Faulkner

Denis Shapovalov must be thinking, “Keep my name out of your mouth.” They keep on showing him hitting Arnaud Gabas in the eye. John McEnroe just dragged up an old grudge against Bjorn Borg for no reason on ESPN just now. 😂

Such a STL legend.

Novak’s statement:

Yikes at Petra’s DF on her 4th match point in that tiebreak.

He’s such an @sshole. He also punches down (not in terms of achievements but in terms of profile). Why go after PCB of all people? As if on cue...

I hope this is an eye-opening moment for Novak. I’ve always loved his play and loved how he shook up the Fedal bromance, but this day was coming sooner or later. He’s always been angry and, again, reckless on court, and had a lot of close calls. (I don’t want to hear sh!t about this from Nick Kyrgios—talk about kettle/pot.) For all the great tennis he’s produced this year, it’s been a sort of annus horribilus for him. Like almost every mistake you can make, he’s made in the past few months. I’m curious how this will all shake out. USTA says that Novak will lose all ranking points earned at the U.S. Open and will be fined all his prize money earned here in addition to the other penalties. (EDIT: I’m unclear if that means he’ll lose his 2019 points as well?)

I don’t necessarily believe this but... Also... @Soapsuds this is indeed very entitled. Touché.

Novak should have gotten a warning for whacking the ball previously. They might have avoided all of this. The problem with tennis is that the rules are applied so inconsistently.

Rennae is right.

I don’t think he’s more entitled than any other top player, but he keeps handing ammo to all his haters this year. He was unlucky today, but he keeps being reckless with his choices.

Novak has come close to injuring linespeople before, and he hasn’t learned. I agree with James Blake here. It’s stunning, though. Wow. Most shocking turn of events here since the Serena/Naomi final.

Oh Novak. Just made a rough year worse with inexcusable (and entirely preventable) behavior...

Yeah, he just was the full package as a soap Everyman. Wholesome but not bland or weak, witty, lots of chemistry with partners, handsome in an accessible way. Sort of a Middle America archetype that would have been well-suited for a Bauer. Or another role. He would have been young for Rick, but I think he would have fit the MOL mold while executing on a higher level. (It wouldn’t have been a *totally* new direction in terms of look or type.) But, in any case, GL (or any soap) would have been lucky to have his presence onscreen.

Paul Michael Valley could have made a solid Rick IMO.

Kerber is undoubtedly rusty, but Jen Brady is in *stunning* form so far. @Soapsuds Your boy Dom said FAA is “good-looking.” 😂

From NYC 🇺🇸

Madison Keys just retired from her match. She looked in a lot of distress. Cornet vs. Pironkova coming.

Frances is really making Marton look pedestrian.

Pospisil is serving to take out RBA. We got one set of vintage Sloane and then two sets of her more recent sloppiness. A confident player could really trouble this Serena.

This.