The Tennis Thread

[Soapsuds]

Lundgren is coaching one of the new male stars…I forget which one.  You know its bad when Lendl goes back to Murray and doesn't give you a call saying hey I am available again….LOL. I have a feeling a lot of people on the tour and off the tour agree with McEnroe when he said that Berdych doesn't really want it that bad. Once again today he lost a match to Baggy which he should have beaten. He is still at #8 in the world but if Raonic does well in the tune up to Wimbledon he will overtake him and Berdych will drop to number 9. With 3 to 4 other guys real close in points to him …Berdych could drop out of the top 10 just like Ferrer did. I don't see Ferrer returning to the top 10. The guys ahead are younger and just too good. 

 

And Grigor lost another first round match today….sigh….so much promise wasted…..

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

I remember when Murray, after a win, wrote on the camera lens "Marriage Works" well some have been looking at Berdych and joking that "Marriage Doesn't Work" for everybody.  Speaking of marriages that don't work, apparently there are reports that Feliciano Lopez's marriage is coming to an end slightly less than a year after he tied the knot.  I'm not sure what to say about this.

 

Grigor may be losing every match in town but I saw recently new pictures of him and Nicole Scherzinger wrapped around each other so perhaps his heart is still elsewhere?  I saw a few clips of Baghdatis vs. Berdych and Marcos is looking very trim!  It would be nice if he could keep his current state of fitness.  I'd sooner believe in the possibility of Berdych losing to Baghdatis than of Dimitrov losing to Janko Tipsarevic!  For what it's worth, Stan lost too, to Fernando Verdasco-- make of that what you will!

Edited June 14, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

I am just surprised that Berdych got rid of DV so fast….considering how long he had lasted with his previous and only coach. And him wearing his wedding ring when he wasn't before looks odd…….As for Feliciano …I am sure Judy Murray is doing cartwheels at the news….LOL…and so is every gay male who watches tennis…..LOL.

 

Grigor has had more gf's…than wins on the tour lately…..LOL…..He can't have both….he is a player that can't have the females around him and concentrate on tennis….it really is a shame that he isn't giving it 100% in getting his game back on track. Stan has never been good in grass…he looks funny playing on grass…so not surprised that Fernando won….I saw the match and Fernando played well. 

[DramatistDreamer]

I'm not surprised that Verdasco won either, but it's funny that it comes on the heels of Stan hiring Richard Krajicek to help him on grass.  I guess Richard can't work miracles.

 

Milos also hired John McEnroe to help his grass court game.  It may be too soon to see any results but he struggled against Kyrgios in his match today.  The match was suspended due to darkness with he and Nick splitting sets.

 

Muguruza (last year's Wimbledon finalist) lost her first round match at the inaugural Mallorca Open, a grass court tournament on her home soil of Spain.  I have a feeling that she may pull an Angie Kerber and disappear (results wise) for several weeks after winning her maiden major title at the French.

[Soapsuds]

Thiem wins again!

 

Sasha wins too and moves to #34 in the rankings past Grigor who continues to drop and is now at #38.

Looks like Kei is injured again. I don't see him winning a major anymore. I think Thiem will pass him in the ratings by the end of the summer.

 

Can Justin Gimelstob STFU?? He was commentating on John Isner's match and still acts like he is his coach…..then he was saying John had the best shot in tennis which was his serve….Mary Carillo shut him down….LOL….said his return wasn't  very good and thus why Serena is better than him and John's lack of success….LOL…..Justin made some comment how Serena's serve wasn't as good as John's…..

Edited June 15, 2016 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

Serena doesn't need her serve to be as good or better than John's serve- she's successful at what she does in her field, John is not.  I would actually posit that Karlovic is a better mover than Isner, especially laterally- they both have pretty poor return games though.

 

I only saw a few minutes of Kei's match yesterday and most of it was him with the trainer so I'm not surprised.  In fact, I'm surprised when Kei can get through the latter stages of a tournament healthy!

 

Yes, I heard Thiem won again, is this is 30-something victory in a row?  He has transitioned to grace very nicely.  I've heard people expressing that their only concern is that he might play too much a la Pliskova and be too weary when the big tournaments come but he did very well at the French and he seems healthy.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Belinda Bencic seems retired from her match today, it looks like she may still be having back issues.  She's so young to be having these types of problems.

 

I admit, it's kinda mean but I laughed when I saw this

Edited June 15, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

Im glad Co Co won. I can't stand Aga's game….it is horrible.  How she is ranked in top 5 is beyond me…she was on her way out of the top 20 a year ago which IMO is where she should be with the tennis game she has.

[DramatistDreamer]

I have to come clean and admit, I'm not really a fan of Aga, period.  I think she was playing well enough (and a lot) when others were injured and/or stagnant in their games (or in the case of other players, inconsistent).  I'm not even sure how she keeps getting the WTA fan favorite vote year after year.  

 

CoCo has been very confident lately and she just won a tournament in the Netherlands on grass.  I only saw a few points of her match vs. Aga here and there but it seems like she really exposed Aga's weaknesses and her lack of power, also it was Aga's first tournament back so it was the worst of all possible of scenarios to face someone like CoCo with a big serve and brimming with confidence.  

Sometimes Aga is able to frustrate opponents simply by getting as many balls back as possible and slicing her opponents to death but CoCo wasn't having any of it!  CoCo played with aggression, not allowing Aga to play her usual cat and mouse game.

Edited June 15, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

Justin Gimelstob went on and on again at how great John Isner played today. Mary mentioned how Justin was still heavily involved in his game even though he wasn't his coach anymore.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Mary Carillo is saying what everybody's already thinking.  Why TC allows Gimelstob to comment on Isner matches is beyond me, I know he no longer coaches but maybe give him a cooling off period- then again, I don't expect TC to do what it has never done when he was Isner's coach, which would've been to avoid conflicts of interest, something tennis revels in. 

 

Both CoCo and Thiem lost.  I was actually looking forward to seeing Thiem vs. Zverev.  I was equally looking forward to Keys vs. CoCo. 

[Soapsuds]

Coco had a meltdown of pure exhaustion. Thiem also ran out of gas and you could tell. I hope Zverev wins!  If he does he will be ranked #24 in the world. Right now he is #28..up 10 spots from last week!

[Soapsuds]

And Roger looked very slow in his match today. I don't see him winning another major. I actually think he should retire..

[DramatistDreamer]

You may not like this @Soapsuds, but Thiem is already in Mallorca, playing in an exhibition.  Personally, I think he should be resting but I think that exo money can be hard to resist.  Hopefully Thiem doesn't head down that Primrose Pliskova path of overplaying.

[DramatistDreamer]

Dani Vallverdu is now working with Juan Martín del Potro.  That could be a good fit.

 

@Soapsuds, I thought you might like to see this:

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

Thats some interesting news with Del Po and DV. I can't wait to see them at matches. I thought Grigor should have picked him up as his new coach. And yes so some Thiem with Serena. The Wimbledon draw is out and Thiem has a nice draw and so does Berdych Ironically…LOL….they could both meet in the 4th round. And again which I don't like but Wimbledon seeded the players differently. They did not go by the rankings system. They have Gasquet seeded higher than Thiem and Berdych even tough Thiem won a grass court tournament. I haven't seen the female draw yet. Tennis Channel will have an hour special tonight on the draw.