ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

damn time zones. I got to watch Murray be very underwhelming.

In light of Fed's lucky escape vs Haas I'm shocked he took a set off Rafa; still, going on the result I have no qualms about calling him "declined" rather than "declining".

it was a pretty incredible performance lex. He looked so much better than he has since Australia. Even if it was just a good day at the office it was nice to see. And as you said, it was so unexpected considering how he's looked since Halle.

imho the big 4 have all declined to varying degrees and if the rest of the top 10 and the younger guys in the top 30 weren't such a collection of headcases and clowns they would be challenging them for Slams by now.

I don't think Murray's declined (well, apart from this current blip). Nole is not at his peak but that just means "solid No 1" rather than "spectacular No 1" is his normal level, 2011 is probably unrepeatable.

But the ATP golden age is probably drawing to a close, yes. Putting a lot of hope in Delpo right now...

btw Nole wasn't terrible today, it was probably the best match I've ever seen Isner play

maybe i'm holding him to too high standards but Nole has looked pretty listless at times over the last 6 months. has lost as many tight matches as he's won. could be fatigue and also because he's been under no immediate pressure for #1 spot maybe he's come to regard Masters as just training sessions for the slams

not likely to happen but i'd love to see a Delpo-Berdych final here

rip pony

seeing Delpo double fault on mp there kind of puts Djokovic's mental lapses into perspective i guess. Isner-Berdych final please?

ISNERSLAM

imho the big 4 have all declined to varying degrees and if the rest of the top 10 and the younger guys in the top 30 weren't such a collection of headcases and clowns they would be challenging them for Slams by now.

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, August 17, 2013 2:32 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the ATP could really use someone under the age of 30 to contend for slams

good to see he went into this with the right attitude
http://i.imgur.com/etSvKT4.png

Four. That's how many service holds there were in Azarenka/Jankovic. It was a three set match.

I hate this tournament. Na DFin on her SP and then seconds later on Serena's? Isner in the final? Azarenka beating JaJa? UGHHHHH @ all those results.

Is Serena injured? Azarenka is playing like shit, Sharapova is playing like shit, Li is an idiot, Petra is a moron, Wozniacki is actually probably going to be seeded in the top 8, random slam winner, maybe this is also your time!

That was a bad match that got weirder and better towards the end - Serena DFing at 5-5 in a TB? And that amazing Vika volley at 6-6! - but it was very significant IMO. Vika has proven herself a legit rival to Serena on hard courts now. And the overall rhythm of the match felt so much like the USO final - and Vika laid that ghost to rest...

Serena looked so disinterested for so much of that, glad she ended up losing

hm
New Haven Open ‏@newhavenopen 3m
Peng Shuai retires up 6-2, 1-3 to send 4-time Champion @CaroWozniacki into R16. #nho13

I was starting to soften a bit on Woz once she dropped down to 10 but now the world is conspiring to send her back into the top 8 I am not back on board the anti-Woz train.

Farewell, Anna Chakvetadze ;_; She hasn't played for over a year but made it official today: retirement.

I've NEVER seen such an in-your-face response to a hostile crowd as this:

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

Iconic, legendary etc. Even more impressive considering her game required a cool head, and in that atmosphere she executed it perfectly.

also, her demeanour at other times was kind of dainty and princessy, lol

GO VENUS

omg lol awesome

didn't see Venus against Vika but she was really good against Halep (who was hitting some great winners herself) - strange to see Venus the more consistent player.

meanwhile, OMG Martina: http://thebiglead.com/2013/09/25/martina-hingis-who-cheated-on-her-husband-twice-apparently-beat-him-up-with-help-from-her-mom/

cocaine is a helluva drug

Venus is serving like a woman possessed at the moment, hit a 209km/h one the other day !?!!
i <3 Petra too but gogogoogo Venus

that was a puzzlingly good match from both - so happy for Petra, she needed it

Petra looks pretty fit. Her legs look fantastic. Maybe all the sex with Stepanek is good for that?

tomorrow bennetau will have another chance to finally win his first title. if he screws up i won't be sad though because everyone who loses to JOAO SOUSA in a final deserves nothing but ridicule.

I really don't understand how Sousa beat Ferrer in the QF

I understand perfectly how Benneteau lost to him to make it a 0-9 career finals record though #bennetlol

Petko d. Azarenka

God. Could I love a result any more than this?

I mean, hooray absolutely, but how badly hurt/out of it is Azarenka right now?

Apparently 15 double faults. Petko took an MTO due to dizziness so neither was in good form, so I'm glad it happened but I'm glad I wasn't watching.

David Nalbandian retired... so many conflicting feelings right now. 2005 Masters Cup final against Fed probably one of my favourite matches of all time.

3rd set of sousa/benn was p cool. b-teau hit some bad unforced errors

gasquet/raonic is p good, kinda subdued w flashes of sic gasq backhands

I really liked Nalbandian at the start of his career but he was such a dick that I p much hated him by the end. Amusing that his last relevant tournament was the Queen's disgrace.

"Waste of talent" applies even more to him than to Safin. Notwithstanding that he was flat-out robbed of the 2003 USO he should still have been challenging for Slams on a consistent basis in the void of the pre-Fed/early Fed era. He spent most of his career unfit and tanked a bazillion important matches.

dodig/nieminen rt now are blastng on each other 2d set tiebreak

dodig gets thru but he looks fn drained. wouldve loved to see a 3rd set

atmosphere in Kvitova/Li was awesome, really impossible to argue that Beijing is a fake event that no one cares about any more. so impressed that Petra came through (and yet another three-setter lol)

Dolgo-Delpo was great, both guys played at about 100%

god I love you Kvitova but if you flop to Jankovic I will be pissed

Same old from Dimitrov in what was on paper a great R1 match-up with Nishikori. Three loose errors for every "ooh" flashy point, NID flopping at the most crucial junctures (that last game!) and he seems to have added some disturbing serving yips to the mix. At least he's not Harrison, I guess, who lost in qualies to Go Soeda and is now ranked behind Donald Young (neither in the top 100 obv).

And earlier, Robson displayed even less movement and tactical nous than usual against Date-Krumm - even when Kimiko tried her best to choke in the last game, Laura just responded by whacking returns of short, weak second serves into the back fence.

This controversy over Kerber's last-minute WC for Linz is shameful for that tournament and the WTA, which once again shows itself to be a thoroughly corrupt, incompetent organisation that makes and breaks its own rules as it goes along.

lol Dimitrov is going to work with Roger Rasheed. I am not entirely convinced that Dimitrov's repeated flopping in grand slams is just to do with lack of fitness. Being a complete moron is a goal, and he needs a coach who can help him nitigate on his presumably terminal stupidity.

mitigate his stupidity, rather

Being a complete moron is the problem, rather. I am Dimitroving at posting today.

kerber just got bagelled by NICULESCU. quite an achievement.

this is hilarious, Niculescu peaking with her FH slices and Kerber just smacking everything out sarcastically

tbh this tournament deserves nothing less

Monica Niculescu <3

http://www.dodaj.rs/f/1k/7f/2DTv0eCs/mo.gif