WIMBLEDON 2014

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BqQjBvBCcAAWKcC.jpg

(Also, qualy draws are out)

Truly an image for the ages.

Troll Tennis sounds like a content farm for the ages

for no reason whatsoever i watched a whole embedded video of dimitrov being asked vapid questions yesterday, not sure whether it was filmed before or after he won the thing but his patience was impressive

gulbis for the championship, of course

coral offering an impresive 33/1......

Gulbis's endearing idiosyncrasies tipped with thudding inevitability into outright misogyny in the past month

"such a character, at least he's not like the others" m8 he revealed himself to be as run-of-the-mill as you get

dont find him particularly interesting in terms of 'personality' although he is probably less boring and more unpleasant than most, but for being latvian, for being stylistically heterodox and most importantly for being a formerly hyped kid who looked like he would amount to nothing, these are all good reasons to support him

those are all the reasons I did support him!

I probably won't be mad if he makes another run but ehhhhhh ATP sexists need to gtfo

Gulbis is def dead to me. We did have an on court atp/wta proposal today, in more harmonious news.

hmmn im just reading these last quotes by gulby they are really stupid
i suppose i will enjoy him failing miserably now as well as being successful, please let it be one or the other not a respectable 4th rnd loss or whatever

Love Murray to win one more slam, like that he has chosen Mauresmo so that team ftw!

Excellent Judy Murray interview in the paper today. Very intelligent, always switched on.

I said this before on the RG thread but I still think that e.g. Tsonga's comments were much worse than Gulbis'. Of course that's not an excuse, but it's weird to me that people were so quick to condemn Ernests while still supporting someone like Jo.

I didn't even see what Tsonga said.

Here's an article with direct quotes. This all happened a year ago, though.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/01/23/jo-wilfried-tsonga-women-unstable-emotionally/1858055/

Oh, I thought he said something about the Murray/Mauresmo coaching relationship. (I still had never seen those quotes, that I remember anyway)

ATP sexists need to gtfo

sadly, there'd prob only be about 10% of the ATP left.

I've always been a fan of Gulbis' game but never had any doubt that he'd be an asshole off-court - I mean, dude's big scandal before this was for soliciting a prostitute and pretending he had been duped about it, so I don't think he ever had much respect for women even before his recent statements. Gave up seriously supporting him long ago but won't be too mad if he suddenly decides to get good at tennis. I feel similarly about Tsonga.

either way, this is the year I switch rooting interests - I dislike Murray's game but want him to win so badly just to shut up everyone who gave him crap about hiring Mauresmo.

I think at the time I tried to pretend Tsonga came across worse than he intended because of the language barrier. Which is probably foolish (cf Hingis in 1999). Simon is actually the real conflict for me because I really do love his game, which is so unique - like, if I give up Tsonga or Gulbis I have plenty of other bashers to support, but Simon's one of a kind. And as Roz says there's the suspicion that the ones who've wisely kept their mouths shut are probably as bad or worse. So, reason enough to support the vocal non-sexists like Murray, Kukushkin and...er...Stepanek!

I really want great things out of Murresmo and everything about it has probably reignited my support of Murray to an even greater degree. Win it all, I don't even care about the BBC's idiot nationalism any more.

Murray's forehand bothers me. Logically I know there's nothing wrong with it but it somehow looks 'off' to me so I can't root for him. Nadal takes too long in between points so he's out. Nole used to really annoy with the ball bounce thing but it's not as bad now. I guess my support will futilely go to monfils. Find the women more interesting, lots to support there.

I actually have no idea who will win this. I guess out of the big 4 I would pick Fed over Murray which seems kind of ridiculous.

How much shit has Murray got for hiring Mauresmo? Couple of comments here and there but not much?

I went to qualifying yesterday. Reiterate that if you're able to go it's free and a SPLENDID day out. Quality tennis, quality drama. Report: http://unforcederrani.tumblr.com/post/89090511977/wimbledon-2014-qualifying-report-day-2

Not going today but intend to go tomorrow for the final rounds.

Missed 16-yr-old GBR WC Gabriella Taylor whomping former top 30 player Arvidsson 1 and 3!

I didn't put this in the report but Allie Kiick, who was one of the worst-behaved players we saw all day, was previously mostly notable for RTing the charming sentiment that "I hope all Obama supporters get AIDS" a few years ago. She's the daughter of some millionaire US athlete. I was there with two people who regularly tutor rich kids and the sentiment that money can't buy manners was expressed more than once.

Went to the final rounds of qualifying as well, splendid again: http://unforcederrani.tumblr.com/post/89296427392/wimbledon-2014-qualifying-report-day-4

Draw ceremonies under way now. NIGHTMARE draw for Nadal - Klizan in R1, potential Rosol rematch in R2, potential Karlovic match in R3. If he navigates all of those massive hitters, Gasquet or Monfils in R4 will probably be his easiest pre-QF match

nice draw for nadal lol

That one quarter on the women's side is pretty tough

that whole women's top half even

Potential Errani/Pironkova R2 on grass could be interesting.

Potential Giorgi vs Sharapova R3, can I dare dream?

Vinci vs Vekic and Rybarikova vs Bencic, youngsters vs experienced grass-courters (who haven't had the best years)...

Puig has had Keys' measure on clay, whoever wins that gets Townsend (if she upsets Koukalova) in R2...and then JaJa (if she gets past her nightmare R2, Shvedova or one of the Pliskova servebots) (Kanepi in R1 is probably not a threat this year)

Niculescu vs Van Uytvanck is the Finesse Special R1 on the women's side

The White Mug had BETTER deal with Vandeweghe better than she did this week in 's-Hertogenbosch. Nothing in tennis, not even Ma$ha's RG, has me as pressed as Coco fucking Vandeweghe actually starting to find success on Tour. I don't know how anyone can support her.

Betting on Hantuchova vs Bouchard getting Centre Court billing for the senile old white men to wank over?

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/80687504/a-handy-guide-to-keeping-sexism-out-of-womens-tennis-coverage#!1iIQg

*applause*

omg you guys, Wertheim's women's seed report for Wimbledon made me lololol for a good five minutes even before he (maybe he's trolling) put in Julia Goerges as a potential SFist, omg I can't at that really now

jesus it's like he's predicting Wimbledon 2010 or something, instead of based on any of the players' current form (and even then the Goerges pick is just baffling).

when did he get so bad, or was he always this awful and I hadn't noticed? Haven't read anything by him in a couple of years though i can't remember why i stopped.

Excellent article. Attributing the higher number of service breakdowns in the women's game to a basic physical difference between men and women is not something I was aware of actually. How true is that? Serena's (and Lisicki when she beat her iirc) can be very consistent and hard to break

Lets stop the grunt complaints on the thread. Thanks.

it's pretty logical that it would be true. the difference between serve speed of men & women is obv larger than the difference in ground speed wrt return of serve, height also enables men to get better angles on the serve which increases margin for error and allows for spin and stuff.

re #9, i've noticed bet365 refer to the mens and womens tournaments as e.g. 'Wimbledon 2014' and 'Wimbledon 2014 Womens', so unnecessary and infuriating.

great article

Promise to make no grunt complaints AFTER THIS POST

Fuck the grunters.

There.

Maybe telling that Lisicki and Serena are among the fastest servers.

Fantasy Tennis over at the wimbledon site. Anyone trying this out?

tsrobodo - what do you mean?

Just noting that if speed of serve is a factor in the amount of service breaks, then it maybe goes some way to explaining why fast servers like Serena and Lisicki are tough to break.

ah right yeah...maybe

I've always tried to ensure my grunt complaints are aimed equitably! *stares hard at Granollers*

Wertheim's Goerges pick is just...even at her best she was useless on grass, there's a really obvious technical reason for that (long takeback on the FH, her main weapon; heavy topspin FH doesn't have as much impact on grass) (this is also why Stosur's weaponry is blunted on grass, yet every year we have to put up with commentators making the basic "grass court skillz = big serve" connection and wondering why Stosur's never had a result of note on it AAARGH). I mean, Goerges is not a new player, how can a professional tennis journalist get something so basic so wrong? Ah yes, he called Cirstea a finesse player at RG o_0

The Keys/Kerber Eastbourne final yesterday was superb, I thought. So weird to think that Keys got thrashed by Babos just the week previously.

Gonna try the fantasy Wimbledon thing out today if I grab a moment, looks interestingly different but it's only relevant to the top players I think...

predix!

S.Williams d. Bouchard
Kerber d. Giorgi
Halep d. Diyas
Keys d. Ivanovic
Muguruza d. Safarova
A.Radwanska d. Pironkova
Kvitova d. Stephens
Li d. Wozniacki

S.Williams d. Kerber
Halep d. Keys
Muguruza d. A.Radwanska
Kvitova d. Li

S.Williams d. Halep
Kvitova d. Muguruza

S.Williams d. Kvitova

Djokovic d. Youzhny
Gulbis d. Cilic
Murray d. Anderson
Dimitrov d. Brown
Lopez d. Istomin
Federer d. Hewitt
Raonic d. Nishikori
Nadal d. Gasquet

Djokovic d. Gulbis
Dimitrov d. Murray
Federer d. Lopez
Raonic d. Nadal

Djokovic d. Dimitrov
Federer d. Raonic

Djokovic d. Federer

I don't even believe half of those latter rounds, they just...happened. A lot of vulnerable seeds have easy draws in that last women's quarter. Really, Watson/Kerber could decide a QFist (if Giorgi does her job). I guess Lisicki won't be beating the RG champ this year. Went with form to pick Lopez but surely he's exhausted? Wawrinka probably has the real nightmare draw if he's still feeling the pressure. Everyone inc me went "oooooh" at Nadal's draw but it's probably just the sort of thing he actually comes through. If Muguruza loses to Vandeweghe again I shall rampage in anger

I will do cartwheels and dance and sing if Federer OR Kvitova even make the QFs. I guess neither can complain about their draw.

Kimiko off to a blazing start <3

Oh my god a new low in camera angles on that court though

Kirilenko playing a lot better than I thought she would. Stephens as lacklustre as ever

KDK tried to choke from 5-0 and then 5-1 40-0 up but has finally stumbled her way to the first set

That thing Kirilenko is wearing, what in the actual fuck. It's like the bottom two layers of a wedding cake.

red button isn't working for me, don't have access to a computer, seems like bbc2 are just gonna show sue barker schmoozing all day. nightmare

Stephens' second serve is hilariously bad and the grass still being slick means Kirilenko actually is doing legit damage with her forehand.

Crazy end to the Stephens/Kirilenko match. Kirilenko wins her sixth MP, Stephens' streak of OK-sort-of Slam consistency comes to an end.

That first MP save was lololol. Kirilenko actually played well tho her transition game was pretty lousy there.

Er, the first SP save. It was I think the fourth MP save that was the funny one.

saved

Brad Gilbert ‏@bgtennisnation 49s
We have lost @ChrissieEvert she is about to blow a Gasquet on every point right now

...do you want to rephrase this tweet Brad?

haha

omg lol

guuuuuhhhhhh

PASS! BPs!!!

Both saved -_-

Another great pass, another BP...

So tense...

aghajhkjshklassla

Huuuge hold for Fed

Gahhhh missed smash into the net

andyroddick ‏@andyroddick 1m
Best I've seen Roger serve since ....... Damn it

haaaaaaa

I love when I see these guys dump into the net, makes me feel better about my own playing.

Great now Shankerer's here

Djokovic hustling and hustling. Shankerer!

Stop challenging Nole you are terrible at it today

Two more MPs.

Pheewwwww....

YASSSS

Wow. Great match.

Excellent - so happy for D

Always sucks to see someone fight their way back and then lose when on-serve in their own service game

Gutted. I mean, happy that Nole finally broke his Slam losing streak but why did it have to be here and against Roger? ;_;

And fantastic last hurrah from Fed - that 4th set will live w/me for a long time.

Seriously wondering if this is Fed's last final.

Becker celebrating in the players' box is the most sickening part of this whole thing.

I'm gutted. But that was one of great finals.

Feel ya Roz, but Novak came out w/magic, magic returns.

Nole needed this so much more, even aside from the MP drama. So, so pleased his Slam drought is over.

Let's hope the CC crowd appreciates Petra and Nole a little more next time they play finals here, eh. Not impressed by the lack of support for them.

There's a...pineapple...on top of the...trophy now? Has that always been there?

first classic men's slam final in a long time

The trophy for the men's singles at Wimbledon is one of the most recognizable in sport and dates back to 1887. The magnificent gold cup stands 18 1/2 inches high and has a diameter of 7 1/2 inches, but the eagle-eyed might notice the pineapple design which adorns the top of the lid. A spokesperson for the Wimbledon museum told CNN that information remains scarce about the origins of the actual cup. She offered the explanation that it could date back to the tradition where captains in the British navy coming back from sea put a pineapple on the gateposts of their home.

or

Back in the 17th century, it was a highly sought-after commodity. It was very rare (in England) and therefore very expensive, and was the crowning fruit of only the most lush feasts; a symbol of significant wealth. If you attended a dinner party back in the 1600s and there was pineapple on the table, you could consider yourself very honoured indeed.

re: lack of support. Its mixed in with people wanting matches to go all the way more than anything (although of course people pay a lot for a tkt).

There's a...pineapple...on top of the...trophy now? Has that always been there?

― lex pretend, Sunday, July 6, 2014 5:19 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh lex

Djokovic the 3rd best ever now imo

Behind Laver and Gonzalez, right? ;)

Love Marion's ubiquity in retirement

Behind Laver and Gonzalez, right? ;)

― Michael Jones, Sunday, July 6, 2014 5:35 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just in front!

Nenad Zimonjic looks like he's wandered into the mixed doubles final from the over-50s invitational

Yung-Jan Chan's lil sis Hao-Ching has made it to a Slam final first!

Roll of honour:

Men's singles: Novak Djokovic
Women's singles: Petra Kvitova
Men's doubles: Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock
Women's doubles: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
Mixed doubles: Samantha Stosur & Nenad Zimonjic
Boys' singles: Noah Rubin
Girls' singles: Jelena Ostapenko
Boys' doubles: Orlando Luz & Marcelo Zormann
Girls' doubles: Tami Grende & Qiu-Yu Ye

Rare junior titles for Latvia (Ostapenko) and Indonesia (Grende)!

Rubin is 18 years and 4 months old, lame if you ask me

yeah I usually side-eye junior champs who vulture junior Slams at 18 when they should've graduated to senior level. Usually it means they don't amount to much though Bouchard has been a weird recent exception.

is there a full video of the women's final online anywhere? would like to rewatch it

disappointingly Noah Rubin is not related to Chanda Rubin because otherwise would stan without even seeing

is there a full video of the women's final online anywhere? would like to rewatch it

me too - i think wimbledon have been stricter about getting unauthorised stuff taken down this year, would check in a week or two

New rankings.

1. Serena Williams (1)
2. Na Li (2)
3. Simona Halep (3)
4. Petra Kvitova (6)
5. Agnieszka Radwanska (4)
6. Maria Sharapova (5)
7. Eugenie Bouchard (13)
8. Angelique Kerber (7)
9. Jelena Jankovic (8)
10. Victoria Azarenka (9)
11. Ana Ivanovic (11)
12. Dominika Cibulkova (10)
13. Flavia Pennetta (12)
14. Sara Errani (14)
15. Caroline Wozniacki (16)
16. Carla Suarez Navarro (15)
17. Lucie Safarova (23)
18. Samantha Stosur (17)
19. Ekaterina Makarova (22)
20. Andrea Petkovic (20)
21. Alize Cornet (24)
22. Sloane Stephens (18)
23. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (25)
24. Roberta Vinci (21)
25. Venus Williams (31)
26. Svetlana Kuznetsova (27)
27. Madison Keys (30)
28. Garbine Muguruza (28)
29. Sorana Cirstea (29)
30. Shuai Zhang (33)
...
31. Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova (43)
33. Sabine Lisicki (19)
52. Yaroslava Shvedova (65)
53. Zarina Diyas (72)
63. Belinda Bencic (71)
92. Victoria Duval (114)
99. Tereza Smitkova (175)
137. Ana Konjuh (189)
160. Laura Robson (91)

1. Novak Djokovic (2)
2. Rafael Nadal (1)
3. Roger Federer (4)
4. Stan Wawrinka (3)
5. Tomas Berdych (6)
6. Milos Raonic (9)
7. David Ferrer (7)
8. Juan Martin Del Potro (8)
9. Grigor Dimitrov (13)
10. Andy Murray (5)
11. Kei Nishikori (12)
12. John Isner (11)
13. Ernests Gulbis (10)
14. Richard Gasquet (14)
15. Fabio Fognini (15)
16. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (17)
17. Kevin Anderson (18)
18. Tommy Robredo (22)
19. Alexandr Dolgopolov (19)
20. Marin Cilic (29)
21. Gael Monfils (21)
22. Mikhail Youzhny (16)
23. Roberto Bautista Agut (23)
24. Feliciano Lopez (26)
25. Tommy Haas (20)
26. Philipp Kohlschreiber (28)
27. Nicolas Almagro (27)
28. Marcel Granollers (30)
29. Fernando Verdasco (24)
30. Dmitry Tursunov (31)
...
35. Jeremy Chardy (42)
47. Leonardo Mayer (64)
50. Florian Mayer (40)
51. Jerzy Janowicz (25)
66. Nick Kyrgios (144)
99. Andrey Kuznetsov (118)
124. Bernard Tomic (86)
137. Lukasz Kubot (72)

And now off to Bucharest and Bad Gastein for the women, and Bastad, Stuttgart and Newport for the men!

Ladies Singles Final is on the iplayer for another 6 days. Not sure if that's any good for you cerealbar or if you're non-uk.

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Br79QBvIgAAoF5u.jpg

<3

lol

4th set was all-time