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Tennis - General Discussion

The USTA needs a new development leader like...now. We currently have 3 junior boys in the top 10 of the junior ranks, and under Patrick they will become journeymen once they transition to the pros like every other former top American junior over the past decade.

edit: Take DY as an example. He was the number 1 junior for like 3 years straight, then became a journeyman in the pros. At age 25, his career may only have about 5 or 6 years left.
Well his whole plan was to copy Spanish academies without realizing much of their success is attributed to PEDs. You could tell he was clueless about tennis as a commentator. The USTA is just a disaster of an organization. It's too bad because the growth of tennis here depends on a marketable American champion.
 
Then you have Ryan Harrison, who was the first player to win an ATP match at age 15 since Rafael Nadal. He's now down there with DY in the journeyman category. Granted, Ryan decided at age 18 or 19 that he enjoyed partying and women way more than tennis and decided to put that at a higher priority than tennis. I don't think PMAC can be blamed on this case.

Of course, the list of prospective players that have come and gone under PMAC that had a lot of potential to be great goes on for miles. Francis Tiafoe, Michael Mmoh, and Stefan Kozlov will certainly be the next line of talented American juniors that turn into perennial 1st and 2nd round exits in the majors for the next 10 years.

/pessimist rant
 
Bethanie Mattek-Sands profile pic via her WTA profile >.<

player_130713.jpg


the google glasses seal it

Related: Watch this video and LOL @ 1:17 in
 

LuuKyK

Member
rofl This videos are hilarious. Because of them every time I watch Indian Wells I remember of Ana Ivanovic saying "My question is: why doesn't Indian Wells give wild cards to indian players?". lol



lol Its nice to want things. She will probably get double bagelled. Guest has the biggest luck with these draws, I swear...

I know thanks for introducing me to them. I subscribed to his channel
 

LuuKyK

Member
How does one even get bagelled by Davis. New low for Ms Foo. But watch her win the match now like 0-6 6-0 6-1. Typical wta score.
 

MIMIC

Banned
Saw some of that Wozniacki match earlier today.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. It's like the whole thing was in slow motion.
 

mcfrank

Member
Some nice match ups tomorrow. Bolded are the ones I am going to try to attend.

STADIUM 1 Start 11:00 am
[1] Na Li (CHN)
v
Jie Zheng (CHN)
WTA
Not Before 12:30 pm
Lukas Rosol (CZE)
v
[5] Andy Murray (GBR)
ATP
[Q] Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
v
[7] Roger Federer (SUI)
ATP
Not Before 4:00 pm
[4] Maria Sharapova (RUS)
v
Julia Goerges (GER)

WTA
Not Before 7:00 pm
[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
v
Radek Stepanek (CZE)
ATP
Not Before 8:30 pm
Ajla Tomljanovic (CRO)
v
[17] Sloane Stephens (USA)

WTA
STADIUM 2 Start 11:00 am
[11] Tommy Haas (GER)
v
Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
ATP
[17] Kevin Anderson (RSA)
v
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)

ATP
Francesca Schiavone (ITA)
v
[16] Samantha Stosur (AUS)
WTA
[3] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
v
Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
ATP
Not Before 5:00 pm
Santiago Giraldo (COL)
v
[19] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
ATP
[1] Bob Bryan (USA)
Mike Bryan (USA)
v
Scott Lipsky (USA)
Florian Mayer (GER)
ATP
 

MIMIC

Banned
MIMIC's Grip Saga. Chapter XIV: "My Slice!"

I noticed something very strange about my self-professed amazing BH slice: I've been shanking it more often ever since I switched to a continental FH (or eastern or whatever it was). And I NEVER used to shank my BH slice. NEVER.

And when I'm not shanking it, I'm popping it way up into the air....as if I don't know how to hit a proper BH slice. Even my defensive slices were just as good as a BH....but not anymore. And the strange part is that I never changed my BH grip; it has always been the same.

So I tried something: I went back to my old FH grip. And suddenly, my slice was back....with as much bite, spin, and penetration as ever. I guess the transition from "continental FH grip to my BH grip" just wasn't taking. It FELT like the same grip but the results were so different. I guess my game got way too adapted to my weird FH grip and changing it also changed how I hit my BH. And I'm fine with that......because my grip still works for me.

Also, I think I've been taking the ball way too late all this time. I tried hitting my FH more on the rise and my weird grip manages it quite nicely; as if it were made especially FOR taking balls on the rise.

First time watching a Pushniacki match? :p

I usually avoid watching her play.

I wonder if we'll see a repeat of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od6o-P8pjp4
 

LuuKyK

Member
She was injured and hardly moving.

I watched the last games of the second set and the tiebreak, she looked more frustrated than injured tbh. But if she is injured why did she even play? Like, whats she trying to prove? I doubt she played just for the second round money...

I usually avoid watching her play.

I wonder if we'll see a repeat of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od6o-P8pjp4

Please do not include Carebear in the same batch of Woz. She is not a pusher, she was just forced to do the moonballs because her opponent gave her no choice.

;-;

No but seriously. Kerber is a much better player. At least she is more aggressive.
 

Peru

Member
Seems like she was too impatient

To make matters worse, she acknowledged before the tournament that she wasn’t pain free yet; by the sound of it, she should not have been playing at all. Asked whether she had received medical assurance that she could not further injure her foot if she played this week, Azarenka shrugged. “I’m too stubborn for that,” she said.

Her foot injury, which she described as nerve damage, flared up early in the first set against Davis and she struggled for the remainder of the match.
 
Sam Querrey just epitomizes everything that is wrong with American tennis. Why in the hell is he letting a player like Seppi dominate him from the back of the court???
 

LuuKyK

Member
Maria played better than I expected, despite the DFs. Her groundstrokes were awesome.

Now to pray to god that Kerber dont flop to Torro-flor (?). Jesus Christ. Btw all the germans are awful at the moment. Goerges lost to a good player, but Kerber and Lisicki losing to Torro-Flor and Wozniak is just too much.

Edit: lol @ this tweet:

BiP8BAzCAAEg16N.jpg
 
John Isner is the only American man to reach week 2 of Indian Wells, and due to scheduling, he has yet to play a match yet so does that even count? lol
 

mcfrank

Member
That second stadium is huge.

Having sat in it today for two matches I would say it is the perfect size. Great atmosphere while folks with just grounds passes can stil sit really close to the action. It is a huge win for the tournament. I will probably spend most of my day there tomorrow even though I have tickets to the main stadium.
 

Peru

Member
Maria played better than I expected, despite the DFs. Her groundstrokes were awesome.

Only watched highlights, but serving that poorly and still winning comfortably in a match-up that's been pretty tight, that's a good sign (I mean, except for the serve). Like I've said before, the first match of a tournament we can usually see how good Maria will be - with slightly better serving here she could put up a fight for the crown.
 
John Isner is the only American man to reach week 2 of Indian Wells, and due to scheduling, he has yet to play a match yet so does that even count? lol
Men's American tennis. Lol the Fognini-Harrison match was hilarious. I am still befuddled that Sam gets dominated from the baseline by brahs like Seppi, Clement, Falla, Devarman and other pushers. Just incredible.
 

Milchmann

Member
Maria played better than I expected, despite the DFs. Her groundstrokes were awesome.

Now to pray to god that Kerber dont flop to Torro-flor (?). Jesus Christ. Btw all the germans are awful at the moment. Goerges lost to a good player, but Kerber and Lisicki losing to Torro-Flor and Wozniak is just too much.
Hey, there is still Annika Beck, who will be the second best-ranked German at the end of the season.

Kerber had an off-day. Sucks, but her season so far is solid. Lisicki is now a lost cause outside of Wimbledon, and she needs an early loss at Wimbledon to change that. Görges has to recover from her awful last season, Sharapova is still way above her level.
 

Faith

Member
Delpo:

Hello everyone. Unfortunately I have to tell you that I will not play singles at Indian Wells because I still feel slight pain in the wrist. Playing doubles helped me realize I am not ready yet. Now I have several days until Miami begins. I will continue with the treatment Dr. Berger suggested. As always, thanks for your support and for the messages you send me.

Source
 

LuuKyK

Member
Damn, this Halep girl is playing some amazing tennis. No wonder people say she is the next big thing. And now she is coached by Wim Fissette (who coached Clijsters), so there is that.
 

Reyne

Member
Berdych just got beaten by Bautista-Agut.

Huh. Was it fatigue after too many matches or was Bautista-Agut just playing that well? Well, as an aside, Gulbis/Dimitrov will be licking their lips as their 'tough' draw just opened up a bit. Good opportunity for one of them to dig deep...
 

LuuKyK

Member
Huh. Was it fatigue after too many matches or was Bautista-Agut just playing that well? Well, as an aside, Gulbis/Dimitrov will be licking their lips as their 'tough' draw just opened up a bit. Good opportunity for one of them to dig deep...

From what I watched of it Agut was playing pretty well. Sending every ball back. Playing safe, but still, against a not so good Berdych that has a chance to work, and it did today.
 
Damn, this Halep girl is playing some amazing tennis. No wonder people say she is the next big thing. And now she is coached by Wim Fissette (who coached Clijsters), so there is that.

So many women have to make great sacrifices to rise to the top of the WTA, unfortunately for Halep it was her Double D breasts.

RIP
 

Niraj

I shot people I like more for less.
Huh. Was it fatigue after too many matches or was Bautista-Agut just playing that well? Well, as an aside, Gulbis/Dimitrov will be licking their lips as their 'tough' draw just opened up a bit. Good opportunity for one of them to dig deep...

I didn't catch too much of it, but from what I saw Bautista-Agut was playing reasonably well, and Berdych seemed error-prone. A lot of wide and netted forehands.
 

LuuKyK

Member
Genie completely destroyed Errani playing an amazing match. Her next encounter against Halep should be interesting to say the least. Two amazing young players.

Edit: This match between Lopez and Ward is embarrassing. How does Lopez even win matches? He is almost in Wozniacki levels of pusher. Just as slow motion. Just awful.
 

MIMIC

Banned
I played my arch nemesis (which you can tell from my "Norway" thread).

I played so badly in the beginning. I went down 0-4 in the first set. My "weird" grip wasn't working for some reason, so I switched to my regular grip, but it was too late. I lost it 6-2. And the trouble continued into the second set and I lost it 6-1.

So since it wasn't quite a match, he suggested he play best of 5 (I guess he was so sure that he was gonna win in 3, lol).

The 3rd set, I don't know what happened but my weird grip clicking. I won the set 6-2.

Then he went into fucking pusher ass Radwanska/Murray mode. I was broken in my first service game and he went up 3-0, and then won the fourth 6-3. There was only one break, so I'm not too disappointed. So the final score was 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

My problem is that I don't have anyone to practice certain shots against. Like short balls, or my favorite shot: the FH down the line, which I can hit only like 50% of the time. I have no feeling or experience with hitting those shots routinely, so I asked him if he just wants to spend time hitting tomorrow (instead of playing a match) and he says that he's only interested in match play *roll eyes* Whatever.

Also, my BH was on fire :) I can hit a BH so well now that I made a lot of them approach shots.

EDIT: the coach who's over the league I'm in has classes, but they aren't free....and I figure I can learn on my own, anyway. I'm just a work-in-progress prodigy =p
 

mcfrank

Member
Just got home from Indian Wells (I live about 2 hours away). It is such an amazing tournament to go to if you ever get the chance. Get to see all of the top players in great weather and everything is pretty reasonably priced. The highlight was the Nadal Stepanek match as it was really intense, but Fognini v Harrison was good too (what I saw of it before I had to head in for Nadal).

I am sad I have to work tomorrow because the order of play looks pretty incredible.
 
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