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Tennis - General Discussion

D

Diamond

Member
Diprosalic said:
Yes! And i will make it extra shitty just to spite him.
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serena-side-eye.gif%3Fw%3D640
 
K

Kotetsu534

Member
She's in a custody dispute with her ex-boyfriend. The court he's raised an action with in California has passed an order forbidding Azarenka from taking him outside the state. My best guess is that part of his case for access/custody is that as a globe-trotting superstar, she can't be with her son much of the time. She is showing her dedication to personally looking after him by withdrawing from the USO and staying with him in California.
 
P

perfectchaos007

Member
Kotetsu534 said:
She's in a custody dispute with her ex-boyfriend. The court he's raised an action with in California has passed an order forbidding Azarenka from taking him outside the state. My best guess is that part of his case for access/custody is that as a globe-trotting superstar, she can't be with her son much of the time. She is showing her dedication to personally looking after him by withdrawing from the USO and staying with him in California.
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I'm shocked that her and that random guy she got pregnant from aren't together anymore! No one saw that coming! Props to her for not having an abortion though I guess, which is what most un-wedded sports stars would have done.
 
P

perfectchaos007

Member
US Open qualifying starts tomorrow. They need to win 3 consecutive rounds to get in the main draw. Here are some notables from both sides.

Men:
Shapovalov (CAN)
Lukas Rosol (CZE)
Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
Ofner (AUT)
Opelka (USA) 6'11"
Sam Groth (AUS)
Lee Duck-Hee (KOR) - He's deaf
Casper Ruud (NOR)
Mahut (FRA)
Paul Henri-Mathieu (FRA)
Tsitsipas (GRE)
Lukas Lacko (SVK)


Women:
Lucie Hradecká (CZE)
Laura Robson (GRB)
Zarina Diyas (KAZ)
Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) listed her for you, Peru.
Barbara Haas (AUT)
Bianca Andreescu (CAN)
Françoise Abanda (CAN)
Victoria Duval (USA) cancer survivor
Patty Schnyder (SUI) listed her for you, diprosalic
Naomi Broady (GBR)
 
K

Kotetsu534

Member
Can't talk men's notables without mentioning Felix Auger-Aliassime. This kid is only 17 but the hype around him over the past couple of years has been absolutely off the charts. He's just off winning his first Challenger in June (7th youngest player in history to do so) and is already ranked inside the top 230. He's also the youngest player ever to win a challenger level match, when he qualified and reached the QFs of one back in 2015. He won the junior USO title last year. I'm definitely tuning in to his first ever match at a Slam as an adult, against Hiroki Moriya.

On the women's side I'd add 17 year old Claire Liu, Wimbledon junior champion (and RG runner-up), as a player to watch. Smart and quick, with enough power to finish points but sometimes has a tendency to start pushing when the pressure's on. Also the girl she beat in the Wimbledon final, Ann Li (more standard WTA erratic big striker with poorer movement).
 
P

perfectchaos007

Member
Kotetsu534 said:
Can't talk men's notables without mentioning Felix Auger-Aliassime. This kid is only 17 but the hype around him over the past couple of years has been absolutely off the charts. He's just off winning his first Challenger in June (7th youngest player in history to do so) and is already ranked inside the top 230. He's also the youngest player ever to win a challenger level match, when he qualified and reached the QFs of one back in 2015. He won the junior USO title last year. I'm definitely tuning in to his first ever match at a Slam as an adult, against Hiroki Moriya.

On the women's side I'd add 17 year old Claire Liu, Wimbledon junior champion (and RG runner-up), as a player to watch. Smart and quick, with enough power to finish points but sometimes has a tendency to start pushing when the pressure's on. Also the girl she beat in the Wimbledon final, Ann Li (more standard WTA erratic big striker with poorer movement).
Click to expand...

I thought about adding Felix, but just decided against it. I haven't heard much from him all year is why. I do remember he was one of the youngest to win a challenger match when he was 14. That was nearly 3 years ago, damn.

Claire Liu has potential, but there are no shortage of teenage prospective Americans in qualifying with Osuigwe, Li, Dolehide, and Anisimova among others so I didn't mention her. And if I'm reading into your synopsis correctly, I take it you watched Liu play against Gibbs a few weeks back at Stanford where she had a lot of chances in the third set to win the match but, like you said, started pushing when the pressure was on and Gibbs came up with the shots.
 
O

oti

Banned
Diprosalic said:
Ja Mann. For a while now, she just loved the game too much needed the money.

she won two ITF titles this summer, that's nothing to sneeze at.
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I remember her trying to calm down her insane husband. What a shame. Such a talent. Wasted like that. But the modern power tennis was too much for her play style.
 
M

mcfrank

Member
Any New Yorkers willing to go to the Federer pop up store tomorrow and take pictures of what they have? Maybe ship me a few things and I'll venmo you?
 
K

Kotetsu534

Member
Feel like I've read something like that article before...

... ah, here it is.

It's probably true on the whole. Players the size of Ferrer and Nishikori anywhere near the top of men's tennis are going the way of the dodo. Sela's prediction that players the size of Federer and Nadal (6'1'', or 1.85) will be "in trouble" in a decade or so seems premature to me - all the greats are shorter than their height or barely taller. I remain to be convinced that someone as tall as Zverev can move like lightning for 10 years and consistently dominate the game the way Federer/Nadal/Djokovic did (or even equal Murray's 2016). The wear and tear is bad enough on someone for who doesn't have to bend as often.

I'm nowhere near as convinced about the women's game ever being dominated exclusively by those over 6ft. One problem is simply numbers - there aren't that many women that tall anyway. Have a play around with this - about 1 in 600 adult US women are 6'0'' or above; about 1 in 7500 are 6'2'' or above. That's a pretty small pool in which to find someone with the technical gifts, interest and will to succeed as a pro, never mind 100 of them. It'll always be very tough for players as short as Cibulkova, but I don't see players around the 5'8''-5'10'' band ever disappearing from the top. If you're an exceptional female talent, you'll have a good chance. I remember two analysts writing off the puffballing 2005 Wimbledon girls' junior champion, but I'd say that 25 million dollars later, she's done alright.
 
D

Deadman

Member
Potential quarters:

Nadal v Dimitrov
Federer v Thiem

Murray v Tsonga
Cilic v Zverev

Nadal can meet berdych in 4th round. Federer can meet Krygios.
 
J

John Dunbar

correct about everything
top half way harder than the bottom. if zverev doesn't make his first quarter with this draw he needs to be ashamed of himself.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
It's a shame Murray's in no form, that's the easiest slam draw he's had in his entire career. Tsonga won't even make the quarters on current form, Zverev gets nervy at slams and doesn't play at the level he's shown elsewhere, Murray is 12-3 against Cilic... but in reality, he'll have an embarrassing loss to Ferrer.
 
J

John Dunbar

correct about everything
Crab said:
It's a shame Murray's in no form, that's the easiest slam draw he's had in his entire career. Tsonga won't even make the quarters on current form, Zverev gets nervy at slams and doesn't play at the level he's shown elsewhere, Murray is 12-3 against Cilic... but in reality, he'll have an embarrassing loss to Ferrer.
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murray just had to play and steal this draw from federer. scots have no honour.

and yes, i know the draw would be different if murray had chosen not to play. it's the principle that counts.
 
D

d+pad

Member
miserable said:
you just know one of them will get knocked out before the semis :(
Click to expand...

Potentially both, I'd say. That said, both have completely manageable draws to the QFs, so who knows?

*Really* can't wait to see Halep-Sharapova, though. Man, I hope that's a night match! I expect Halep to win based on the fact that she's been playing well and Sharapova's likely to be quite rusty, but who knows. Regardless, I doubt Halep was thrilled when she heard the news XD
 
R

Ricker

Member
d+pad said:
Potentially both, I'd say. That said, both have completely manageable draws to the QFs, so who knows?

*Really* can't wait to see Halep-Sharapova, though. Man, I hope that's a night match! I expect Halep to win based on the fact that she's been playing well and Sharapova's likely to be quite rusty, but who knows. Regardless, I doubt Halep was thrilled when she heard the news XD
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lol yeah,even though Sharapova is rusty,it's still a hard first rounder...

Abanda didnt make the last match of qualifications... :(

Shapovalov made the first round,lets see if he goes deep like in Montreal(no crowd behind him this time).
 
D

d+pad

Member
Ricker said:
lol yeah,even though Sharapova is rusty,it's still a hard first rounder...

Abanda didnt make the last match of qualifications... :(

Shapovalov made the first round,lets see if he goes deep like in Montreal(no crowd behind him this time).
Click to expand...

I think the main things that could hurt Halep in the Halep-Sharapova match is that she just got her butt kicked by Muguruza and that she's never beaten Sharapova and here she'll have no chance to kind of "warm up" to playing her.

Of course, on the other hand, Sharapova's probably going to be rusty and, even more importantly, has to be considered shaky in terms of her health, given her recent injuries.

Regardless, I hope it goes three and is a thriller--no matter who wins!

As for USO qualifying, I was sad to see neither Patty Schneider nor Vera Zvonareva got through to the main draw. Would have loved to have seen both ladies on the big stage again.
 
N

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Women's projected QFs btw:

Pliskova v Kuznetsova
Svitolina v Kerber

Woznaicki v Muguruza
Konta v Halep
 
P

perfectchaos007

Member
Here's the list of the players that qualified for the US Open.

MEN
Maximilian Marterer (GER)
Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
Radu Albot (MDA)
Václav Šafránek (CZE)
JC Aragone (USA)
Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
Cameron Norrie (GBR)
Stefano Travaglia (ITA)
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (GER)
Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras (ESP)
Vincent Millot (FRA)
John-Patrick Smith (AUS)
Evan King (USA)
Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
Darian King (BRB)
Tim Smyczek (USA)

Lucky Loser:
Leonardo Mayer (ARG)


WOMEN:
Kaia Kanepi (EST)
Anna Zaja (GER)
İpek Soylu (TUR)
Romania Mihaela Buzărnescu (ROU)
Rebecca Peterson (SWE)
United States Sachia Vickery (USA)
Danielle Lao (USA)
Claire Liu (USA)
Sofya Zhuk (RUS)
Kateryna Kozlova (UKR)
Anna Blinkova (RUS)
Viktória Kužmová (SVK)
Allie Kiick (USA)
Nicole Gibbs (USA)
Tereza Martincová (CZE)
Lesley Kerkhove (NLD)
 
K

Kotetsu534

Member
Very pleased to see Claire Liu made it though. Read an article about her that implied her parents, both immigrants and chemists, were very keen on her to go to an elite college that her tennis success would guarantee her funded entry to, and she wasn't sure what to do. Hopefully the $43,000 will convince mum and dad to back her.
 
D

d+pad

Member
Kotetsu534 said:
Very pleased to see Claire Liu made it though. Read an article about her that implied her parents, both immigrants and chemists, were very keen on her to go to an elite college that her tennis success would guarantee her funded entry to, and she wasn't sure what to do. Hopefully the $43,000 will convince mum and dad to back her.
Click to expand...

I'm sad to say I've yet to see her play. Did she win the junior Wimbledon title? Regardless, hopefully I'll be able to see her 1st round match at the USO. It's always fun to see up-and-comers :)
 
P

perfectchaos007

Member
d+pad said:
I'm sad to say I've yet to see her play. Did she win the junior Wimbledon title? Regardless, hopefully I'll be able to see her 1st round match at the USO. It's always fun to see up-and-comers :)
Click to expand...

The two Russian women qualifiers, Zhuk and Blinkova, are also up and coming teenagers. I believe they actually played eachother in a wimbledon junior final. Also, Kiick is a good story as well. She has been out of the game for quite some time due to surgeries and she's still fairly young. Barring future injuries, Kiick still has a long career ahead of her
 
D

Diamond

Member
henhowc said:
Kind of a no duh article when it comes to athletes in general but a few interesting tidbits here:

Will tall players dominate the future of tennis?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...-tennis-future.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
Click to expand...

Kotetsu534 said:
Feel like I've read something like that article before...

... ah, here it is.

It's probably true on the whole. Players the size of Ferrer and Nishikori anywhere near the top of men's tennis are going the way of the dodo. Sela's prediction that players the size of Federer and Nadal (6'1'', or 1.85) will be "in trouble" in a decade or so seems premature to me - all the greats are shorter than their height or barely taller. I remain to be convinced that someone as tall as Zverev can move like lightning for 10 years and consistently dominate the game the way Federer/Nadal/Djokovic did (or even equal Murray's 2016). The wear and tear is bad enough on someone for who doesn't have to bend as often.

I'm nowhere near as convinced about the women's game ever being dominated exclusively by those over 6ft. One problem is simply numbers - there aren't that many women that tall anyway. Have a play around with this - about 1 in 600 adult US women are 6'0'' or above; about 1 in 7500 are 6'2'' or above. That's a pretty small pool in which to find someone with the technical gifts, interest and will to succeed as a pro, never mind 100 of them. It'll always be very tough for players as short as Cibulkova, but I don't see players around the 5'8''-5'10'' band ever disappearing from the top. If you're an exceptional female talent, you'll have a good chance. I remember two analysts writing off the puffballing 2005 Wimbledon girls' junior champion, but I'd say that 25 million dollars later, she's done alright.
Click to expand...

Interesting articles. Tennis Abstract has a good one too, explains where the big guys will have to improve to dominate : http://www.tennisabstract.com/blog/2017/02/16/are-taller-players-the-future-of-tennis/
To me, the fact that the big four and Wawrinka are all 6'0-6'3 pretty much shows what the sweet spot is. They're at an optimal height to serve big, move well and return explosively and consistently. Maybe it'll go up with the years, but the guys are so exceptional you have to wonder if they're not the pinacle of how tennis can be played.
Same with Serena really. Results really seem to show that the top heights are slightly above average. After that, even with today's conditioning and knowledge of the body, several things hurt consistency.
 
J

jett

D-Member
Any interest in this Laver Cup thing? There's a chance Nadal and Federer might play as teammates in a doubles match.
 
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