There should surely be some kind of rule about competing in venues that bear your name. But at least it's entertaining if said player loses there...
So, nice to see Novak losing at the Novak Tennis Center at his family's Belgrade ATP event (returning to the calendar after 8 years)... Karatsev saved 23 of 28 BPs. Highlights reel I just watched focused on Djoko's ridiculous shotmaking to pinch the second set from 2-4, sadly little of the Karatsev's heroics in the decider!
I guess tomorrow we'll see if the Legends can be taken down a further peg, with a defeat for Rafa on Pista Rafa Nadal.
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 24 April 2021 22:04 (three years ago) link
lotta respect for steph but rafa will win imo
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 25 April 2021 02:37 (three years ago) link
tsitsy getting from 2-4 down to 6-4 up in the 2nd set tiebreak was wildly impressive
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 25 April 2021 16:43 (three years ago) link
great match, great momentum swings.. each player w championship pts
nadal was below his peak, costly doubles, uncharacteristic errors but in toto not a staggering amt; stef was just solid throughout, cant say enough for his play really
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 25 April 2021 17:50 (three years ago) link
match time: 3:40
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 25 April 2021 17:51 (three years ago) link
That horrible forehand error at 5-5 15/0 seemed to be the moment it swung away, but even then, it was no capitulation - chances to hold, and to break back. 3hr 40!
My Amazon stream had no commentary. It was really quite nice like that.
In Belgrade, Berrettini lost only six points in the deciding set vs Daniel last night, and whitewashed Karatsev in the 3rd-set breaker today. Strong finisher.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 25 April 2021 17:56 (three years ago) link
A flurry of grass court action, even overlapping with Roland Garros this year, thanks to the re-schedule.
Jo Konta wins her first WTA title in four years in Nottingham... also in Nottingham, a pair of strong-draw ATP Challenger events: Evans top seed in week 1, loses qf, Tiafoe takes title; Gasquet top seed in week 2, ongoing... Cilic wins Stuttgart, as FAA maintains his 0% record in ATP finals (now 0-8, and 0-16 in sets!)...
And now we're on to 500-level events at Queen's Club (Murray takes out a barely-arsed Paire, will face top seed Berrettini tomorrow; Jack Draper beats Sinner in straight sets from 0-4 down), Halle (Federer through, will face birthday-twin FAA! Medvedev out), Berlin (Sabalenka, Svitolina, Andreescu top three, Osaka absent).
― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 08:23 (three years ago) link
Of course, "grass court season" isn't an exclusive thing, and there are four ATP Challengers on clay this week - Almaty, Aix-en-Provence, Prostejov, Forli, albeit with lesser draws than Nottingham - plus some Davis/Federation(BJK) Cup. And who's that familiar name turning out for Georgia vs Iceland in Davis Cup? Ah, it's the GRANDSON of the 1973 Wimbledon finalist Alex Metreveli. Not even a kid, 27yo, ranked in the 600s.
(Ok, I'm not quite that old. I don't remember watching Kodes win it in '73... I feel like I saw the Taylor-Borg QF but that's only cos they used to show it so often during rain delays).
― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 11:49 (three years ago) link
FAA beats 19y-his-senior Fed. For a three-setter, not particularly close - Fed only had one bp (and took it), FAA had 15 (took three).
― Michael Jones, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 14:55 (three years ago) link
yea wow was gonna say losing in 3 to felix is not a bad loss per se, but that break pt differential don't look good
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 16 June 2021 15:29 (three years ago) link
rafa is not playing wimbledon & olympics
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 17 June 2021 13:45 (three years ago) link
tiafoe/brooksby in dc has had some incred rallies
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 4 August 2021 01:32 (three years ago) link
now rafa/sock has also been v compelling, great fight by both…
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 5 August 2021 01:56 (three years ago) link
nadal looked to somewhat reaggravate his foot injury but props to him for gutting out this match, sock is back in p decent form actually
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 5 August 2021 02:29 (three years ago) link
lloyd harris takes out rafa; wonder if nadal will go play canada
― johnny crunch, Friday, 6 August 2021 01:23 (three years ago) link
Watching overnight highlights on Amazon Prime without knowing the scores - Harris-Rafa didn't look it was going to go that way! And Brooksby taking out FAA in straights... seems to have a decent amount of variety, is having a great week, but we've seen WC-aided Americans fail to break through before...
― Michael Jones, Friday, 6 August 2021 10:44 (three years ago) link
commentators have said it enough that im convinced brooksby is the next coming of murray m/lif he can serve a little bigger he is scary, i really like watching him
― johnny crunch, Friday, 6 August 2021 12:01 (three years ago) link
brooksby routined & dominated millman
― johnny crunch, Friday, 6 August 2021 19:16 (three years ago) link
If he’s the new Murray that completes the quartet, seeing as we already have Sinner, Musetti and Alcarez :)It had passed me by that Brooksby won back to back Challengers in Florida in the spring, and reached the final in Newport. He’s piling up the wins.
― Michael Jones, Friday, 6 August 2021 20:37 (three years ago) link
i like that next-next gen analogy. we'll see how brooksby/sinner rd 1 goes
― johnny crunch, Saturday, 7 August 2021 00:06 (three years ago) link
RIP Brooksby
Jenson Brooksby is the sort of player I love to watch…lots of variety..high tennis IQ….great in defence..🔥His slice and backhand volley are almost identical to Florián Mayer.#tennis @atptour— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 6, 2021
― Roz, Saturday, 7 August 2021 01:57 (three years ago) link
really happy to see that petko got her first title since 2015.
― oscar bravo, Sunday, 8 August 2021 20:25 (three years ago) link
1st set still going in dc, mackie has saved ten (10) set points
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 8 August 2021 22:16 (three years ago) link
cant save the 11th
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 8 August 2021 22:18 (three years ago) link
happy 40th to fed btw, hope he can play the us open but its not looking good
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 8 August 2021 23:02 (three years ago) link
this jannik/mackie match.......
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 8 August 2021 23:53 (three years ago) link
Nice to see Double-Mc winning matches again. Don't think he's registered with me since this same event three years ago, when he lost over three hours to a labouring Murray. McMc seems to have missed half of the 2019 season with injury, so a long road back.
So: a SE for him into Toronto (va Paire, who seems to have started to give a damn again), a WC for Brooksby (and Kyrgios)... no such treatment for Tiafoe: doesn't make it out of qualifying.
― Michael Jones, Monday, 9 August 2021 14:26 (three years ago) link
Oh yeah, bonne anniversaire to FAA too, only 21.
Always a glut of men's elite birthdays around this time (Sampras, Laver; Sinner turns 20 next week)... or maybe I only notice the birthdays around my own. (North Cheshire tennis club, round of 16, May '86).
― Michael Jones, Monday, 9 August 2021 14:30 (three years ago) link
Also: "always"..."around this time". This is how birthdays and calendars tend to work, of course. Double fault.
― Michael Jones, Monday, 9 August 2021 14:35 (three years ago) link
tiafoe back in as a lucky loser for korda
― johnny crunch, Monday, 9 August 2021 18:46 (three years ago) link
rafa now w/draws from toronto & cincy
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 11 August 2021 22:21 (three years ago) link
opelka through tsitsy in toronto o_o
― johnny crunch, Saturday, 14 August 2021 21:44 (three years ago) link
servebot showdown averted, medvedev easily past isner 2 & 2
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 15 August 2021 01:06 (three years ago) link
Both servebots hitting 75%+ first serves too, but Daniil apparently no trouble picking it out - limited Isner to four aces. Bodes well for the final.
Sadly no prospect of a Medvedev North American ATP1000 double displacing Novak as #1 because, as far as I can tell, Medvedev is also effectively defending champ in Cincy. I've rather lost track of when and how many points drop these days, but I assume DM's 1000 from Cincy '19 drop on 23/8, to be replaced by either 500 (-> Aug '22) or a better result from this year's event (or is the 50% rule over now?). Novak's 1000 from "Cincy" '20 have no lifespan beyond next week?
DM has more to defend at Flushing Meadow, of course, however you slice it.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 15 August 2021 11:21 (three years ago) link
Slice it?
Oh, and he has!
― the pinefox, Sunday, 15 August 2021 12:01 (three years ago) link
“Spin it” may also have worked. Lob, not so much.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 15 August 2021 14:23 (three years ago) link
wonderfully frosty handshake from sabalenka to pliskova after pliskova beat her in the semis yesterday.
― oscar bravo, Sunday, 15 August 2021 20:28 (three years ago) link
ugh https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/tsitsipas-refuses-take-vaccine-unless-it-becomes-mandatory-tour-2021-08-16/
― Roz, Tuesday, 17 August 2021 03:30 (three years ago) link
still haven't heard anyone in the tennis media give a compelling reason as to why naomi osaka should be attending pressers. nothing is gained from it from a fans perspective imo and clear harm being done to the player because of the process not necessarily the questions.
missed this from last week. coco vandewegue refusing to warm up before the third set (after a weather delay) then when being told it was compulsary just barely moving and soft lobbing the ball back to her unimpressed opponent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYMZ-BA96dU
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 17 August 2021 15:32 (three years ago) link
Liking the look of the Winston-Salem semis - Ivashka-Ruusuvuori, Alcaraz-Ymer. The 18yo Alcaraz being the only seed left!
― Michael Jones, Friday, 27 August 2021 12:00 (three years ago) link
So it's Ivashka-Ymer.
That Ivashka has the chance to be the first Belarusian to win an ATP singles tournament since Max Mirnyi beat Federer on the way to the Rotterdam title 18 years ago is one thing, but Ymer is the *first Swedish finalist* on the main tour since Soderling at Båstad ten years ago. Having grown up with the post-Borg generation, that's nuts.
(Not sure I realised that Soderling was pretty much at his peak - in the top five - when he got ill in summer 2011, and that Båstad title was his last event, at 26).
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:44 (three years ago) link
And now I wish I'd written Söderling in that post :)
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:48 (three years ago) link
this metz match btwn basilashvili & davidovich fokina is amazing
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 23 September 2021 20:41 (two years ago) link
Glad for heads-up there - caught the last couple of games on Prime. DF's hair is a bit of a disaster though.
It's Laver Cup time again. I know, pointless, contrived exhibition, but I do quite like it. Or maybe it's just Roger and Rafa cracking each other up that I like, and there's none of that this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuO-X_eV8mQ
― Michael Jones, Friday, 24 September 2021 12:05 (two years ago) link
it does feel rather pointless w/o fed and rafa; nonetheless, i am attending the day session tomorrow, hope to see some fun matches
― johnny crunch, Friday, 24 September 2021 12:53 (two years ago) link
Oh cool - enjoy!
― Michael Jones, Friday, 24 September 2021 12:55 (two years ago) link
From the conversations I’ve had, the players’ public silence isn’t because they don’t know or don’t care, but because no one is asking them on record.They know about it, and they have strong opinions about it. But they’re very unlikely to speak out unprompted.#askthequestions— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 25, 2021
McEnroe: “Fuck this guy.”Isner: “He said that? Fuck him…”Schwartzman: “What did he say?”McEnroe: “He said that’s the last point we’re gonna win.”Opelka: “He also said he’s innocent.”McEnroe: “Yeah, good point.”h/t @tennisems #LaverCuppic.twitter.com/NPJ2IpTAxq— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 25, 2021
― mens rea activist (k3vin k.), Saturday, 25 September 2021 13:54 (two years ago) link
seeing zverevs backhand in person was v impressive
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 26 September 2021 02:17 (two years ago) link
Ugh, Zverev was right. Will they still play some of the singles?
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 26 September 2021 18:02 (two years ago) link
only 1 more match & the changed it to dubs ruud/meds v felix/diego
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 26 September 2021 18:46 (two years ago) link