ILE rolling non-slam Tennis thread

yep diego came back to win the second in a tiebreak, then had a point to go up 5-0 in the 3d….but stef got momentum back & pulled it out, complete w a dive volley in his last game

Carlos Alcaraz won this tennis match pic.twitter.com/8Bj3es7QWT

— Ricky Dimon (@Dimonator) April 24, 2022

hes only lost 3 times this yr

The improvised shovel down the line to save the MP depicted above was bizarre.

Felt a bit sorry for Norrie in the midst of all the Barcelona rain - 3hr+ vs Fucsovics and then another epic vs De Minaur same day, while ADM's earlier last-16 match was a 6-0 (ret).

Grimly predictable recoveries from set (or set+break) deficits all week from Novak in Belgrade, only to get bageled in the decider by Rublev in the final. Excellent. Everyone is peaking too early again though! By the time Roland Garros is here, you know what's going to happen.

Swiatek finally dropped a set, but she's in Williams territory with this run. Even if Barty hadn't retired she'd be a long way off #1 by now.

Re: Russian/Belarussian ban at SW19 (sorry, strictly off-topic, but it's too early to start a Wimb thread)... where's the spirit of '73 in the ATP/WTA? I'm not sure what to make it of myself, but if the players' federations are completely against it then there has to be some action?

Loving the rise of Alcaraz/Swiatek. Never was too into Tennis but I've been fortunate enough to be around a lot of live matches lately by way working in the TV industry. Have quickly become a big fan. Seems like an exciting time with the tides of the Big 3 turning...

Alcaraz: first player ever to beat Nadal and Djokovic on consecutive days on clay. 62 16 63 vs Rafa yesterday (I saw CA getting his foot taped at 62 12, saw that he lost the next four games, and didn't bother tuning back in!), 67 75 76 in 3h35 vs Novak just now. He has a 10-1 record in final set t/bs? Ridiculous.

Tsitsipas-Zverev almost a non-event in comparison. Funny how the Next Gen, having failed to truly break through against the old guard (three of them have lost Slam finals from two sets up ffs!) are now becoming a supporting act to this teenager. My money was actually on Sinner or Musetti eclipsing them (or, once upon a time, FAA), and that may still be the case at Slam level.

(Entirely possible Zverev beats Alcaraz today, of course!)

Yeah about that

Tim Van Rijthoven, ranked 205, who had played precisely one ATP main-draw match before this week (as a lucky loser, Winston-Salem 2016), has just won 's-Hertogenbosch as a wildcard. Beat Fritz, Auger Aliassime and Medvedev.

“Living in the closet is impossible. It is too hard, it is pointless,” she added. “Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, and fuck everyone else.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/18/daria-kasatkina-russian-tennis-player-comes-out-as-gay

Good for you, Daria!

bernarda pera wins back to back 250s
twenty-four straight sets won i believe

always liked her game everytime i watched her but she'd regularly have dips where shed make tons of errors; today vs konteveit she was so solid, only dropped serve once & it was when she was serving for the match up two breaks

Great stuff from Pera. Delighted to see Thiem string a few wins together, though he got thumped by Berrettini in the Gstaad semis yesterday.

Holger Rune's run to the Paris-Bercy title is quite... incredible:

R1: Wawrinka
R2: #10 Hurkacz
R3: #9 Rublev
QF: #1 Alcaraz
SF: #8 Auger-Aliassime
F: #7 Djokovic (6 times champ)

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 6, 2022

Hats off but I’ve got a feeling I have my NextGen hate figure :)

Watched the deciding set vs Stan (gutted!) and saw the little exchange at the net (which was a bit harsh). Also saw last hour of Novak-Stef semi and about half of that crazy 17min last game in the final (on my phone, on a train, picture freezing as I lost signal). So, yeah, any Djokovic defeat is good but really not sure about Holger…

What's wrong with Rune?

not sure if he was eventually fined but investigated by ATP last year for using homophobic slurs. also allegedly made up some stuff about Casper Ruud on social media

Yeah, he just seems fairly immature and brattish, yelling at his parents in the crowd etc; a particularly intense driven character who may grow into someone a bit more likeable :) The Ruud dispute was bizarre - genuinely seemed to have invented a locker room confrontation to deflect criticism of his own on court behaviour. And his “apology” (quickly deleted) for the homophobia was basically “sorry I’m not perfect LOL”.

Not easy to grow up in the spotlight, but he’s not winning ppl over so far. Alcaraz, in comparison, is already hugely popular.

good story

Djokovic once hand-picked him to 'impersonate' Nadal’s lefty forehand before a Grand Slam final

Yet until last night, 33-year-old Matija Pecotic had never competed on the ATP Tour

This is a story of redemption - a classic case of it’s never too late and you’re never too old 🧵 pic.twitter.com/fjcSwqqs9J

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) February 15, 2023

great scrambling match pt by dimitrov vs deminaur just now

saw the stat that this is dimitrov's 44th tour level semifinal & 12 consecutive seasons hes reached one...

undercutting that, today was grigor’s 11th straight semifinal loss

unbelievable cincy final, 3h49m novak comes back and beats alcaraz
novak said it felt like a grand slam final &
it truly kinda did, really great drama

Novak looked completely overheated and dazed while the sun was still over half the court (his first match in daylight this week!) - Alcaraz really let him back in with that loose game at 7-5 4-3. I had to sleep after Djokovic levelled. I clearly missed the ATP set of the year.

watched the third set live, a near-religious experience. djokovic is the goat goat

that match point alcaraz saved at — what was it, 5-3? — with the running, looping forehand down the line? jesus christ. or his kamakaze returns of serve? the truly astonishing djoko double faults? one of the best sets I’ve ever seen