Certinty
Member
That's the thing though, excluding it being slippery last year, it wasn't much different in the other departments.
I can't say I'm glad that the blue clay has gone, but I am glad all the top players are playing Madrid.
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Tennis - General Discussion
- Thread starter Peru
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I can't say I'm glad that the blue clay has gone, but I am glad all the top players are playing Madrid.
except it was very fast aka nothing like clay is supposed to be.
Certinty
Member
But it's always pretty fast anyway as it's at altitude.
Perhaps it was a little faster last year but given the amount of ridiculously slow hardcourts we have on tour now it's refreshing to see such a fast surface even if it is clay.
Like I said I agree. and some 250 events should do it. but you can't do it 3 weeks before RG. The whole point is to prepare for that event. and it was way way faster. Or rafa would not struggle as he did. He was unable to produce any top spin. I like how it looks (not how it plays(since it is supposed to be clay even- call it blue clay event))and I would like to see it in smaller events. But not 3 weeks before RG, when top players are tunning their game.
Certinty
Member
Fair enough. I agree.
Would actually pretty nice to have some smaller events on har-tru too. One thing I actually like the WTA for is having an event on that type of clay.
As a Federer fan, I loved the blue clay. It would be nice to see some of the March hardcourt tournaments like Indian Wells and Miami switch to it. So HC for aussie, then fast clay through March, then slow clay through RG. The only problem with this is they would just start slowing down the blue clay like they do everything else these days =(
perfectchaos007
Member
Maybe our athletes should cut out Gluten. Djokovic became a different animal when he dropped Gluten from his diet.
well even before that he was nr 3 for 4 years. Won a slam as 20 year old. 5 master he had 20 titles before gluten thing. I don't think it was just gluten. that DC win helped all Serbian players.
btw Fun fact Piere was eating pizza before his match vs Rafa(a few days ago) lol
perfectchaos007
Member
haha. i played a guy once that brought water, iced coffee, and coca-cola on the court. He beat me too! whatever works I guess?
Dolan lost in the semis to an Argentine ranked 193. Harrison is still playing his semifinal match, but his ranking has dropped to 100. If he drops one more place, he'll have to try to qualify for Roland Garros. lol
When I posted that, they hadn't started yet. And wasn't expecting anything anyway lol
I think that ownage from novak at AO demoralized Ryan. He was talking how he has a chance to beat Novak, then he got trashed, big time. Tennis is such a "head" sport. Confidence and all that stuff.
perfectchaos007
Member
His rationale was that he lost to Novak 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon, and he felt like his game had improved or was better on a hard surface. But Novak's best surface is the hard court so he took him to the woodshed in that match.
Aww man, this is almost the best part of evening/night matches in the summer! I'd chow down on those doner kebab snacks so hard during the side switches. Usually with a red bull or lipton iced tea as well
After the match a cigarette is great too sometimes, although having this all typed out I realize how unhealthy it all actually sounds :lol
Nooo Nemo stahp.
There is no way someone genuinely liked that stupid slippery mess of a clay court. It may be pretty to look at, but no...
Verdasco beat NADAL. lol
That shit was not clay.
Last 3 clay matches between the two
Monte Carlo (red clay): Nadal wins 6-0, 6-1
Barcelona (red clay): Nadal wins 6-0, 6-4
Madrid (blue clay): Verdasco wins 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Sets Verdasco won against Nadal on red clay in 6 clay meetings: ZERO
Sets won on blue clay: TWO
And just for fun....number of times Nadal has bageled Verdasco on red clay: THREE
They should keep the experiments in the challenger circuit, not the pro tour.
That shit was not clay.
Last 3 clay matches between the two
Monte Carlo (red clay): Nadal wins 6-0, 6-1
Barcelona (red clay): Nadal wins 6-0, 6-4
Madrid (blue clay): Verdasco wins 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Sets Verdasco won against Nadal on red clay in 6 clay meetings: ZERO
Sets won on blue clay: TWO
And just for fun....number of times Nadal has bageled Verdasco on red clay: THREE
They should keep the experiments in the challenger circuit, not the pro tour.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Blue Clay is freaking awesome. Screw Nadal for throwing a hisar fit. Fuxkawesome surface.
It would help if Nadal didn't deliberately tank the match by wasting 5*-2 lead in the third.
It has nothing to do with the dye, but the structure of the court and the altitude (600m above see level vs most tournaments being played near sea level) and hot and dry conditions.
I have nothing against red clay though, the season is 2 months only so it's OK if those tournaments are played only on a red/orange clay. The blue clay they had last year was beautiful though.
PorschePova. The blue one
Dimitrov
contract
So you are saying Marid 2011 on red clay vs Madrid 2012 on blue clay had same speed? Of course Madrid is the fastest clay evnet, everyone knows this, but it is still clay event. Look at some YT videos from previous years, it still plays like clay. Difference is ball travels faster through the air. With blue clay it was WAY faster, ball would speed up like crazy once it hit the ground and it would stay low. Rafa was unable to produce any top spin(not supposed to happen on clay). It was slipery as well. So yeah in short it's not the same.
perfectchaos007
Member
Ryan Won the Challenger last week, American tennis SAVED!! lol
Him and his brother are both playing in a challenger this week too. I wonder how much longer until Ryan's brother beats him. They are on opposite sides of the draw so odds are they won't face each other this tournament.
Nadal's (and many other athletes) doctor has been claimed guilty for giving athletes doping. However, all the court evidence (including the athletes' blood samples) is to be destroyed. Sounds like a huge cover up. Maybe all the jokes about Nadal's juice do not stretch too far away from the truth.
perfectchaos007
Member
God dammit our sport does NOT need a doping scandal right now...
If they are doping, the sooner it's exposed the better.God dammit our sport does NOT need a doping scandal right now...
perfectchaos007
Member
I know, but I just hope that's not the case. If players are doping, I hope it's just a select few and not as rampant and wide spread as it is/was in cycling.
AdventureRacing
Member
Cycling is just the sport that happened to actually catch the players doing it. I have no doubt that other sports around the world have just as big problems with performance enhancing drugs. It's kind of annoying how sports like cycling have been shat on when other huge sports around the world don't put anywhere near as much effort into catching players using them.
Laughing Banana
Weeping Pickle
Why would they destroy it? Doing so make it seems like they really scream "IT HAPPENS BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO BE EXPOSED!" right?
Not really. I'm sure you're partly right - some sports are as 'clean' as they are because not enough effort has been put into catching dopers, but there are obvious differences to how much you can gain simply by performance enchancing drugs in some sports compared to others.
Having said that it's pretty obvious from players' (and others) statements that tennis has been way to lax on it.
Sloane beat Serena again? That's good stuff
For looks I'm serious man, it was very nice to look at. Actual playing I can't judge haha
More drama:
Matt Cronin ‏@TennisReporters 2h
BREAKING: John Tomic allegedly arrested 3 days ago in Madrid 4 head butting/breaking nose/knocking out Bernie's French hitting partner.
...John Tomic said to have spent 1-2 days in jail. Hitting partner still in Madrid with neck brace on & badly broken nose in cast
No but she says Serena froze her out after losing last time http://tennis.si.com/2013/05/04/sloane-stephens-serena-williams-2/
Matt Cronin ‏@TennisReporters 2h
BREAKING: John Tomic allegedly arrested 3 days ago in Madrid 4 head butting/breaking nose/knocking out Bernie's French hitting partner.
...John Tomic said to have spent 1-2 days in jail. Hitting partner still in Madrid with neck brace on & badly broken nose in cast
No but she says Serena froze her out after losing last time http://tennis.si.com/2013/05/04/sloane-stephens-serena-williams-2/
perfectchaos007
Member
Ha. Sloane has had a 2-6 record since beating Serena at the AO. That's embarrassing. Maybe she should team up with Melanie Oudin in doubles at the French. American hopeful busts need to stick together
That's going to be highlight of her career, lol.
Oh, yeah, as I said, I definitely agree that is LOOKS very nice. If only they could find a way to make it better to play at. I say that based on the massive amount of players complaint if nothing else.
I dont know, it just looks like Sloane is only trying to have her 15 minutes. I may be wrong but why would she do all this just because Serena is not the nicest person to her, something she doesnt need to be at all. All this plus the fact that the latest results from Sloane have been a mess overall. She went downhill after the win over Serena. But yeah, this is all really weird.
Btw, Peru, did you see Marias new photoshoot (Im guessing you are a fan based on your avatar
)? The sport website I go for news just posted some of them in the tennis section:
Jesus. Those legs
and everything else
lololol I remember this Oudin girl. Wasnt she the one that made ridiculous statements about politics/religion? Such a has been, never even heard of her after that...
Oooh drama :lol
If anything, tennis players are the ones who shouldn't act like rockstars off the stage. I think it definitely messes with performance and growth big time. It's almost a damn shame having worked most of your life to play tennis only to throw it away in the most important time of your career. I loved Tomic's game when I first noticed, but seeing him act like a douchebag of court and interviews makes me think maybe he hasn't thought it all through enough to realize how far he can come. Or maybe he has realized it and doesn't want to sacrifice that much
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Sloane ain't a bust brahs, I love how she speaks her kind in that SI interview...
Correct.
perfectchaos007
Member
Not yet, but she's headed down that same beaten path as Oudin. Find success in one major as a young teen, have a bad subsequent season that was brushed off as a "sophomore slump" and never gets her game back to the level she once played at. Sloane made the 4th round of the French last year so she has points to defend too.
Yeah, I read her comments and was thinking, "Wait, did SHE also perpetuate the fact that they had good, current relationship?"
Poor game when serving for the set at 6*-5. He did win the tiebreak though.
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