The Tennis Thread

[I Am A Swede]

It's still almost hard to believe that it really happened. This is right up there with Lori McNeil beating Steffi Graf in the first round at Wimbledon 1994 (first time ever the reigning champion lost in the first round) or qualifier Jelena Dokic crushing world nr 1 Martina Hingis (6-2, 6-0) also in the first round at Wimbledon 1999.

[Soapsuds]

Seems like a bad dream a la Pam Ewing!

 

I don't know if I can't take anymore tennis today with the men's semis left…LOL

 

Who do you have winning Toups?

[DramatistDreamer]

A small bone to pick with ESPN3.  Last year and previous years since they've been streaming the USO, they've showed ALL the Junior events and this year, they are barely showing any.  

 

I know Junior champs don't always do well in the Pros but over the last few years, I've been introduced to the likes of Taylor Townsend, Nick Kyrgios, Eugenie Bouchard, Belinda Bencic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Francoise Abanda and Elias Ymer-- all through watching the Junior tournament at the Majors that were streamed on ESPN3.  Now, I'll have to watch a crappy dodgy stream on some random site if I want to see the Junior event apparently.  I don't have the desire to do that.

[Toups]

For women's side, I don't know and I don't care.  LOL I never heard of those players left.   Before the tourny started I bet on Serena+Roger and Serena+Joker to win.  Now that Serena lost and I can't win, I'm going to root for Roger. 

Edited September 11, 2015 by Toups

[ChitHappens]

Don't be shocked if ESPN kicks that final to TC.  

 

I want Pennetta to win, but I won't watch.  Not worth giving up Saturday time.  

[DramatistDreamer]

Why am I even bothering to watch this Djokovic vs. Cilic match?!  Looks like Cilic is exactly who I thought he was.  I was hoping he'd rise above against Novak for once but nope.

[ChitHappens]

Watch James Blake being attacked by a police officer over mistaken identity.  Blake is just standing there before the brutality begins:

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Oh, I saw it earlier Chit and I am disgusted that this still continues to happen.  It looks like Blake is truly going to hold the NYPD and City Hall accountable for this and from his statement, it seems that he is tying it to a larger issue of police brutality, particularly against communities of color.

 

The man who supposedly resembled Blake that they were originally looking at as a suspect, it turned out, was innocent.  

 

 

[Soapsuds]

Ha…thats what ESPN gets for taking it away from CBS. ESPN coverage this year has been dreadful. The new opening music was horrid! Why did they change it??

 

I think Pennetta will win. She has that Chris Evert vintage 80s game.

Cillic is a one hit lucky wonder. Last year was a complete fluke and so was Kei's final appearance. I don't think he will win a major. 

Both men's semifinals were a complete bore and dud. I hope Roger wins on Sunday. I just can't with Novak and him trying so hard for tennis fans to like him. Sorry he is no Roger or Rafa.

[Soapsuds]

Congrats to Flava on her big US Open win and her retirement and marriage to Fabio Fognini….a great way to go out!

[Jonathan]

Nasty NYC crowd could not stop the Djoker!  Congrats to Novak on his 10th major!

[DramatistDreamer]

As much as I like Pennetta and Vinci was charming throughout her speeches on court and in the press, I'm curious to know what the ratings were for the Women's Final.

[Jonathan]

Good question.  But did you notice that they brought out the big guns aka Robin Roberts to do the trophy presentation and post-interview?  I'm sure ESPN was thinking it was Serena that Robin was going to be interviewing.  LOL.

[DramatistDreamer]

The ratings: http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2015/09/us-open-ratings-down-djokovic-federer-vinci-penneta-espn-overnights/

 

While I do believe that the Men's & Women's Finals should be streamed and on broadcast TV, not cable, that explanation doesn't offer the full story for the ratings. 

For instance, the QFs between the Williams Sisters, which got an overnight rating of 4.8 and at the 10pm hour a 5.6, was the 2nd highest rated tennis match ever aired on ESPN and gave a huge boost to ESPN3's streaming numbers-- the highest the streaming service has ever had, at least double the numbers, something like over 600,000 on the Mobile app.

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/serena-slams-espn-all-italian-us-open-womens-final-little-known-roberta-vinci-flavia-2093717

 

This year's Men's Final did better than last year's Men's Final, which aired on CBS (for obvious reasons) but at 2.4 overnight rating, doesn't even come close to the Williamses QF match.

Edited September 15, 2015 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

I knew the women's final would be low but a 1.5? Wow that is very low. As for the men…its obvious Novak is not popular at all with viewers. He has the lowest rated finals in US Open history….his match in 2013 with Murray was one boring mess of a final. I wish Novak would stop trying to make himself happen with the fans. He is not popular and never will be. He needs to accept that. He is a boring number 1 player and he comes off very fake in his interviews and antics off the court. Until we get a more popular number 1 seed in the men's tour or an American ..the ratings for the men's side will always be low.

Btw..I am glad ESPN got low ratings for both finals minus the Williams sisters QF. They deserve it considering how bad their coverage always is. They pimp the same players every year from Novak(who know one likes) to John Isner(who is a complete failure) to Americans who haven't done squat. ESPN always shows their pets as key matches when they are the most boring ones to watch. I truly miss the coverage on CBS.