The Tennis Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

Okay, so it’s not just me who found this year’s women’s final a bit anti-climactic? The level of play started out decent in the first few games of the opening set but proceeded to taper off from there. I expected nerves and bouts of sloppy play to factor into the match but it never ended. There were moments where Ons played well and there were moments when Rybakina hit some powerful shots but never the ‘twain met. Considering how poor Rybakina’s volleys are, it really is a credit to her ball striking and Ons’ sense of panic that Rybakina could manage to win a tournament where properly executed volleys used to be a must in order to win. Rybakina has a subpar net game and little to no good volleys and still won the title. That must give Karolina Pliskova some hope.
 

And yes, a Russian did manage to win the tournament as Rybakina is one of those players who changed nationality for expediency and money. I mean, it’s something that athletes often do in sports, not just tennis but I never expect there to be much introspection about it, nevermind an honest conversation about it. 

[Fevuh]

Ons is likely kicking herself at the best chance she will get to win a slam anytime soon. I think Swiatek’s tourney was a minor burp, and even a head case Osaka will be back, toss in some stumbling blocks like Gauff, Anisimova, Collins, Pegula, Kenin, and even Sloan and Madison….(can’t believe I named so many Americans - but all of these can be solid stumbling blocks) along with Rogers - and there are all kinds of people that can get in the way of this trip again. I felt like Ons even played smart at times and just lost it.  “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts oh what a party we’d have”

[Soapsuds]

Wimbledon was doomed to fail with so much behind scenes mess. The banning of Russians and Belarus players. Some players just skipping Wimbledon. Others not playing in protest. The draw would've been so much better with those players in it. No way in hell would all those American male rejects done so well. Add Cam Norrie too. He had never made it past a three round in a major. His draw was so easy although Goffin should've beaten him in the quarters.

The ratings are up but as the article says probably because coverage was live again on broadcast tv.

Wimbledon viewership up big as live play returns to broadcast television

Coverage of Wimbledon was averaging 619,000 viewers through Monday, up 41% from last year. Keep in mind ABC aired six hours of coverage over the weekend, the first time live Wimbledon play has aired on broadcast television since NBC last held rights in 2011. ABC averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.49 million viewers on Saturday and a 1.05 and 1.73 million on Sunday, the two most-watched windows of the tournament.

ESPN’s coverage on Monday — a national holiday — averaged 1.04 million. Per ESPN, that marks a 130% increase over the equivalent day last year. Additional coverage on ESPN2 averaged 220,000.

Quarterfinal coverage averaged 678,000 on ESPN Tuesday and 863,000 on Wednesday, with ESPN2 chipping in 198,000 and 160,000 respectively. Those figures are not included in the tournament average mentioned above.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

@Soapsuds, I definitely think greater accessibility had everything to do with the rise in ratings. I usually watch via ESPN3 that comes with my ISP and in previous years I wouldn’t get to stream the SFs or Finals on that platform but this year, I watched on ESPN3’s Spanish language stream, which had me giggling

Please register in order to view this content

(one commenator exclaimed “¡Muchas faltas!” at the sheer volume of Rybakina’s faults and errors in the first set) but in previous years, I wouldn’t have been able to get in. 

On grass, the better athlete is usually going to win, as would the bigger hitter, unless they make frequent errors (a la Madison Keys under pressure). It looked that way at first for Rybakina but once she got her errors under control and was hitting freely and confidently, it was over for Ons, who had no weapons to really hurt her. Ons would have needed to continue mixing up her shots with no recognizable patterns for Elena to pick up on (a challenge under pressure for a first time finalist) and hope that Elena wouldn’t improve her strokes during the match. Whereas Rybakina’s game is much simpler (“see ball, hit ball…hard!”) and all she really needed to do is hit the ball hard and fast away from Ons without the numerous errors that she made in the first set. She could overpower Ons. If this were clay, it would be a different story as the speed of Rybakina’s strokes would be somewhat muted on the dirt. Ons did indeed squander a few opportunities that she had to get back on serve in the second and third sets but she had very few opportunities to do that once Rybakina began to get her shots flowing. Maybe Ons could have hit more balls at Elena’s feet to see whether she could adjust with her height? Although, eventually you’d think even that Elena would adjust to. I do think that Ons felt she was out of options and panicked, hitting the same drop shots over and over.

[Soapsuds]

I just can't watch it in Spanish. Did any of the commentators call any player pendeja?

[DramatistDreamer]

I did feel badly for Ons, especially the fact that her parents couldn’t even get visas in time to be there to watch her match in person. People were hissing at the Tunisian embassy on social media in response to a good luck tweet they sent to Ons this morning.

[ChitHappens]

Ons had no plan B and it cost her the match.  

[DramatistDreamer]

Neither does Rybakina from the looks of her game but she is stronger and more aggressive and could really hurt Ons with her stroke production, whereas Ons doesn’t really have much to hurt Rybakina on grass. Guile can only take you so far when your opponent can blow you off the court with her shots. She could have tried to rush Elena but Elena doesn’t have to be as fast because the grass is slower than it used to be and Rybakina has long limbs. Ons would have to keep tricking Elena, with new shots every point—sounds exhausting and not really a successful strategy Ons grass court.

Edit: on a grass court.

[I Am A Swede]

It was obvious she had run out of ideas at the end when she used the drop-shot in almost every rally.

[DramatistDreamer]

And in the run up to the Ladies Singles final yesterday, Hantuchova very astutely noted that sometimes when Ons gets frazzled, she has a tendency to rely too much on her drop shot and it becomes predictable. Maybe Rybakina’s coaches were listening to that broadcast, lol. In any case, by the second set, Rybakina was able to anticipate most of those drop shots and use her long legs to get to and make plays on them.

[Toups]

First time watching Nick play, he needs support from his box after every point?  “Say something!!”  He has a lot of talent but is such a needy child.  I bet on Nick winning in the 5th set, so I hope he doesn’t totally unravel. 

[Toups]

I keep forgetting to bet on Novak to win after he loses the first set.  This always happens in the finals. lol 

[Soapsuds]

Novak blah

Spreading Covid and unvaccinated!!

Glad we won't see him in a major until the French.

I truly hate this guy.

[I Am A Swede]

It was an odd feeling watching a final in which you actively wants both players to lose..... 

Please register in order to view this content

I've never liked Djokovic, and Kyrgios is such a brat.

[Toups]

I disagree with Novak's vaccine stance, but he's a lot more watchable/likeable than Nick.  I bet on Nick to win but I found myself not wanting him to win.  I don't mind the occasional outburst, but he literally had outbursts the entire match, almost after every point. And the way he talked to his own box, like they were doing something wrong.  I've never seen that before.  I pretty much just watch the later rounds, so I hope Nick loses in early in future grand slams so I won't have to watch him again.  He's a talented guy but I don't want to be shouting "shut up man!" for a couple hours. LOL