http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/5/1/11550064/tennis-player-forfeits-game-after-destroying-3-racquets-in-fit-of-rage

 

Townsend should be in the big leagues not playing ITF tourneys….

I agree but she had lost a lot of confidence and she has to rebuild it somewhere.  I'd prefer her rebuilding her confidence on the ITF circuit than to be playing on the WTA tour, chalking up loss after loss and losing her confidence piece by piece.

 

I remember when Agassi in his late 20s, returned to pro-tennis after a long layoff (and a significant ranking drop) and was playing Challenger tournaments to rebuild his game.  Kind of makes sense.  Townsend has a very versatile, effortless game but she's not exactly a power player so she can't really hit her way through opponents and gain confidence the way the Williams Sisters did at her age.

Del Potro beats Thiem 7-6, 6-3 in Madrid.  Del Po was very emotional afterwards- he knows what a good, tough opponent Thiem is so for him, I'd guess, this win is the best gauge of how far he has come since his return.

Edited May 3, 20169 yr by DramatistDreamer

Del Potro beats Thiem 7-6, 6-3 in Madrid.  Del Po was very emotional afterwards- he knows what a good, tough opponent Thiem is so for him, I'd guess, this win is the best gauge of how far he has come since his return.

I saw the last set of the match. It was a good win. I am sure Thiem is exhausted from all the tennis. I like both players. In other news Grigor lost in the first round…ouch….he is now out of the top 30….yikes…he needs to fire his coach …he has gone further downhill with Davin as his coach. The guy has so much talent and its being wasted.

Tennis, like Grigor has had some rough patches this year:

 

French Tennis Federation Offices Raided by Investigators

 

Another day, another tennis scandal, tennis 2016 is too much!

Edited May 3, 20169 yr by DramatistDreamer

Grigor's complete meltdown….

 

Edited May 3, 20169 yr by Soapsuds

Jack Sock….shakes head …another meltdown…he should've not lost that match…..

Sam Q. up 4-1…was shocked….but knew that Rafa would come back and Sam would crumble….typical American male tennis….failure

Surprised Berdych beat Ferrer….Berdych should always beat him since he has the bigger game but usually doesn't so it was a surprise he beat him….good for him. I guess he realizes he better get moving or he will drop out of the top 10….LOL

And yesterday….Madison Keys….oye…..again failure…she should be heading towards the finals…..I don't get why she can't put it together and now she has another new coach. Although I thought Levine was an awful coach.

Thomas Hogstedt, who used to be Sharapova's coach at one time, coaches Keys.  I never got the notion that Levine was longterm- it all seemed so casual.  Keys, I'm not sure how much to expect from her on clay, she can get to balls but doesn't have the best footwork.  Speaking of Sharapova, she sharpened her footwork a great deal because she used to be the least likely to win on clay (even describing herself as a 'cow on ice') but then she really improved her footwork mid-career, so maybe somewhere in the future Keys will improve her footwork so that she can be a future contender on red clay.

 

One British journalist remarked that he thought that Grigor Dimitrov was in a dark emotional place and his meltdown in Istanbul was actually a cry for help.  

 

I think everyone was shocked that Sam Querrey got off to such a quick start but we all knew the tide would turn and it was only a question of 'when' not if it would happen.

Berdych seems like he's standing still, which in Men's tennis means that he's actually regressing.  I say that because I saw the score from his match against Murray and his matchup against Murray seems to tilt more and more heavily in Murray's favor, maybe because Vallverdu, who used to be in Murray's camp and now is in Berdych's camp, gives Murray some type of extra motivation.  And they had that run in last year, I remember where Murray got ticked by something Berdych said under his breath (but loud enough for Murray to hear).

 

One British journalist remarked that he thought that Grigor Dimitrov was in a dark emotional place and his meltdown in Istanbul was actually a cry for help.  

 

 

I hope he turns it around somehow. I don't think he can have a glamorous life with his famous females and be a great tennis player. I really think thats part of the problem no matter how hard he works at being the best. He has now dropped to #35 in the world…..http://live-tennis.eu

First Round Italian Open starting on Monday…Alexander Zverev vs Grigor Dimitrov …winner to play Roger in 2nd round….

There are some terribly tough 1st round matches.  The Italian Open draw is a clusterf*ck from several quarters.

The tournament actually starts tomorrow…I hate that because it won't be televised on TV unless ESPN3 has it?

The tournament actually starts tomorrow…I hate that because it won't be televised on TV unless ESPN3 has it?

 

ESPN3's coverage has been getting worse.  Madrid-they only covered women's matches through the Quaterfinals.  The Italian Open, again only Women's matches and from what I see on the schedule coverage begins even later than in Madrid-on Wednesday!

 

I wish Internet providers would do deals with Tennis TV for streaming and just forget about the networks, they're just useless, especially ESPN!

Well day one of the Italian over….started a day sooner…instead of Monday…just dumb IMO and all American male tennis players gone..not surprised…Johnson lost….Sam Q lost…only one left is Jack Sock but I am sure he will lose tomorrow….LOL.

 

Joker beats Murray in 3 in Madrid…but I don't think Joker played that great IMO...

Yeah, the U.S. men haven't really done that well on clay since the days of Jim Courier, Michael Chang and Andre Agassi in the 80s and 90s.  It usually been the U.S. women at least winning titles and making the clay court record looks respectacle.

 

Speaking of a nation not doing well, the Italians are being dispatched really quickly.  Mostly qualifiers and wildcards on the Men's side but already Sara Errani is out on the Women's side, bageled by Heather Watson in the 3rd set.  The commentator wondered whether this might've been Errani's last singles match in the Foro Italico, as she has mentioned that this may be her last year.

 

In tennis breakup news, Andy Murray has split from Amelie Mauresmo.