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[perfectchaos007]

Do they wear promise rings? That's what Americans do, right? I've seen that in movies.

It's very rare. Some girls will wear promise rings in junior high "promising" they'll remain virgins until marriage, but then that perfect guy in highschool comes along and that ring comes off forever....

also, only girls from super religious families would possibly wear one and I don't think i've seen or met a boy who has worn one.

So basically, they only exist in old movies now!

 

[Kotetsu534]

Dominic Thiem now has 45 wins this season (with 11 losses), including titles in Nice, Acapulco, Buenos Aires and now Stuttgart (that's twice on clay, once on hard, once on grass). Two wins over Federer and one win over Nadal in that time too, and his first trip to the second week of a major where he reached the semis.

Andy Murray had 71 wins last season (with 14 losses). Djokovic 82-6. Thiem could end up getting a similar number in his win column this year if he keeps up the pace.

 

[Simply Sami]

Thiem is doing well.

Beating Fed twice is good. But I wouldn't class it as a big achievement considering Federer has been injured since the Australian open. I think Federer will struggle at Wimbledon unless there is a major upturn in form at Halle. He didn't look convincing in any of his three games last week.

If Thiem wants to be considered the next top star then he needs to beat Djokovic. He was embarrassed at the French. Even giving Djokovic a tough game would be a good achievement.

 

[Kotetsu534]

The 6-4, 6-3 loss at Indian Wells to Djokovic was a really good match. It was the one where Thiem had a Federer-esque BP conversation rate (something absurd like 1/20 BPs), but he was able to hang with Djokovic in the longer rallies and get milage out of his serve. Shame he didn't give much resistance in the SF though, true. He tried to blast him off the court that day and made a metric ton of UEs. May well have doubted his ability to go long over 5 sets having played so much tennis and a tough match against Goffin the day before and so felt his best shot was to go for broke.

Though if I had to predict where Thiem will go, it wouldn't be quite to the level of Djokovic. He moves excellently, and has extreme power, but he needs a fair bit of wind up on his shots, and can string UEs together too often. Return game isn't at the elite level yet, either. But he's improved a ton, and if he keeps it up he'll be ahead of everyone other than Djokovic and Murray, and they're 29...

 

[Milchmann]

Center court in Mallorca looks great. Too bad nobody is there.

 

[Kotetsu534]

I was considering travelling down to Birmingham today since it had a fairly strong card (Kvitova/Safarova, Radwanska/Vandeweghe, Kerber/Peng, Pliskova/Strycova etc.), but one look at the weather forecast and 'nope'. Tennis has been so badly disrupted over the past few weeks with rain.

Center court in Mallorca looks great. Too bad nobody is there.

I have a theory that with the internet being the dominant place to talk about tennis, that the big events have became bigger (evidenced by prize money, coverage on sports and news websites, tweets etc.) and the smaller events have suffered. On the WTA side the really big names play few tournaments anyway, of course, but sometimes I wonder if that's as much consequence as cause of the decline of the smaller events. Doesn't really apply as much in Mallorca's case as the event is new, but could definitely see a future where the tour is condensed.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Center court in Mallorca looks great. Too bad nobody is there.

Pretty typical for WTA standalone events.

 

[miserable]

year of Del Potro keeps getting postponed

 

[mcfrank]

Glad fed turned around that 2nd set.

 

[John Dunbar]

things are not looking hot for federer going into wimby.

 

[szaromir]

things are not looking hot for federer going into wimby.

First time since 2000 he's heading into Wimbledon without a title.

 

[Niraj]

Hope he gets a decent draw

 

[Kotetsu534]

Saw him play Goffin and really thought this was going to be his first title of the year, but guess it didn't happen for him today. Hope Zverev comes through tomorrow. Enjoy his game and think he might end up being the best of the next gen.

 

[Ricker]

Go Milos !!!!!!!!!

Doing great with McEnroe so far,cant wait to see what he does at Wimby

 

[oti]

Zverev falling apart against Mayer (the German) in Halle.

 

[szaromir]

Nice. Mayer deserves some glory in his career.

 

[oti]

The tennis weirdo Mayer beating Thiem and Zverev, the future of tennis, back-to-back. What a great story.

 

[killer_clank]

Murray turned on God mode after losing a tight first set and going down a break in anger at the start of the 2nd.

 

[killer_clank]

Yes Murray. Now the GOAT of Queens Club.

 

[milanbaros]

Yes Murray. Now the GOAT of Queens Club.

Who held the record before? Roddick?

 

[Ricker]

Yes Murray. Now the GOAT of Queens Club.

Good match...just a warm up for Raonic though,bring on Wimbledon

Grats to Murray.

And Madison Keys likes to play on grass it seems,grats to her as well.

 

[killer_clank]

Who held the record before? Roddick?

Roddick and like 4 others including Mcenroe, Hewitt, and becker have all won four.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Wimbledon qualifying started today.

Also, Madison Keys is now in the top 10 for the first time in her career

 

[MaxHouse]

honest question..

Do you guys think Serena could be competitive against Novak?

 

[perfectchaos007]

honest question..

Do you guys think Serena could be competitive against Novak?

Honest Answer?
If both players took the match seriously, Serena would be lucky to get a game.

 

[oti]

honest question..

Do you guys think Serena could be competitive against Novak?

No.

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

honest question..

Do you guys think Serena could be competitive against Novak?

Serena could not beat anyone in the top 1000.

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

From Wikipedia:

1998: Karsten Braasch vs. the Williams sisters

Another event dubbed a "Battle of the Sexes" took place during the 1998 Australian Open[33] between Karsten Braasch and the Williams sisters. Venus and Serena Williams, aged 17 and 16 respectively, had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager."[34][35] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[36] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two beers. He first took on Serena and after leading 5–0, beat her 6–1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6–2.[37] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun."[38] Braasch said the big difference was that men can chase down shots much easier, and that men put spin on the ball that the women can't handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.

An 18 year old 4th ranked Serena Williams claimed she could compete with men in professional sport; the US Open champion believing she could take on and beat the best players in the men's game. Nothing ever came to be from this claim.[39]
2003: Yannick Noah vs Justine Henin

In December 2003, Yannick Noah and Justine Henin played a friendly match at the Forest National in Brussels. Noah donned a dress for much of the match. He played predominantly trick shots and slices, but still ended up winning 4–6, 6–4, 7–6.[40]
2013: Novak Djokovic vs Li Na

In October 2013, Novak Djokovic and Li Na played a light-hearted exhibition mini set in Beijing, China to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the China Open. Djokovic clowned to the amusement of the crowd, and at one point swapped places with a ballboy. Li was given a 30–0 advantage at the start of each service game, and she went on to win 3–2.[41]

 

[Kotetsu534]

I recall Serena herself saying, when asked if she could beat a top level man, that she couldn't hit a winner against them. The male players are much faster and play with much more safety than the women so her winner/UE count would be horrendous against them, and obviously she'd need to win her points in 1-3 shots because of the movement disparity. I reckon her serve would be pretty effective on a fast surface against a poor returner though - it regularly goes unreturned in Mixed Doubles against the man. It has power, variety and precision comparable to a competent male serve.

 

[Ricker]

Azarenka withdraws from Wimbledon because of a knee injury

I will miss the pre Wimbledon arrival thing tonight because of the shitty WiFi at the trailer park lol...I kinda like seeing all the Tennis people all dressed up.

Oh and Sabine Lisicki and Eugenie Bouchard are teaming up for the Wimbledon doubles

 

[Niraj]

Projected round of 16:

women:

Serena-Kuznetsova
Bacsinszky-Vinci
Radwanska-Konta
Kvitova-Bencic

Halep-Keys
Pliskova-Kerber
Venus-CSN
Stosur-Muguruza

men:

Djokovic-Ferrer
Goffin-Raonic
Federer-Simon
Cilic-Nishikori

Thiem-Berdych
RBA-Wawrinka
Gasquet-Tsonga
Kyrgios-Murray

 

[Lone_Prodigy]

Is there a Wimbledon thread?

 

[sam777]

I am hoping Raonic can pull something great off this tournament but in reality we will get another Murray and Djokovic final.

 

[LuuKyK]

Is there a Wimbledon thread?

I dont think so.

 

[perfectchaos007]

I dont think so.

I don't think there will be one this year since the UK Brexited from Europe

 

[perfectchaos007]

interesting stat:

Of the 128 women in the main draw of Wimbledon, 125 of those women have never won Wimbledon.

 

[Niraj]

Smellycat made a Wimbledon thread:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1239189

 

[CopperPuppy]

GAF, I badly want to see Federer live before he calls it a day on his career, and my intuition tells me that the early rounds of the Western & Southern Open is the most efficient way to do so.

Am I wrong here? If not, I am ashamed to admit that I am completely fucking lost when it comes to purchasing tickets that would actually accomplish my goal. Is there any way to buy early rounds tickets that would guarantee you some far off seat at one of Fed's matches in this event?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Niraj]

GAF, I badly want to see Federer live before he calls it a day on his career, and my intuition tells me that the early rounds of the Western & Southern Open is the most efficient way to do so.

Am I wrong here? If not, I am ashamed to admit that I am completely fucking lost when it comes to purchasing tickets that would actually accomplish my goal. Is there any way to buy early rounds tickets that would guarantee you some far off seat at one of Fed's matches in this event?

Thanks in advance.

Shouldn't be a problem, assuming he does play you could do round 2 probably and be fine. When you buy a ticket there you are basically getting an assigned seat for the main court, and there are separate tickets for the day and night sessions (11 AM and 7 PM if I remember correctly). So that seat is locked for you, and you can go to any other court you want as long as you can find a seat. He tends to be the marquee match of the night session so might want to keep that in mind. I've gone there three times if you have any other questions about it, though I went for the quarterfinals, not the early rounds.

 

[Nabae]

I was honestly thinking the same thing as Copper today, but for the Rogers cup. Is it normally too late to buy tickets for first round Federer seats after the draw comes out?

 

[Niraj]

I was honestly thinking the same thing as Copper today, but for the Rogers cup. Is it normally too late to buy tickets for first round Federer seats after the draw comes out?

Earlier is better just so you can have some choice of seats. Like I said above about Cincinnati, he'd have a first round bye (top 8 seeds do), so you'd want to get second round or later.

 

[Nabae]

Earlier is better just so you can have some choice of seats. Like I said above about Cincinnati, he'd have a first round bye (top 8 seeds do), so you'd want to get second round or later.

Ah, right. In my half awake state I forgot that top seeds don't play until the second round. Thanks.

 

[CopperPuppy]

Just had a thought: with Murray, Fed, and Djokovic all likely playing in Rio, isn't there a good chance that we won't see those guys playing the Western & Southern Open? I mean, it starts immediately after Rio, which itself is only a couple weeks away from the US Open.

 

[Niraj]

Just had a thought: with Murray, Fed, and Djokovic all likely playing in Rio, isn't there a good chance that we won't see those guys playing the Western & Southern Open? I mean, it starts immediately after Rio, which itself is only a couple weeks away from the US Open.

It's definitely possible. I think the Olympics final is the 14th, and the Cincinnati final would be the week after. I guess it depends on how they do at the Olympics as well.

 

[Milchmann]

Azarenka is pregnant: https://twitter.com/vika7/status/753967433883410432

 

[perfectchaos007]

Azarenka is pregnant: https://twitter.com/vika7/status/753967433883410432

lmao. She has been losing in the early rounds of tournaments lately. Guess we know what she has been doing in all that extra spare time. I thought she was dabbing, but apparently she was smanging

 

[LuuKyK]

Azarenka is pregnant: https://twitter.com/vika7/status/753967433883410432

Wow. lol

Never expected that. Didnt even know she had a boyfriend.

 

[oti]

Azarenka is pregnant: https://twitter.com/vika7/status/753967433883410432

Aww, good for her! 😆
I'm sure she'll be back in no time.

 

[miserable]

can someone give me the reason why they don't use Hawkeye in Davis cup matches?

 

[perfectchaos007]

Vika's reading material before getting pregnant