ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

Also funny to think that Coric is a LL - lost in qualies to #350 Fabrice Martin, struggled past WC Jaziri in R1 in three sets, got to the QF with that Baghdatis retirement...and then thrashes Murray 1 and 3.

wow @ lucky loser. yea I saw some of 2nd set, otm abt out-thinking

SESIL!

Karatantcheva outgrinding Puig to make a rare SF and the prospect starts to brew of a Karatantcheva/Sharapova rematch, 11 years after "I'll kick her ass off"...

great play by fed

wow @ scoreline last night of ferrer/harrison 46 60 60

berlocq is dictating v nadal in this tiebreak

& he has the home ct advantage here, will be a good test for rafa to have to comeback if he drops this

omg berlocq chokq

really amazing dfense by nadal props

nishikori being outgritted by ferrer

kei losing so many bhand to bhand rallies is prob a deathknell

Nicole Vaidisova, now ranked #370, got a WC into Monterrey qualies and got bagelled in the first set of her opener by #531 Makoto Ninomiya...but she came back, won another two matches to qualify and is in her first WTA main draw since Feb 2010. Where she will play...Ivanovic in R1!

I am pretty sure Vaidisova is a selectable player in one of my old tennis games

isner and these interminable matches is the worst

davis cup is kinda cool but id honestly jst like let a bryan bro play singles or w/e over having to watch/root for isner

I am pretty sure Vaidisova is a selectable player in one of my old tennis games

― DJP,

Top Spin 3 is a classic

So excited to see Hsieh in another SF, presumably Peng and Mirza dumping her in doubles within six months of each other motivated her

sam querrey went on bravo's millionaire matchmaker

wow I didn't notice that Mayer and Souza played the longest David Cup match ever yesterday. 15-13 in the third after 6h 43min!

*in the 5th, rather. Argentine TV is still all over it.

First girl born in 2000 has acquired a senior ranking, just in case you're feeling young. Claire Liu (USA) is your new world #1221.

I remember feeling old when the first girl born in 1990 (Cornet!) got a ranking :(

Serena's Indian Wells return happens this week. I love that her opponent in the most anticipated and historically significant beyond the sport match of the year could be...Niculescu

(It'll probably be Krunic though)

so glad that they are finally streaming first round matches

I'm woefully way behind on other tennis news, but my 2009 self is extremely happy that Delpo and Cilic are playing doubles together this week. <3

what the hell, jack sock
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/576517600009678849/photo/1

would cherish forever a nicalescu upset here

tennis channel has all but created an animation of serena as jesus rising from the dead 4 this return

serena is p shook

Would laugh if she lost this to troll. Should really have gone down a double-break there, like if Niculescu had aimed 1mm higher on that volley..

Expect like 6-3 6-0 now she's got out of this,

so happy I got home for the second set of this!

I <3 Niculescu 4eva but it would feel odd to root for a Serena upset in this context so I'm happy that a) Serena seems to have got a good crowd reaction b) Serena is doing this return-to-IW on her own terms as a can't-tell-me-nothing bow-down-bitches all-time-great (which seems to me the point of the timing) c) Niculescu is getting well-deserved worldwide attention

Also, somehow this is the first time Serena's played Niculescu, so regardless of the context it makes sense that she'd find it a challenge (but obv win)

I don't think I've ever seen Niculescu play. She's fascinating.

I stan for her so much

shes def unique

This is a good interview with Niculescu from this week

http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/03/13/monica-niculescu-forehand-slice

AND THAT PASS SHE JUST HIT

serenas reactions are like this is a grand slam final

If Niculescu is troubling one of the greatest of all time this much, you can imagine how beautiful the matches in which she carved up lesser-brained bashers like Lisicki were.

Niculescu does much much worse against the solid retriever types whom she can't goad into errors than against players who can technically overpower her.

I'd also love to know from a player's pov whether it's significantly different to playing eg a left-handed Vinci...

serena is trying to win this match and an oscar simultaneously

Niculescu eliciting an error off a moonball instead of a slice just to switch things up

Apparently Sam Smith said Sharapova should take lessons from Niculescu on how to play Serena. Incredible shade

It was funny seeing people try to snark on Twitter that Niculescu looks self-taught. She literally IS self-taught and she's made a goddamn top 100 pro career out of it.

So good to see Serena get such a rapturous reception after winning.

Niculescu is a bad-ass

Slices have always been a good tactic vs serena because she has trouble bending for low balls and has mediocre balance.

Her on court demeanor tonight was slightly more disgraceful than usual.

First time I've seen Jabeur play. She's v fun! Don't think Caro knew quite what to make of her. Particularly enjoyed the overhead drop shot she pulled out at one stage. Good match.

the magnitude of ppl watching the bouchard match vs watching coco's match is really crazy

like wtf go to court two and sit 2nd row vs being in the back of the fifth tier

Loved Jabeur's game too, real natural flair. That dropshot/smash was crazy. Level really dropped in the first set TB though.

First set of Harrison/Nishikori was soooooo bad.