thiem/andujar going 5
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:09 (two years ago) link
Just tuned in now and..
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:36 (two years ago) link
Broken!
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:38 (two years ago) link
if it's true that oasaki is not just being fined but also being threatened with expulsion then the whole tournament can get fucked. ridiculous.
― oscar bravo, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:48 (two years ago) link
Wait, what? Why?
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
Andujar is playing great. Then is on the brink
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:54 (two years ago) link
Thiem
He's done lol
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 30 May 2021 15:56 (two years ago) link
thought there was a chance Andujar would upset Thiem today but jeez that post-Slam slump is real
― Roz, Sunday, 30 May 2021 16:02 (two years ago) link
@Ned: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/57301475
It’s complete bs
― Roz, Sunday, 30 May 2021 16:08 (two years ago) link
Definitely so.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 30 May 2021 16:24 (two years ago) link
props to giron here, home dimi is ok
Grigor Dimitrov was up 6-2 6-4 5-1 40-0 on return against Marcos Giron. He blew the match points and retired after losing the next eight games in a row due to a back injury, looks like something similar to the one against Karatsev at the AO.— Damian Kust (@damiankust) May 30, 2021
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 30 May 2021 16:32 (two years ago) link
that nishikori-giannessi game was intense
― Punster McPunisher, Sunday, 30 May 2021 16:59 (two years ago) link
oscar otte up 2-0 in sets on sascha zverev
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 30 May 2021 17:28 (two years ago) link
this is otte's 1st ever main draw slam match and he has 4 ever tour level wins
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 30 May 2021 17:30 (two years ago) link
enjoyed vika vs sveta.
― oscar bravo, Sunday, 30 May 2021 18:35 (two years ago) link
the way federer hit the ball with the side of his racket while having his back towards the court is wild
― Punster McPunisher, Monday, 31 May 2021 16:12 (two years ago) link
also, do people have thoughts on the osaka vs the media saga?
― Punster McPunisher, Monday, 31 May 2021 16:13 (two years ago) link
fed was great and v candid in his post-match interview on tennis channel
― johnny crunch, Monday, 31 May 2021 16:14 (two years ago) link
maybe contra how naomi is handling this whole thing idk.. seems to me like just not the hill you want to die on not worth it
― johnny crunch, Monday, 31 May 2021 16:17 (two years ago) link
xpi don't particularly believe that talking to the media post match is 'part of the job' or even if it is that doing so or not should determine whether a player gets to compete or not. grand slams should have more faith in the entertainment value of the tennis instead of believing interest will plummet if we don't get to hear every players post match pressers. when fed calls it a day and tv is putting together his greatest hits packages p sure no snippets from post match pressers will feature.
― oscar bravo, Monday, 31 May 2021 17:17 (two years ago) link
Not worth it for her or for them?
Well, now she’s withdrawn
― MrDasher, Monday, 31 May 2021 18:13 (two years ago) link
This is my first exposure to Lorenzo Musetti and, wow, I think he's better than Sinner.
And now Osaka has withdrawn :(
xp
― Michael Jones, Monday, 31 May 2021 18:13 (two years ago) link
that's sad, but she seems to want to work on self-care. hope she is able to work through her depression.
i'm not sure i understand the point of obligatory post-match media interviews. there are different ways to promote the sport (any sport, really) and the athlete. it's tough to talk about your failures right after they have happened.
― Punster McPunisher, Monday, 31 May 2021 19:05 (two years ago) link
Absolutely disgusting from RG.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 31 May 2021 19:49 (two years ago) link
Jonathon Liew's column on the guardian website about this is spot on.
― oscar bravo, Monday, 31 May 2021 20:22 (two years ago) link
kinda want to know what exactly her 'obligations' were -- does she have to answer every question? is there a minimum time she has to be out there?
anyway yes, press conferences are stupid, the questions are usually inane (*especially* to women), and the reporters think they're entitled to have players write their stories for them
― mookieproof, Monday, 31 May 2021 22:15 (two years ago) link
The entire thing is a debacle and horseshit
I’m more disgusted with tennis as a whole than I ever have been, including when they desperately tried to make Anna Kournikova into the world’s greatest singles player
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 00:22 (two years ago) link
Her statement is heartbreaking. Did think about what her team are doing? She does need people she trusts to know her and perhaps act as intermediaries between Osaka and the cunts that run the tour.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 08:09 (two years ago) link
Liew's piece is good.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 08:11 (two years ago) link
The organising bodies handled this terribly - she warned them ahead of time and said she was willing to pay the fines. There were so many ways they could've sorted this out privately with her or her team without threatening a default.
tbh the sheer amount of athlete/manager press conferences is a big reason why sports journalism in general is so shitty.
Most sports reporters are stuck in an endless routine of match reports >> post-match press conference >> post-match analysis that they never actually get the time or resources to write or pursue bigger stories. As a result, they get way too reliant on the presser either to generate stories or to get soundbites for the story they've already written.
― Roz, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 09:53 (two years ago) link
Pretty much the main point of these is so that people look at the cardboard full of logos in the background.
It's been disappointing to see other players not backing her. Djoko I expected but Swiatek was like pretty similar too. Putting that down to age.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 10:33 (two years ago) link
the french tennis federation guy reading a prepared statement then refusing to answer questions says it all. bullies and bottlers.
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 13:06 (two years ago) link
i don't mind sloane stephens but so nice watching carla suarez navarro take the opening set on her return.
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 18:33 (two years ago) link
agree
i like sloane also but in a way she is the perfect opponent for csn's 1st match back
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 18:37 (two years ago) link
I've warmed up to Sloane somewhat but my default reaction to her is still "lol"
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 18:41 (two years ago) link
also the media junket is wreaking more havoc on the women's draw than court play
https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/31547121/petra-kvitova-withdraws-french-open-injured-ankle-fall-media-availability
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Tuesday, 1 June 2021 18:42 (two years ago) link
Venus Williams. "I know every single person asking me a question can't play as well as I can and never will, so no matter what you say or what you write, you'll never light a candle to me. So that's how I deal with it. But each person deals with it differently."— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 1, 2021
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 1 June 2021 19:08 (two years ago) link
more press conference absurdity:
Sadly, after Alexander Zverev’s 1st rd media conference, my Roland-Garros media pass was revoked. My appearance in a supermarket (meant as a joke) was regarded as unprofessionalApologies to Alexander, the FFT, Roland Garros organisers, family, fiends, colleagues and supporters— Jonathan Pinfield 🎾 (@tweetsbyjp) June 2, 2021
for context, he dialed in to the virtual presser from the supermarket which actually got a smile and a laugh from zverev. Apparently asking sexist and racist questions is ok, but dialing from a grocery run? TOO FAR.
― Roz, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 12:14 (two years ago) link
incred battle btwn garin/mcdonald
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 19:13 (two years ago) link
tough defeat for mcdonald after having match pts in the 3rd and a bunch of break pts in the 5th
hes the first american to lose today i believe.. all these players won
collinsserenakeysisnergironopelka
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 19:22 (two years ago) link
Is it bad that I kind of wish Barty had withdrawn for injuring herself at a press conference?
― 80's hair metal , and good praise music ! (DJP), Thursday, 3 June 2021 15:43 (two years ago) link
Nadal. "I'm not celebrating my birthday. 35 is not good. I wanna be 25 again".— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 3, 2021
― johnny crunch, Friday, 4 June 2021 00:10 (two years ago) link
this ruud/adf 5th set is a real roller coaster
― johnny crunch, Friday, 4 June 2021 14:18 (two years ago) link
davidovich fokina advances - 4h 35m match
this was the game to close it out, each guy oddly fell/slipped @ unusual times
15:0, 15:15, 30:15, 30:30, 40:30BP, 40:40, 40:AMP, 40:40, A:40BP, 40:40, 40:AMP, 40:40, 40:AMP, 40:40, 40:AMP, 40:40, A:40BP, 40:40, A:40BP, 40:40, 40:AMP
― johnny crunch, Friday, 4 June 2021 14:25 (two years ago) link
^^loved it... that final set had everything
ADF needed five match points and an underarm serve to close it out lol
― Roz, Friday, 4 June 2021 14:28 (two years ago) link
Badosa vs Bogdan just now has been my favourite match of RG this year so far. Phenomenal stuff.
― oscar bravo, Friday, 4 June 2021 19:27 (two years ago) link
It was terrific. Hard to complain when we get 12hr of free-to-air coverage a day in the UK with ITV4, but it's a single channel with no alternate feeds and they often just chase the big names, which can mean you miss things like this. Thankfully there was nothing else they could have shown!
― Michael Jones, Friday, 4 June 2021 20:23 (two years ago) link
Also: I like the camera angle on Simonne Mathieu. There’s one court - court 6? - which has featured a lot in the coverage this week and that’s terrible. Ultra wide but pitched too low so a third of the screen is below the near baseline.
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 5 June 2021 10:01 (two years ago) link
Musetti is something else. Through 6-3 in the 5th vs Cecchinato.
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 5 June 2021 12:18 (two years ago) link
Three MPs..
― xyzzzz__, Friday, 11 June 2021 21:19 (two years ago) link
welp. gotta endure that damn heart-throw routine again.
― andrew m., Friday, 11 June 2021 21:22 (two years ago) link
hopefully for the last time
this tourney
Good luck Stef. Struggle to imagine him beating tonight's version of Novak, but we might get a different level on Sunday.
― Michael Jones, Friday, 11 June 2021 21:25 (two years ago) link
this may be covered above, but shouldn't the 1 and 3 seeds be meeting in the final, not the semi?
― mookieproof, Friday, June 11, 2021 3:45 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
i actually forget the rationale why they seeded like this, but yes
― johnny crunch, Friday, June 11, 2021 3:47 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink
they randomize the draws to a degree so that 1 doesn’t always play 4, etc
― k3vin k., Friday, 11 June 2021 21:30 (two years ago) link
will be a lotta pressure on novak on sunday, regardless tho this win is p huge value for novaks legacy
― johnny crunch, Friday, 11 June 2021 21:37 (two years ago) link
this win sets him up for a record number of Slam titles. current standing is Federer 20 / Nadal 20 / Djokovic 18. Nadal really needed this 21st to widen the gap, but now it seems only a matter of time until Djoko surpasses them both.
― Long Tall Arsetee & the Shaker Intros (breastcrawl), Friday, 11 June 2021 21:51 (two years ago) link
Yeah, the degree of randomisation in the seed bracketing is never really clear to me. Of course, 1-16 will always play 17-32 in the third round, and so on, but at some events it seems absolutely fixed as opposite ranks (1v32, 2v31, 3v30, 4v29, etc), others there's leeway of one or more place, others it's genuinely random within those ranking divisions.
From my youth I remember McEnroe (1) playing Kriek (5) in a Wimb qf, and the next year Connors (1) playing Curren (12) in the last sixteen. So I've been puzzling about this for 40 years! Maybe that was some weird AELTC experiment.
I hope we see the Djokovic who lost to Dan Evans in Monte Carlo, or struggled to put away 150-ranked opponents in the weak draw for Belgrade 2 the other week. He does have off days, far more than he did in his 2011 or 2015-16 peaks. But he barely missed for the last hour tonight.
― Michael Jones, Friday, 11 June 2021 21:55 (two years ago) link
A three-way tie for 20 slams is now the odds-on setup going into the US Open, right? Which means Novak would be trying sweep the 2021 Grand Slams AND become the first to get to 21 all at once. Unless something else happens.
― Displaced Intimacy Coordinator (punning display), Friday, 11 June 2021 22:58 (two years ago) link
Don’t forget the Olympics. We might see Novak getting the Golden Slam!
Meanwhile, this women’s final is pretty fun even if they can’t seem to play well at the same time. Love the contrast in styles.
― Roz, Saturday, 12 June 2021 14:13 (two years ago) link
Pavs crushing Haribo sweets during an MTO was hilarious.
She’s not moving well but still managed to play well enough to break Barbs serve and take the second set. And we’re going three!
― Roz, Saturday, 12 June 2021 14:30 (two years ago) link
best winners speech ever. sad for pav but happy for barbora. not a bad title to win for yr maiden singles title.
― oscar bravo, Saturday, 12 June 2021 15:47 (two years ago) link
Krejcikova takes the doubles title too! With Siniakova, beating team Tek Tek Boom.
Joins this incredible list of women who’ve completed the singles-doubles sweep:
Players to Complete Singles & Doubles Sweep at Roland Garros:1972: Billie Jean King 1973: Margaret Court1974: Chris Evert1975: Chris Evert1978: Virginia Ruzici1982: Martina Navratilova1984: Martina Navratilova2000: Mary Pierce— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) June 12, 2021
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 11:52 (two years ago) link
siniakova's serving was p hard to watch.
― oscar bravo, Sunday, 13 June 2021 12:05 (two years ago) link
this first set of stef and djoko is so incredible
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 13:58 (two years ago) link
That 26-shot rally by Djokovic to save set point!
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 13:59 (two years ago) link
Oh no Tsitsipas. Somehow saw that coming after he lost that set point… :(
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:06 (two years ago) link
Ok lol at this Novak service game though.. utterly horrible effort at serving out the set. Tie-break!
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:10 (two years ago) link
Awesome from Stefanos
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:21 (two years ago) link
Really Djoko was going to get this after that bit of fortune at the net
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:22 (two years ago) link
My god that TB was so stressful. Come on Stef!
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:22 (two years ago) link
double break!
― k3vin k., Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:52 (two years ago) link
stef wow
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:53 (two years ago) link
Utterly dominant. One set away!
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 14:56 (two years ago) link
stef needs to keep serving like this to carry it home
― johnny crunch, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:06 (two years ago) link
fuck
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:22 (two years ago) link
That was a marathon!
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:23 (two years ago) link
Was expecting Novak to come out like this.
Naturally… I never believe it whenever Djoko looks tired or weary
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:26 (two years ago) link
Wins the 3rd. Tsitsipas won't be handed the thing.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:47 (two years ago) link
yeah this is going the distance
― k3vin k., Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:48 (two years ago) link
tbh I didn’t expect Tsitsi to get this far in the first place so he’s already surpassed expectations. But it’ll be super awful if he loses from here :/
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:50 (two years ago) link
trainer called for stef sigh
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:51 (two years ago) link
can’t call the trainer out for your brain unfortunately
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 15:59 (two years ago) link
rip
― mookieproof, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:09 (two years ago) link
what bums me out about this is that Novak isn’t even playing all that well? Tsitsipas is just not at the level he was in the first two sets.
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:11 (two years ago) link
Hang in there Stef!
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:36 (two years ago) link
:(
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:47 (two years ago) link
wish I could say this wasn’t expected but…
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:51 (two years ago) link
this is my fault for having turned it on in the third set
― mookieproof, Sunday, 13 June 2021 16:57 (two years ago) link
My stream just froze lol
Feels like a blessing
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:02 (two years ago) link
Damn it.
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:26 (two years ago) link
fucking gutted for stef ;_;
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:27 (two years ago) link
nourish your sensations. pic.twitter.com/7qk3kYsqv4— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@steftsitsipas) July 23, 2018
― mookieproof, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:32 (two years ago) link
Gotta say I get a bad feeling for Stef from how much of a procession this felt like in the 5th set.
Hope I'm wrong.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:37 (two years ago) link
Felt completely different from his match against Zverev, where it always seemed like he would win even after losing the 3rd and 4th sets. Zverev of course isn’t Novak though.
I still think Tsitsipas is too good not to get one eventually - he’s only 22 anyway. But maybe not this year - this is going to sting for a long while :/
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:44 (two years ago) link
ffs Tsitsipas’ mic isn’t working. RG continues to be the worst.
― Roz, Sunday, 13 June 2021 17:47 (two years ago) link
― andrew m., Friday, June 11, 2021 9:22 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink
goddammit
― andrew m., Monday, 14 June 2021 18:23 (two years ago) link