13 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

Pliskova got a bad call and she was right. Her shot was in and when she asked opponent, Sakkari, to back her up, Sakkari said she didn't see it but was gracious enough to offer to replay the point. The Chair refused. 

 

Naomi has to find her place in Tennis and stick to it. 

Clay might not be her thing, but I suppose she’s having a rough patch. She has seemed emotional after the big IW win. A lot of stress and expectations.

 

Djokovic had a comprehensive win over Basilashvili. Nikoloz clearly isn’t an elite level player but he’s a big hitter and if Novak was off, that could have been a difficult match. Glad to see him get through it. Still, I’m not counting my chickens until they are hatched, and we’ve seen Novak look unbeatable in one match only to completely collapse in the next.

 

Fognini over Thiem! I think Dominic is probably exhausted from the big run at Madrid. Last season, Fabio really challenged Nadal in a couple matches only to throw in a bunch of WTF unforced errors. We’ll see if being on home soil again could allow him to make a run.

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by Faulkner

There could be a big fine in her future.

 

 

Pliskova is MAD ! #pliskova #Sakkari #WTARome pic.twitter.com/7pT4T59KMl

— Bjoern Rietz (@bar78) May 16, 2018

Aaaaand Kei continues to thrive in three-setters with the win over Grigor. I love that guy!

25 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

There could be a big fine in her future.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s crazy that, in lieu of Hawkeye, that clay court tennis doesn’t have instant replay like many other sports. Like the ability to

review video in the event of a dispute in which there’s no mark. It’s imprecise, but it would resolve issues with egregiously bad calls like this. 

 

The full exchange with Karolina:

 

 

45 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

It’s crazy that, in lieu of Hawkeye, that clay court tennis doesn’t have instant replay like many other sports. Like the ability to

review video in the event of a dispute in which there’s no mark. It’s imprecise, but it would resolve issues with egregiously bad calls like this. 

 

The full exchange with Karolina:

 

 

Wow.....I probably have it on my dvr as I haven't seen the match. I wonder if she would get suspended? The umpire in the match was horrible. She didn't even know where the mark was and said she "thought" it was out. What horrible officiating by the umpire. She looked totally incompetent. The ball actually looked good when it landed on the court.

The call was clearly bad but Pliskova's response to it was also bad.  If there is any doubt, look at Sakkari's reaction. Pliskova's human but there's no way she should avoid a fine.

If she doesn't get a fine, then everyone else who has a similar reaction ought not to be fined either. 

When we see Nick Kyrgios' antics, nobody should say ever say a word again then. 

 

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by DramatistDreamer

She definitely deserves a fine, just like Jared Donaldson did. Actually what she did was worse. I’m seeing some people say she deserves a suspension, and that wouldn’t bother me. Adults just don’t resolve things with violence.

 

What a shameful tanking from Schwartzman.

 

Saw Venus survived a tough three-setter with Elena “HIYAAA!” Vesnina.

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by Faulkner

Maria Sharapova is just the worst. I must admit she throws good shade at times, but someone who served a lengthy suspension for a failed drug test needs to have SEVERAL seats and be humble as Kendrick Lamar said.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 16, 20188 yr by Faulkner

Doping is so classy!  
 

Garbine should avoid 3 setters at all costs!  

41 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

Doping is so classy!  
 

Garbine should avoid 3 setters at all costs!  

Oh dear. Well, let’s see if Gavrilova has enough left to take out Masha.

 

The women’s matches look good tomorrow.

 

Konta/Ostapenko 

Kasatkina/Svitolina 

Halep/Keys

Sakkari/Kerber 

Venus/Kontaveit rematch

Sloane/Garcia

Dasha/Masha

Sevastova/Wozniacki 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 20188 yr by Faulkner

Halep and Keys is probably the only one I am going to skip.  Both rare incredibly boring, especially Keys.  Not really wild about anything Wozniacki related either, but Sevastova is pretty interesting.  

23 minutes ago, ChitHappens said:

Halep and Keys is probably the only one I am going to skip.  Both rare incredibly boring, especially Keys.  Not really wild about anything Wozniacki related either, but Sevastova is pretty interesting.  

Sevastova’s perpetual cryface bugs the hell out of me, but I like how she can totally break down someone’s game under the right circumstances.

Nishikori beat the brakes off Kohlschreiber. Didn’t expect him to be so dominant in that matchup.

 

Djokovic is having trouble closing out Ramos-Vinolas. It’s sad that, if he gets over the line, he’ll have to meet Nishikori in the quarterfinals. They’ll knock the f*** out of each other, softening each other up to be easy pickings for Rafa. But somewhat encouraging signs from both.

 

Sad that Del Potro is seemingly injured. Hope he recovers for RG. 

 

The Zverev-Edmund TB looked epic. Sascha held his ground, though.

 

Meh, Sharapova. Can someone get this girl together in Serena’s absence? Not sure Ostapenko is the one to do it.

Edited May 17, 20188 yr by Faulkner

I am done with the Italian Open.....the QFs will be a snoozefest from Kei vs Joker...zzzzzzzz.....to Sasha vs Goffin....we know Sasha will finally tank and Goffin will move on......Nadal vs Fognini.....Fog only does well in his home tournament....what a waste...forget the rest of the boring QFs......I'll pass