link
ah Coco, such a charmer
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:32 (nine years ago) link
Dustin is zoning, up 4-0 in the second. N
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:37 (nine years ago) link
just put this on. Nadal tanking?
― cerealbar, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:39 (nine years ago) link
could be, but there's not much he could have done here.
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:41 (nine years ago) link
either way this is really funny
― cerealbar, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:41 (nine years ago) link
amazing performance, well deserved
― groovemaaan, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:44 (nine years ago) link
yay Dustin!
always an upset in the making imo, given the rapidity of Nadal's clay/grass turnaround and Brown's grass-only skillset
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 June 2014 16:45 (nine years ago) link
lol not that i think he meant to tank that match, but let's face it, Nadal's prob more excited for the World Cup rn
― Roz, Thursday, 12 June 2014 19:59 (nine years ago) link
Stephens displaying her trademark heart and fight in that second set. Zhang didn't even bother with her c'mons
― lex pretend, Friday, 13 June 2014 11:16 (nine years ago) link
omg @ everything about the Brown/Kohlschreiber match. 18-16 final set TB!
― lex pretend, Friday, 13 June 2014 14:25 (nine years ago) link
omg @ stepanek saving that set pt @ 4-6 in teh tiebreak!
― johnny crunch, Saturday, 14 June 2014 15:12 (nine years ago) link
yeah that was amazing. shame about the stupid errors after that, though.
― groovemaaan, Saturday, 14 June 2014 15:17 (nine years ago) link
Azarenka/Giorgi R1 in Eastbourne lol
― groovemaaan, Saturday, 14 June 2014 15:40 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kw83n9RPI4
Federer wins a match, fails to notice
― Roz, Saturday, 14 June 2014 17:51 (nine years ago) link
here's the amazing point in the stepanek/lopez match (at 0:52)
― groovemaaan, Saturday, 14 June 2014 22:11 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WZ572AWZgY
wasn't my ideal semi final lineup but Birmingham was fun yesterday.really classy performance by Ivanovic. BZS is great value with the slicing and volleying and inexplicable tantrums.Julie Kjendlie is the coolest umpire
― cerealbar, Sunday, 15 June 2014 09:30 (nine years ago) link
hahaha, Grigor digs deep to hold at *5-6 - and Lopez dumps a second serve return into the net on MP - and then Grigor PEAKS while Lopez totally collapses in the TB. Fantastic returns by Dimitrov but that shank and those missed volleys by Lopez...6-1.
― lex pretend, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:04 (nine years ago) link
Third and final set TB. Quality match!
― lex pretend, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:50 (nine years ago) link
Haha no way. Serving masterclass until Lopez nets a BH slice to give Dimitrov MP...and then Dimitrov shanks a FH
― lex pretend, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:53 (nine years ago) link
Lopez's serve is really amazing, really should have done more in his career with a weapon like that imo
― Matt Armstrong, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:55 (nine years ago) link
as disappointing as Grigor has been at times this year, this is what, 4 titles since hiring Rasheed?
― Matt Armstrong, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:56 (nine years ago) link
Lopez blinked three times - once on MP in the second set (and in the ensuing TB), once on those DFs to give the third set break back, once in the third set TB. And that was enough. And otherwise, there was nothing to separate them...
― lex pretend, Sunday, 15 June 2014 15:57 (nine years ago) link
4 titles since hiring Rasheed?
and, impressively, on indoor hard, outdoor hard, clay and now grass
― lex pretend, Sunday, 15 June 2014 16:01 (nine years ago) link
really great match between giorgi and azarenka, despite camila hitting 17 double faults.
― groovemaaan, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 15:01 (nine years ago) link
huh, Bouchard lost to King at the Topshelf Open
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Tuesday, 17 June 2014 17:46 (nine years ago) link
Giorgi 5-1 against top 20 players this year
― cerealbar, Tuesday, 17 June 2014 21:55 (nine years ago) link
Actually more surprised Giorgi/Azarenka was so close, with it being Vika's first match back.
King's some years off her peak form where she could always be counted on to outsmart a certain type of player, but even though she now gets squashed 90% of the time by that type of player, I'm never surprised when she actually manages to do it. Put King's tennis brain into even a slightly bigger body and you have yourself a solid top 30 player.
I went to Wim qualies yesterday, will put my report in the Wim thread.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 08:53 (nine years ago) link
Wozniacki extends her h2h vs Stephens to 5-0, 10-0 in sets. Only one of those sets was tougher than 6-3. This one was utterly straightforward and Wozniacki wasn't even that impressive.
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 18 June 2014 13:21 (nine years ago) link
What top player whose results in the Slams suggests at least a vaguely all-court player should ever, ever, be losing to Woz on grass? Oh, of course, Stephens.
― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Thursday, 19 June 2014 07:53 (nine years ago) link
All-surface rather.
Peak WTA alert in the Istanbul R1. Vekic led Koukalova 5-1. Then Koukalova won 15 of the next 16 games: 4-6 6-0 4-0. And now she's just lost three in a row, including both breaks.
― lex pretend, Monday, 14 July 2014 18:37 (nine years ago) link
Both players have a first serve % below 40%
― lex pretend, Monday, 14 July 2014 18:39 (nine years ago) link
Koukalova loses a fourth game in a row to make it 4-4.
Then she holds to love, of course.
― lex pretend, Monday, 14 July 2014 18:43 (nine years ago) link
And then Vekic breaks herself to 15, GSM. Peak WTA.
― lex pretend, Monday, 14 July 2014 18:47 (nine years ago) link
Lex, school me on Kontaveit. Just watched 6 or 7 games vs Cornet and was impressed with the depth of her ground strokes although I found it hard to tell just how much weight she was getting on the ball.
― pandemic, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 14:47 (nine years ago) link
she's a great ball-striker isn't she? definitely a Baby Kanepi type. never dreamed she'd have the patience to hit through Cornet but she's done a good job of it today. movement isn't the best though. she doesn't get much hype but she's one of the best of her age group - obviously hasn't broken through to the top 100 like Keys, Bencic and Vekic have but she's right around Siniakova, Townsend etc
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 15:23 (nine years ago) link