The Official Tennis Thread (Vol. 2024 Oz Open Nadal Out)

[awwsome]

Novak.

US Open gonna be lit.

 

[eiddyfouw]

smh ended up having to do some work to prepare for tomorrow and I end up having to read that King Djoki remains on the throne...

Great champion.

 

[water runs dry]

Is it safe to say that you can place Novak in the top 3 of ATG's?  With Fed @ one of course.

 

[illmaticsoulchild]

Easy to say now, but that performance against Murray in the semis was really misleading. Really thought Fed would have the upper hand, but forgot how supreme Nole's return game was.

IMO, the real surprise is how Roger stays in the mix after so many years under his belt, but all credit to Djoker's dominance.

 

[slighted]

Is it safe to say that you can place Novak in the top 3 of ATG's?  With Fed @ one of course.

Of all time? Nah, but he's already in the running.

 

[kdawg]

^agreed.

But, if he plays a few more years at this level he'll be right up there. He could have 5 more prime years.

 

[Sinner]

Roger on that HGH. Dude out there hitting rockets like he's 24 again

Racquet and string technology right there... Andre (one of the best ball-strikers ever) couldn't hit these sort of shots back then.  Hell, Fed with his old stick couldn't hit some of these shots.  The game's changed a lot.

 

Can't put my figure on why I dislike him . Don't get me wrong I respect his game but I just can't force myself to like him.
Very enjoyable Wimbledon all the same

I was the same way back in 2007-2008 because he had some ridiculous antics. He's definitely matured as a person and his game is great.

Congrats to Djoko.

Me too... his antics back then... 

But all the credit, he got his shhh together, changed his diet, did the whole stretching/yoga thing, got his mind right and built a solid team around him... and it's paying off... respect. 

 

[aepps20]

Nole is such a beast. Once he got his act together and got serious about his craft, he became a force to be reckoned with. We were an amazing Stan W performance away from having a man and woman going for the calendar grand slam.

 

[otakuant]

I saw it coming. Federer might hang around for 1 more year on the tour then he'll hang it up I think.

I hate to say it, but you might be right. I think he'll stick around for maybe 1-2 more years at max. I could see him pulling a Sampras if he does win another Slam. In any case, I definitely gotta make sure I see him play before he retires.

 

[aepps20]

Nole has a great chance to go on a run. I favor him on any hard court over everyone and as long as he can avoid Stan until the final, he has an excellent shot to win the US Open.

 

[slighted]

Does anyone else enjoy this level of uncertainty in the men's field?

Nadal on the slippery slope, Djoko not winning so consistently lately, Murray on the chase, Wawrinka hitting his stride at 30yo, Fed showing up all these dudes at 34yo.

It's really awesome to me. If you asked me this question 2-3 years ago, I would've said Nadal and Djoko would be meeting each other at every Slam final.

 

[aepps20]

I like how other guys are stepping up. It makes things very fun.

 

[britkicks]

Awkward

View media item 1625115

 

[thadangerousmind]

Maybe Tsonga is waiting until he turns 30 to turn it around lol. It's still Fed, Nadal, & Sampras on the hill for a while longer. Novak isn't a lock in the finals anymore. He's 1-4 at the USO I think. He's the best player overall by far but even then there are surprises here & there.

 

[thadangerousmind]

The WTA will be in shambles when Serena retires. I know people think that Sharapova will be there to rack up the trophies but she's only won 5 in 10-11 years. I don't see her playing well into her 30's like Serena & definitely not as the best player in the world.

 

[richiemcfly]

His record at the USO final isn't all that great, surprisely since he dominates the hard courts at the Aussie open

 

[slighted]

The WTA will be in shambles when Serena retires. I know people think that Sharapova will be there to rack up the trophies but she's only won 5 in 10-11 years. I don't see her playing well into her 30's like Serena & definitely not as the best player in the world.

Didn't someone post here that Sharapova said she didn't understand the point of lifting weights for tennis?

Her play is boring either way. Serena uses her as a warm-up match.

 

[aepps20]

Didn't someone post here that Sharapova said she didn't understand the point of lifting weights for tennis?



Her play is boring either way. Serena uses her as a warm-up match.

The NY Times ran a body image article a few days ago and her and Aga said the same thing. Sharapova hasn't really added much variety to her game. Her and her fans love to blame her shoulder injury for her struggles but that doesn't explain why at 6'3 she doesn't come to the net and doesn't mix in any other tactics. I [emoji]128514[/emoji] for years when her, the media and her fans tried to claim her losses to Serena were all mental and how close she is to beating Serena with no mention of the fact that everything she well does, Serena does much better and how her game is taylor made for Serena. No one talks about how Serena practices with a tall baseliner in her sister. Venus hits a very similar ball to Maria and she brings more pop as well. I also want to add that Serena doesn't get enough credit for how smart and strategic she plays. After Serena plays you a few times she adjusts her game. You don't beat someone 18 times in a row by just bulling them with your power. This is why she usually struggles against players she hasn't played often.

 

[otakuant]

Awkward

I thought the same thing. Had to be tough for him. What's worse is the he could've potentially lost in straight sets if he didn't win that tiebreaker.

Novak isn't a lock in the finals anymore. He's 1-4 at the USO I think. He's the best player overall by far but even then there are surprises here & there.

His record at the USO final isn't all that great, surprisely since he dominates the hard courts at the Aussie open

I think the lack of a roof at Arthur Ashe stadium, which allows wind to play more of a factor, affects his play at the US Open. Djokovic struggles when he's playing in windy conditions. The USO semis last year against Nishikori and the QFs in Doha are some recent examples of this... Karlovic even said the wind was the reason he was able to beat Nole in Doha. Since Rod Laver arena at the Oz Open has a roof (and because of the way it's built compared to the other big courts at the rest of the Slams), I don't think it affects him as much. The roof almost makes it an indoor hard court match, which Nole is pretty much unbeatable in.

The roof won't be completed until 2016 at the USO, but I believe the structure is in place, so I wouldn't be surprised if he starts dominating New York like he does Melbourne pretty soon.

 

[shogun]

It's crazy @ 33, you can be considered too "old" for you job.

Seems that way for most pro sports.

 

[Sinner]

Awkward

Lol... 

But how about Roddick's punditry on the BBC... I only got to hear him commentate once, but thought he was fantastic.  Interesting and relevant insight.

He capped it off with... "I feel as badly for Roger as I could possible feel for someone who has already won 17 grand slams"... 

 

[britkicks]

Lol... 

But how about Roddick's punditry on the BBC... I only got to hear him commentate once, but thought he was fantastic.  Interesting and relevant insight.
He capped it off with... "I feel as badly for Roger as I could possible feel for someone who has already won 17 grand slams"... 

Haha yes he was a really positive addition to the BBC commentary team. Outside Johnny Mac the rest of the BBC pundits are quite sedate so he was welcome. He only showed up at the quarters but I'm sure will be back next year. Took this on the hill on semis day

View media item 1625744View media item 1625745

 

[britkicks]

The WTA will be in shambles when Serena retires. I know people think that Sharapova will be there to rack up the trophies but she's only won 5 in 10-11 years. I don't see her playing well into her 30's like Serena & definitely not as the best player in the world.

The WTA will be in shambles when Serena retires. I know people think that Sharapova will be there to rack up the trophies but she's only won 5 in 10-11 years. I don't see her playing well into her 30's like Serena & definitely not as the best player in the world.

I'm not sure it will be a shambles but Serena will certainly leave a big hole when she retires especially in the US I guess. I was thinking the other day that the WTA has some nice variety at the moment. Last two finalists in Gabi and Luci was a refreshing change especially Gabi at 21, Ana had a good FO, Simona has to be very close and Petra is still capable of beating almost anyone when playing her best game (which admittedly isn't consistent enough). Serena retirement will be a huge loss but it wil give others a chance to come through.

 

[Sinner]

I hate JMac's commentary... he says some of the most ridiculous stuff.  Andrew Castle is equally useless.  

Anyway... pics.

Day 12.

Anna Wintour's such a tennis groupie. 

Shout out to Garbine... what a run... and she seems absolutely delightful.  Hopefully she won't be another flash in the and will make deep runs like this again. 

Hingis winning slams like it's Y2K.

The Murrays in the crowd supporting Jamie, which was nice to see.

 

 

[Sinner]

Day 13.

Shout out to the Rocket. 

Lol.