Lone_Prodigy
Member
She'll get bageled in her next match.
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Tennis - General Discussion
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She'll get bageled in her next match.
By Kucova? Not sure about that. lol
She seems to be playing pretty well even if she was sick yesterday, that was a very confident display.
Hopefully we dont see a Wimbledon deja vu. She did back up her good win in the first round this time though, so thats already something.
perfectchaos007
Member
The third round is the furthest Bouchard has ever gotten in her home tournament so she has already smashed expectations. House money now
Spanish media saying that Nadal will likely pull out of the singles competition at the Olympics. He cancelled a training session today against Murray in Mallorca because of pain in his wrist.
Here is Nadal training with Murray, all seems well.
https://twitter.com/Anuskafande/status/758231894458769408?ref_src=twsrc^tfw
perfectchaos007
Member
She just broke Kucova at love
perfectchaos007
Member
Aaaand Eugenie Chokes. Too bad
Kotetsu534
Member
She didn't, but collapsing against a player who's never been inside the top 100 isn't much better. Konta gets a massive chance to reach the semi-finals, and can reach the top 10 if she does and one of Keys and Kuznetsova fails to. Her rise has been ridiculous this year.
Looking forward to seeing Kasatkina take on Kerber. Kerber's been in a really bad mood this week and barely escaped both her first round matches in three sets, while Kasatkina's had good wins over Doi, Stosur and Vinci. Kasatkina is 23rd in the race in her first full season on tour - a win would take her inside the top 20.
I saw it coming in the first set,like i said last evening,that Genie was in trouble.After a good start to lead 4 0,she started her UE and with that her slow loss of confidence and energy.
After her 2 great wins,especially the first against Safarova,she started to gain energy from the home crowd it seems but not last night...I was sure she wouldnt smash her racquet on the ground and stuff like that,in front of the crowd who was still behind her and cheering her on...
But with the win still in her grasp,she just gave up...her problem is still in her head,the way she acted in her hometown prooved it.
Not sure how it works in the Olympics,is it a Fed Cup style thing or a WTA type run but hopefully she gains some maturity there...after all,she is still only 22.
After her 2 great wins,especially the first against Safarova,she started to gain energy from the home crowd it seems but not last night...I was sure she wouldnt smash her racquet on the ground and stuff like that,in front of the crowd who was still behind her and cheering her on...
But with the win still in her grasp,she just gave up...her problem is still in her head,the way she acted in her hometown prooved it.
Not sure how it works in the Olympics,is it a Fed Cup style thing or a WTA type run but hopefully she gains some maturity there...after all,she is still only 22.
perfectchaos007
Member
Kinda strange to me that there's a major WTA event next week in Brazil. The Olympics start next Friday and that WTA event in Brazil will finish Sunday most likely. There's gonna be overlap
Among other things, it's easy to forget, when criticizing pro players, that they're very young people. Maturity is a hard thing to acquire when you live a normal lifestyle, so it's not really surprising it's also the case for some of them. Sure sport can teach you things about life, but it's still a rather particular environment to grow up and structure yourself. In tennis you don't even have the team football, basket, rugby players have around them, you're alone with your staff. It's not sad or anything but it's a particular situation and it's not surprising some have a harder time to adapt, even if they're crazy talented.
perfectchaos007
Member
Djokovic tried everything he could to gift that first set to Berdych but Berdych refused to take it.
Halep/Kerber match is like they have to play like if they where serving out all the time lol,some incredible cross court corner shots non stop
Halep bagels Kerb in the first set though.
Kucova's dream week ends abruptly,she got destroyed by Madison Keys...
Halep/Keys tomorrow should be great.
Halep bagels Kerb in the first set though.
Kucova's dream week ends abruptly,she got destroyed by Madison Keys...
Halep/Keys tomorrow should be great.
Kotetsu534
Member
Let's see, some thoughts on Montreal/Toronto ahead of Rio.
- Djokovic back to winning as expected. Serve was dodgy all week, until he needed it against the best returner in the tournament, Kei, when it was superb. He made 76% of his first serves and won 82% of them. Against a lesser returner, it would have been higher still. 30 Masters titles. He's also 18-1 vs. Top 10 opposition in 2016.
- Nishikori beat Wawrinka in a match decided by a first set tie break where both players made a lot of errors. Nishikori double faulted and made a poor UE to change ends down 2-4. But then Stan double faulted to let Kei back in, and missed a short backhand and pulled a forehand wide to lose the set. Stan made an absolute howler during a one-sided second set. It would be the worst miss of the year, but he already has that missed smash at 5-5 in the TB against Goffin from Indian Wells.
- Halep's win in Montreal over Keys came down to a first set tie-break where Keys absolutely imploded, missing routine shots, missing put aways, missing first serves. Halep had made two of the most feeble attempts to serve out a set you'll ever see at 5-4 and 6-5, but you'd never have known it from the way Keys gifted her the set. She never recovered, Halep's incredible movement and racquet control wearing Keys' resolve down. Halep's winner/UE ratio read 1/15 at the end of the first set, but she tightened it up when it mattered. Keys hit 45 errors in two sets. A great win for Halep, who had to beat Pliskova, Kuznetsova, Kerber and Keys, but a poor match. Keys might want to look at Muguruza as an example of a big hitter who knows how to rein it in on shorter balls.
- Shame for Montreal that both Serena and Muguruza pulled out last minute, but the crowd was very strong anyway. Great to see a major tennis event largely unaffected by rain and awful playing conditions, arguably the first since Miami (albeit Wimbledon's second week was good).
- Bryans out of the Olympics, so possibly no Mixed Doubles entry for the US. Certainly whoever does enter won't be the medal hopes they would've been.
- Djokovic back to winning as expected. Serve was dodgy all week, until he needed it against the best returner in the tournament, Kei, when it was superb. He made 76% of his first serves and won 82% of them. Against a lesser returner, it would have been higher still. 30 Masters titles. He's also 18-1 vs. Top 10 opposition in 2016.
- Nishikori beat Wawrinka in a match decided by a first set tie break where both players made a lot of errors. Nishikori double faulted and made a poor UE to change ends down 2-4. But then Stan double faulted to let Kei back in, and missed a short backhand and pulled a forehand wide to lose the set. Stan made an absolute howler during a one-sided second set. It would be the worst miss of the year, but he already has that missed smash at 5-5 in the TB against Goffin from Indian Wells.
- Halep's win in Montreal over Keys came down to a first set tie-break where Keys absolutely imploded, missing routine shots, missing put aways, missing first serves. Halep had made two of the most feeble attempts to serve out a set you'll ever see at 5-4 and 6-5, but you'd never have known it from the way Keys gifted her the set. She never recovered, Halep's incredible movement and racquet control wearing Keys' resolve down. Halep's winner/UE ratio read 1/15 at the end of the first set, but she tightened it up when it mattered. Keys hit 45 errors in two sets. A great win for Halep, who had to beat Pliskova, Kuznetsova, Kerber and Keys, but a poor match. Keys might want to look at Muguruza as an example of a big hitter who knows how to rein it in on shorter balls.
- Shame for Montreal that both Serena and Muguruza pulled out last minute, but the crowd was very strong anyway. Great to see a major tennis event largely unaffected by rain and awful playing conditions, arguably the first since Miami (albeit Wimbledon's second week was good).
- Bryans out of the Olympics, so possibly no Mixed Doubles entry for the US. Certainly whoever does enter won't be the medal hopes they would've been.
Muguruza really got some flak from the WTA I read for retiring from a Master's like 10 minutes before her match...Eugene Lapierre who is the grand daddy of the Rogers Cup in Montreal said he slowly left the office when the WTA guys started talking to Muguruza...he said she will probably never do that again
perfectchaos007
Member
So Nick Kyrgios decided to team up with one of his hometown buddies in doubles for Atlanta this week. His friend doesn't even have an ATP ranking in singles, but he is ranked #1,289 in doubles. Kyrgios probably just wants to lose early so he can play more Pokemans
Kotetsu534
Member
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/brain-game-djokovic-toronto-2016-final
Great article from Craig O'Shannessy detailing how Djokovic edged Nishikori. All about the short points, and particularly dominating with his forehand after the 1st serve. Nishikori won a lot of skirmishes, Djokovic won the major battle and took the spoils.
Great article from Craig O'Shannessy detailing how Djokovic edged Nishikori. All about the short points, and particularly dominating with his forehand after the 1st serve. Nishikori won a lot of skirmishes, Djokovic won the major battle and took the spoils.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
But Nadal will play singles, doubles, and mixed.
perfectchaos007
Member
18 y/o 6'11" Reilly Opelka just upset Kevin Anderson in Hotlanta. Tall guys do really well in hardcourt season especially in the heat ( balls bounce higher the hotter it is )
It's still winter in Rio so Nadal and the other grinders should do well at the olympics
It's still winter in Rio so Nadal and the other grinders should do well at the olympics
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
Also the modern game is dominated by good serving, tall buggers get an immediate advantage in 50% of games.
Thursday, 11 AM BRT.
Olympics draws: http://www.rio.itftennis.com/olympics/draws
Djokovic-Del Potro in the first round. lol
Djokovic-Del Potro in the first round. lol
Thanks...hard start in singles for Canada,Pospisil plays Monfils(France)and Genie meets Stephens(USA).
perfectchaos007
Member
There's a woman representing Liechtenstein in the singles draw. That country has just 33,000 people in it, which is about the size of my hometown. Crazy to me that a pro tennis player would emerge out of a place so small
perfectchaos007
Member
Kyrgios decided to try and won the Atlanta title. You just never know what you're going to get with him.
It's so beautiful when his forehand is on.
Simply Sami
Member
Finally. Been saying for years that Del Potro would have been a threat to Djokovic in the last 5 years if he stayed fit.
perfectchaos007
Member
I guess Djokovic is freed up to play cinci next week
Simply Sami
Member
Feel for Djokovic though.
Would have liked him to complete the full set.
Would have liked him to complete the full set.
Simply Sami
Member
He was already scheduled for that. Would have played it as it's the only master he hasn't won.
Murray is the main threat left, right?
Del Potro was fantastic!! You can tell how much this win means to him. I hope he can keep this up and get to the final and finally win Gold. I am sure he wants to get to the F after that heartbreaking SF loss to Federer.
As for Djokovic, he didn't play too well, but he tried his best to keep holding to get to the tie breaks. He is 29 and will be 34 when the next games roll around. Who knows if he will even be playing tennis then.
As for Djokovic, he didn't play too well, but he tried his best to keep holding to get to the tie breaks. He is 29 and will be 34 when the next games roll around. Who knows if he will even be playing tennis then.
Simply Sami
Member
Nadal looked good.
Wouldn't rule him out making another winning return from injury.
But yeah it's really Murray, Nishikori and Nadal are the main threats.
Djokovic has cried before. In fact I'm pretty sure all the big four have cried after a loss. People just gave Fed a hard time back then because they wanted a reason to hate.Nole crying fucking got to me
Pretty much every top player has cried his heart out in court now. Remember when Fed cried after losing AO vs Nadal and stupid people were making fun of him?
As discussed in the Olympic thread, at least Novak still has a shot at a gold medal in doubles.
Kotetsu534
Member
What a crazy night of tennis! Penny for the thoughts of Dominic Thiem about now.
Massive performances, uncontrollable emotion and unbelievable upsets. And that was just Lucie Safarova, playing one of the best matches of her life, and Barbora Strycova, fighting with everything she had, combining to take down Serena and Venus for the first time in Olympic Doubles history. They weren't at their best - Venus had been struggling for weeks with her serve, but tonight her sister's was often slower, and both were poor at the net - but they rarely ever need to be. The wild celebrations from the Czechs at the end said it all.
Then Andre Sa and Thomaz Bellucci took out Andy and Jamie Murray 16-14 in one of the most dramatic tie-breaks I have ever seen. Andre Sa is 39 and ranked 60 in the world in Doubles, but he was the best player on the court when it mattered. There were nerves. But there was also a standard of net play that defied belief, the reactions and hand skills of all four men spellbinding. 6 match points came and went, outrageous defence from the Murrays at the net fending them off, and multiple set points were defended, with Bellucci refusing to back down on his forehand after it had twice failed him. Eventually Sa played two superb first serves and nailed a strong return, only for a freakish net cord to end the tie-break as Bellucci's pass sailed over a helpless, raging Andy Murray. He struggled to hold back tears at the defeat, knowing he and his brother would surely never share Olympic glory, as the home crowd saluted the incredible efforts of their men. But that was not the only, nor even the biggest dream, to die on a wild, windy night...
Del Potro's returned to the tour for several months, but while he beat Wawrinka in a surprisingly poor quality match at Wimbledon, he hasn't really been back. He is now. You'd think his massive cuts on his forehand were lucky, until you see him do it for two and a half hours against probably the best defender tennis has ever known, and make them again and again. And yet, still, when Djokovic fended off a huge assault from the Argentine at 4-5*, precision serving getting him back to evens, I thought he would not be able to sustain the level. When the tie-break came around he didn't. He found some absurd level even beyond that which had battered Novak off the baseline. He played running forehand passes on the full stretch, pancake flat, and they were unerring. He hit a backhand pass off a net cord which defied description, curving cruelling away to the sideline as Novak hopelessly closed down the net. Most incredibly of all, he stayed with Djokovic in the rallies, comfortably trading backhands despite it supposedly being a glaring weakness the top players would feast on. His slice didn't seem desperate, but probing, pulling his opponent away to create space for his mammoth right hooks.
The two men's respect for each other was apparent in their embrance at the net, but their tears afterward could not have been more different. Djokovic knew his chance to win Gold in Men's Singles had likely gone for good, while Del Potro looked up to see, as well as his countrymen, crowds of Brazilians cheering wildly for an Argentine who'd been gone too long for his nationality to matter. He knew he was back and now everyone knows.
Massive performances, uncontrollable emotion and unbelievable upsets. And that was just Lucie Safarova, playing one of the best matches of her life, and Barbora Strycova, fighting with everything she had, combining to take down Serena and Venus for the first time in Olympic Doubles history. They weren't at their best - Venus had been struggling for weeks with her serve, but tonight her sister's was often slower, and both were poor at the net - but they rarely ever need to be. The wild celebrations from the Czechs at the end said it all.
Then Andre Sa and Thomaz Bellucci took out Andy and Jamie Murray 16-14 in one of the most dramatic tie-breaks I have ever seen. Andre Sa is 39 and ranked 60 in the world in Doubles, but he was the best player on the court when it mattered. There were nerves. But there was also a standard of net play that defied belief, the reactions and hand skills of all four men spellbinding. 6 match points came and went, outrageous defence from the Murrays at the net fending them off, and multiple set points were defended, with Bellucci refusing to back down on his forehand after it had twice failed him. Eventually Sa played two superb first serves and nailed a strong return, only for a freakish net cord to end the tie-break as Bellucci's pass sailed over a helpless, raging Andy Murray. He struggled to hold back tears at the defeat, knowing he and his brother would surely never share Olympic glory, as the home crowd saluted the incredible efforts of their men. But that was not the only, nor even the biggest dream, to die on a wild, windy night...
Del Potro's returned to the tour for several months, but while he beat Wawrinka in a surprisingly poor quality match at Wimbledon, he hasn't really been back. He is now. You'd think his massive cuts on his forehand were lucky, until you see him do it for two and a half hours against probably the best defender tennis has ever known, and make them again and again. And yet, still, when Djokovic fended off a huge assault from the Argentine at 4-5*, precision serving getting him back to evens, I thought he would not be able to sustain the level. When the tie-break came around he didn't. He found some absurd level even beyond that which had battered Novak off the baseline. He played running forehand passes on the full stretch, pancake flat, and they were unerring. He hit a backhand pass off a net cord which defied description, curving cruelling away to the sideline as Novak hopelessly closed down the net. Most incredibly of all, he stayed with Djokovic in the rallies, comfortably trading backhands despite it supposedly being a glaring weakness the top players would feast on. His slice didn't seem desperate, but probing, pulling his opponent away to create space for his mammoth right hooks.
The two men's respect for each other was apparent in their embrance at the net, but their tears afterward could not have been more different. Djokovic knew his chance to win Gold in Men's Singles had likely gone for good, while Del Potro looked up to see, as well as his countrymen, crowds of Brazilians cheering wildly for an Argentine who'd been gone too long for his nationality to matter. He knew he was back and now everyone knows.
Kotetsu534
Member
Poring through the stats from Del Potro's win over Djokovic, I see that not only did he not create a BP for only the 5th time in his career, he never even forced a Deuce. Lots of rumours that he's been nursing an injury on his left arm somewhere, and those stats would tend to back it up. Curious how JMDP does today against Sousa.
D
Deleted member 231381
Unconfirmed Member
That was devastating for Djokovic. All he needed is the Gold and Cincinnati and he'd have every title anyone ever cared about. To miss this one, when it comes so infrequently, is brutal.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
I hope you write for a living.