Faulkner

He’s played badly all tournament, but I chalk it up to a (mostly mental?) letdown after winning RG and having to come back so soon to play Wimbledon. He’s not young anymore. It’s crazy he only dropped that first set in R1 against Draper. But Shapovalov isn’t taking advantage, and I’m not totally sure Berrettini will either.

Totally. One might wonder who he might have faced at Wimbledon if his ranking had been much lower. (Given how much higher-ranked players like Tsitsipas crapped out, not sure it would have made much difference.)

Speaking of Fognini… Roger Federer would like a word, but certainly Matteo would have been a lot lower in the rankings.

Yeah, that was weird. Like Hubi didn’t sufficiently apologize for the netcord winner or something? Matteo’s odd attitude seemed to happen around that point…

Berrettini should be a model. He’s so pretty. His brother is photogenic as well.

Hurkacz looked so sharp coming out and has simply fallen apart against Berrettini.

From Israel 🇮🇱

They’re making this dude look mad stupid after not playing him much at all for years.

Spencer and Trina are money in the bank. Wild chemistry. Hope they capitalize on it.

I don’t like how Ridge and weasely Wyatt are talking to Justin. “Your boss asked you a question.” Plus, we have Liam wistfully remembering these pastoral scenes with Hope and Beth. This story bugs me. The optics are borderline Birth of a Nation. And, again, no follow-up to the aborted “commitment ceremony.”

Indeed. She throws a tantrum and loses the plot. Gotta say, Pliskova is definitely playing (and especially serving) well. Hoping that Barty outsmarts her.

Sabalenka/Pliskova is actually reasonably entertaining. Karolina double-faulted on the first BP on her serve, and it was Sabalenka’s set point. Aryna’s clutch serving is insane.

That would be decent casting, although he’d seem mature for Lucas Adams.

Kerber effed that up big time trying to serve out that second set.

I’m definitely hearing people in neighborhoods like mine—Upper Manhattan, the Bronx, outer reaches of Brooklyn—feeling unsettled by unusual spikes in violent crime over the past several months, and Adams was pretty much the only candidate in the Dem primary who gave voice to our fears. People don’t want a return to the bad old days, which preceded my time here in the city.

From NYC 🇺🇸

The FAA/Berrettini match is… not good. What a disappointment of a return for Wimbledon.

Oh thanks!! Denis Shapovalov is looking soooo much better. He cleans up well, even with the sun-burnt face lol. Not quite as effortlessly stylish and elegant as his compatriot FAA…

Getting old sucks in a lot of ways. Hard to watch. Still, he made the QF off two knee surgeries (which is both an indictment of his competition and a testimony to his skill). ESPN is lame, of course. We’re missing the tight Berrettini/FAA match while they chatter on and on about Roger’s defeat.

I think Eboni kinda wants to be that as well. She feels a bit entitled to the crown. I felt like the show was borderline rudderless last season as well. There’s nothing that really galvanizes the show anymore. Dorinda would have been a great “alpha” last season, but she couldn’t get out of her own way (similar to Bethenny’s final days IMO—but she seemed over the show).

Completely agree, and co-sign @Cat’s comment that the COVID bubble magnifies the problem, since they keep having the same conversation over and over and over and over, when, in the past, the fast-paced NYC backdrop would have naturally given us different dynamics. The drinking last year was too much, but this is also too much. This franchise feels a bit rudderless.

From India 🇮🇳