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
not the best closer, as you might have ascertained from that point
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 15:25 (nine years ago) link
Great way to serve it out though!
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 15:36 (nine years ago) link
Thiem in the top 50 :)
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 21:38 (nine years ago) link
wow 17 year old Alexander Zverev wins a 500 match after winning a challenger last week.
― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, 15 July 2014 21:52 (nine years ago) link
I saw a bit of that. Love his FH, it's a really versatile weapon. Haase was absolutely dreadful though
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 07:26 (nine years ago) link
OUCH @ that scoreline vs Wozniacki for Bencic. Woz's style is always going to kill young players but no positives about a double bagel...
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 07:31 (nine years ago) link
thx for the info on kontaveit lex!
― pandemic, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 10:18 (nine years ago) link
lmao @ Fognini, peak Tanknini right now (as defending champion, to an opponent who's called the trainer for illness twice). 14 points in a row for Krajinovic
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 11:18 (nine years ago) link
18 of the last 19 points, lollllll
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 11:24 (nine years ago) link
LMAO, in the WTA Bastad tournament ONE seed, Annika Beck, made it out of R1
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 11:58 (nine years ago) link
Zverev a set and a break up on Youzhny (and he should've broken at least twice already in this set). I like his game a lot!
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:24 (nine years ago) link
saw a little bit of the replay of Zverev beating Haase last night, dude is fun to watch (and it's startling watching someone that young just taking it to opponents after this recent "mature" tennis player renaissance)
― Star Gentle Uterus (DJP), Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:28 (nine years ago) link
I post, they choke. Every time
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:30 (nine years ago) link
I always felt the "tennis players are getting older" narrative was overblown b/c one of the factors - that there were no top-quality juniors coming through - was always left unsaid. (Also, there are pretty individual reasons for players like Serena and Li still going in their 30s - cf Agassi.) So I'm not surprised that if there are 16/17yos with the quality of this Zverev or Ana Konjuh, they won't look out of place against regular Tour players
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:33 (nine years ago) link
Youzhny pretty much breaks himself to love at 5-5, Zverev will serve for it...
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:38 (nine years ago) link
And he does it. Exciting talent!
― lex pretend, Wednesday, 16 July 2014 13:43 (nine years ago) link
youngest player to beat a top 20 player since Gasquet in 2007
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 17 July 2014 00:46 (nine years ago) link
I guess it's the most promising start for a young guy since Tomic? Unlikely that he'll throw it away like Bernie has.
― Matt Armstrong, Thursday, 17 July 2014 00:47 (nine years ago) link
http://instagram.com/p/qjWZ3lEHxD/
carowozniacki21 minutes agoOut and about in Istanbul. It's been 3 years since I have worn heels on a normal day out. #feelsgood #looksgood #shopping #highheels #sunFollow
*applause*
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 13:17 (nine years ago) link
also, that McIlroy shade makes me think of the Taylor Swift lyric: "he didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do..."
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 13:20 (nine years ago) link
anyway, it's pretty neat right now flicking between streams of up-and-comers - Konjuh made a bit of a meal of the second set vs Doi but I still think she'll come through; Siniakova is seriously grumpy, at least 10 racquet-chucks in half a set vs Nara, and her game isn't overwhelming; Zverev still playing impressively vs Giraldo...
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 13:54 (nine years ago) link
Konjuh and Zverev both serve for a place in their first QF; both simultaneously miss a MP and get broken.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 14:19 (nine years ago) link
Both win anyway, Konjuh by breaking in the next game and Zverev in the TB.
Most impressive win for Zverev this week, Youzhny may be ranked higher but Giraldo's in better form. Dolgopolov somehow lost to Kamke so that's opened his path to the SF tantalisingly...
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 14:39 (nine years ago) link
Konjuh is now 27-9 in three-set matches in her senior career. That's astonishingly good for someone so young.
And against her toughest competition in WTA events (MD and qualies) and Fed Cup, she's 10-1.
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 15:17 (nine years ago) link
Jeff Sackmann @tennisabstract 1h
Wins versus top 100, before 18th birthday (active players):Nadal: 24Hewitt: 9Federer: 7Zverev: 6Gasquet: 5Delpo: 4
― lex pretend, Thursday, 17 July 2014 16:29 (nine years ago) link