ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

Serena, Vika and in form Kvitova and JJ would be a pretty great Istanbul semi lineup

not in this form Vika won't be, good lord

yet another FH error and JaJa has the win :)

oooh Dimitrov just won to set up a QF vs Federer...

Dimi still has to beat Dolgo

i was sort of thinking Vika would creep into the knockouts and suddenly raise her game. hmmmm

Can someone explain to me why you get points even for losses in the RR groups? I don't think that's the incentive for Azarenka playing when she's obviously (and for once, actually) injured, but I am curious.

i'm fine with Fed losing to Brands or whoever but for some reason Dimitrov beating him would feel like too much. come on man

actually kinda funny how both of them are attacking each other's backhands

holy lol Dimitrov

Serena/JJ and Petra/Na SFs are about as welcome a group of SFists as I could have hoped for in the YEC!

I would have LOLed for days had Fed lost to Baby Fed but noooooo way will I ever trust Dimitrov to be able to get it done mentally.

Li makes the final and the top 3 :)

Given that Li was out for a bit in the first part of the year, it's at least a theoretical possibility that she could make No. 2 at some point, but it'd arguably require a lot more of this pleasingly crap Azarenka we've been seeing.

Li's consistency under Carlos Rodriguez has been remarkable given how...erratic she was for all of her career. QF or better at every non-clay event she played this year and has seemed like more of a legitimate Slam contender than in the year she actually won a Slam.

That USO SF is a black mark though...I didn't see it, it's still one of the most perplexing scorelines of the year. Li's rarely won but never been totally blown out by Serena...until that match, when she should have been in her best form. No idea what today will bring.

Also Delpo has 1.5hrs in which to beat Fed if I am to watch both that match and the YEC final.

That was certainly not a very good attempt to serve out the first set from Pony.

This is not peak Pony by any means and he's hardly blowing Federer away with his shotmaking...but Federer still can't take advantage, even with the addition of Ivanovic-level desperate "c'mon"s to his repertoire.

Goddamnit this is going to overlap with Silliams/Li. WHAT TO DO.

Beautiful backhands from Li. She has a break!

Li is looking excellent so far. I have no faith that this will last.

Serena is not playing particularly well, but Li is showing great tactics. Picking the right direction to go, minimising errors, getting up to the net and in Serena's face, hell yeah

Some of these returns Li's just teeing off on <3

Yeah I know Li's still way up but she took her foot off the pedal in that game and she REALLY NEEDS NOT TO DO THAT.

Ugh DF on SP ugh

WHY MUST THIS STREAM BE SO SHIT

Yuh, all the streams are shit. Even the usually decent Polish ones are failing me :(

S&V to take her next SP!

And Pony leads 5-3 in the third set, excellent

PONY!

lol, Federer still hasn't qualified for the WTF and has only won one title this year

theres a 5mp HD ac3str34m of the del potro match on w1z1w1g

it's the Li one that I can't find a decent stream of

Two multi-deuce games both go to Serena, who's now fistpumping and yelling. Over.

Great tennis from Li to break back! Unexpected.

Li kept threatening a comeback in that set but Serena got over the finishing line in the end. Hopefully she doesn't fall away in the third...

It's fallen away. Seven straight faults and cascading errors now.

Li just gets worse and worse. Serena barely needs to be on court.

It was sad how little fight Serena had to display to get Li to collapse entirely. Serena didn't even have to roar, just a little growl at the start of the second set and that was that - Li's strategy, execution, confidence and belief deserted her.

That didn't hurt as bad as the AO final loss, but it still hurt.

Even Ivanovic can win 6-0 sets off Pironkova. Local wildcard fail.

Don't you love the way a tournament specifically designed for 2013 tournament champions opens with a match between two players who haven't won a tournament in two years.

They should change this to a showcase of younger players (which was the original intent) - top 8 teenagers this year would give us a field of: Bouchard, Keys, Svitolina, Robson, Beck, Schmiedlova, Vekic, Putintseva. I'd watch that. It'd have prestige, all of them battling to be the leader of the next generation, something that this sorely lacks.

lmao Tsonga. With a spot in London on the line and in a third-set TB vs Nishikori, he reaches MP. Then this happens:

Tsonga DF
Nishikori second serve ace
Nishikori ace
Tsonga DF

And that's JWT out of the WTF!

loved that Janowicz stare after Nadal went for the body

Last 8 in Paris = Last 8 in London!

ferrer squeaks out that set and levels it

Berdych's bleach dipped shorts !!!

yea idk y he cant wear normal clothes

Federer (y)

also Djokovic making so many wanky errors

Delpo got robbed while signing an autograph at the train station... passport, everything stolen. Poor guy. :(

‏@piersnewbery
Bag and passport stolen, 2hrs with French police, eurotunnel, London press conference, practice. Del Potro's day... pic.twitter.com/laq1kivccI

http://i.imgur.com/sSEEinZ.jpg