The Tennis Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

@SoapsudsI saw it on the livestream so I get to bypass TC with their incestuous coverage.  I only saw it once and that was enough for me.

I saw a clip of Johnson that someone retweeted, so I only saw it once in that case too.  

 

I'm one of those people who don't mind streaming. I hook up the laptop to TV with a HDMI cable when I want to see it on a bigger screen but my gaming laptop already has a 18.4 inch screen, so I don't think I'm sacrificing much screen space.

The World Feed is not too bad (although you always get the occasional buffoon) especially since there are many matches that don't have commentary.

 

Unfortunately, TC may soon become the only (legal) game in town where tennis is concerned in the U.S.  

Have you visited ESPN's tennis page lately?  Last time I looked, I was half-expecting tumbleweed to roll through the screen.  Even ESPNtennis Twitter page is missing!

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ESPN may stream the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year but for everything else, it's not looking great.

Edited June 1, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

That's cause the tennis media continues to pimp all the wrong players. They insist on the big four when there wasn't one. When's the last time they have interviewed Thiem or Sasha at a major? Instead it the tired and true ....the sh i tty American males.....Andy Murray who is boring to watch play and interview.......TC hasn't even covered a full set of Thiem's matches yet they can show Johnson's matches who hasn't done squat on clay because his father passed so he is great for playing.....he shouldn't be out there....its been only two weeks since his dad passed. I lost two dear loved ones and its been a year and I still haven't forgotten the loss. Tennis wouldn't be in my thoughts at two weeks..I found it in poor taste for TC to interview him after his win when he was in no shape to do one. He was sobbing through the whole thing.

 

On a side note the ratings for the men's final at the Aussie Open were up....and we know who played....Roger and Rafa...two favorites.....the media needs to focus on them....not Murray and Nole(who continues to try to be relevant to fans.....with his heart foolishness towards the crowd.

 

Stan just finished and I don't think the match was even covered....lord the coverage from TC has been bad.......but there's Murray front and center boring the tennis fans.....

[DramatistDreamer]

@SoapsudsWell TBH, ESPN has lost a lot of subscribers in the last two years due to cord-cutting.  Many people discovered that ESPN was driving up subscriber fees over the past decade because they demand more cents on the dollar per subscriber than any other network on cable TV.

ESPN has also recently fired a lot of its on-air personalities in a cost-saving manuever.  Also, to be perfectly candid, tennis is small potatoes to the likes of ESPN since it still continues to be a niche sport.  

 

Despite their previous pronouncements of being an 'All Sports Network' and 'Home of the Grand Slams', at this point ESPN would much rather invest in NBA, NFL and even Golf than tennis, as tennis is least likely to give them a big return on their investment.

 

I expect that ESPN will gradually be cutting their losses where tennis is concerned.  With the exception of perhaps Wimbledon and the U.S., maybe the Australian if the risk is minimal- (I mean where else are they going to get a healthy ratings share at 3 am?), perhaps an exhibition or two, I see ESPN's involvement in tennis as pretty minimal compared to what it used to be in the past (no more WTA/ATP Tour tournaments).

[ChitHappens]

Poor Nico Almagro.  Did you guys see that?  His knee was acting up again and he had to retire.  His time may be up.  He bends over for an extended period of time, lays on his back and then begins to bawl like a baby.  Delpo went across the net to comfort him.  

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Yeah both @Soapsuds and I were discussing this on the previous page earlier today.  I said that it was pretty difficult to watch that all unfold.

[Soapsuds]

Joker is self destructing again.....

[I Am A Swede]

 

 

It's really a sad situation all around. Margaret Court was obviously a great tennis player, but the things she has said are horrific.

I agree with what Martina Navratilova said:

Navratilova described Court's actions as "bullying" and said sporting venues are named after athletes for "who they are as human beings" and "not just for what this person did on the field".

"The platform people like Margaret Court use needs to be made smaller, not bigger," she said.

Navratilova believes the Margaret Court Arena should be renamed after Evonne Goolagong, a 14-time Grand Slam winner of Australian Aboriginal descent.

"I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it," she added. "Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level."

[Soapsuds]

Andy Murray has also said if the name is not changed he will boycott the Australian Open next year.

[Fevuh]

I wonder what people's thoughts are about Serena returning after the baby?  I've actually wondered if she will be able to do it with any success.  Evonne Goolagong was one...and Kim Clijsters I believe returned but I don't know if she won anything.  I don't remember. 

 

Getting the weight off is a bigger issue than people think, even if you don't have anything to do but train and diet.  And it's when...after the baby is 6 months, do you wait a year?  And you never know - will tennis just become secondary afterwards.  I think she'll have the will but it will be interesting to see what her stamina is, and maybe even if - she just gets in marginal shape but just plays anyway and plays herself into shape.  Even if she's marginal she'll still be better than 75% of the players out there. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Speaking of Goolagong, I see that there is a petition going around to rename MCA after Goolagong. I love this idea! Goolagong may not have the load of titles but she was a trailblazer in many ways and has continued to do outreach to indigenous and marginalized people to this day!

 

Sometimes when you are taking measure of an athlete, you have to consider impact and not just the amount of big titles and on court wins before making an endowment of such magnitude as naming an entire arena after someone.

 

 

 

Clijsters won at least one major title, U.S. Open, after returning from maternity leave/retirement. She was also in her twenties.  If anyone can defy the odds, it would be Serena.

Edited June 2, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[I Am A Swede]

 

 

Margaret Court, who's been mentioned recently for less flattering reasons, had her first child in 1972, and came back to win another 9 Grand Slam titles after that. 3 in singles, 4 in doubles and 2 in mixed doubles. She even won two of them (one mixed doubles and one doubles) after having her second child in 1974.

With all the controversy surrounding her now, it's perhaps easy to overlook her remarkable achievements, but one cannot deny that she was/is one of the greatest tennis players ever.

 

Edited June 2, 2017 by I Am A Swede

[Soapsuds]

So the NBC crew isn't giving Thiem a chance to win the tourney much less beat Novak. When asked who he would not want to face in the semis(who he was afraid of playing) Nadal said Thiem and not Joker. To which John McEnroe implied/said that Nadal probably tanked his match against Thiem because he was afraid to go undefeated into Paris. WTF? John McEnroe is full of sh!t!  Nadal was probably tired too and didn't want to be bothered playing both Thiem and Novak.

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Thiem has been the second best on clay this year behind Rafa. He also hasn't lost a set and yet they are still pooping all over him. He hasn't even gotten barely any coverage by NBC or TC. This has been the worse coverage of The French Open by TC.

[DramatistDreamer]

I don't always agree with him but I can't disagree with McEnroe's comments here. Not to disaparage Court's achievements but the majority of her Australian Open titles were won when very few of the top players actually showed up to play there because they thought it too far to travel.

 

Edited June 4, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

I find it odd John would slam her after he and his brother giggled(not in a good way) liked two girls after Dimitrov kissed another guy on court.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Thankfully, I don't have to hear commentary from the McEnroe brothers, so I didn't hear that.

 

Kind of interesting that he chided those who commented about DelPo and Almagro (were people actually criticizing this??

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 ) embracing and DelPo comforting Almagro.

Did McEnroe say anything about the kiss between Monfils and Gasquet? 

Edited June 4, 2017 by DramatistDreamer