The Tennis Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

Congratulations to Andy but the whole walkover scenario is so 2016, weird.  Raonic has a tear in his quad and people cheering about it. Er, cheer for Andy but don't cheer the circumstances. 

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[Soapsuds]

Andy being #1 is a complete joke....LOL.  He only got it because Novak stopped giving a damn about tournaments and being number 1......Andy only won 1 major while Novak still won 2......I thought the men's tour couldn't get worse with Novak at #1 but it has with Andy there now....LOL. No wonder tennis ratings are worse than the lowest soap on TV.

 

Glad Thiem qualified for the finale and Berdych....might as well give it up...he had Murray beat and once again blew it....LOL. Tomas will drop out of the top 10 after the Aussie Open in Jan ....mark my words....LOL

 

Milos is a hot mess.....he is getting injured way too much. He can not win a major like that...his body is not holding up. He has had so many injuries at important moments in his career this year.

[DramatistDreamer]

There is speculation that Rafa has had a hair transplant. In recent pictures, his head appears to be either shaved or very closely cropped and he is always wearing a hat. Someone said that it is in order to protect the scalp/hair that just received treatment. 

He had to do something-whether going bald or trying some growth stimulating treatment- and he can't take Rogaine because there are probably WADA banned growth hormones, so I'm not going to judge. Hair and the lack thereof can be a very sensitive topic.

 

[Soapsuds]

I noticed he was losing his hair. On a side note...he has now dropped to #9 in the world. Dominic Thiem has moved up to #8 with today's win in the finale championship tournament in England.  Roger Federer has dropped to #16 and will be seeded at that number in Australia. It should be interesting.

[DramatistDreamer]

@Soapsuds I think most people noticed that Rafa was losing his hair for quite some time, it was highly noticeable but the question was what, if anything, would he do about it?

 

A friend of mine joked (at least, I think he was joking) that Rafa needed to go out and buy some Rogaine but I reminded him that Rogaine probably had some type of HGH that would set off WADA's testing and cause a positive test, so I didn't see Rafa taking that route.

 

It was traveling all through social media that he had gotten some type of 'hair plugs' and wore a series of hats to protect his scalp and the new growth.  A few days ago, though, I saw a picture of him without the hat. His hair was definite short though. The lighting was too dark to see many details.

 

I clicked on the livestream to see some of the Thiem/Monfils match and knew it was going to be rough when I saw Monfils limping around- he's still injured. My guess was, it was the first time he qualified and he wasn't going to miss it. Still, it was a three set match, so the crowd got their money's worth, I think.

 

Thiem claims he's going to play the same type of heavy schedule next season and insists that his body is getting used to it, even though he went away for part of the year. A few tennis fans are shaking their heads at this.  So I guess, Thiem will play Raonic next? Supposedly Raonic might be injured but so far, he doesn't appear to be playing like it. We'll see...

[Soapsuds]

Yup, Thiem plays Raonic next. I heard about Thiem's schedule. He is crazy....LOL. I guess he really loves the sport to play that much. I have a soft spot for him after he said that US Open/summer run was his favorite since NY/USA felt like home....He should have beaten Joker the other day. I see that the Joker is playing Milos now. As for the Joker ....I wonder whats going on with him. Its like he now hates playing tennis.

[DramatistDreamer]

I wonder if Djokovic is going to yell at some ball kids today?

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 Kidding.

 

Some fans have joked that without having Roger or Rafa to beat, tennis is no fun for him. I think after he won the French, he had a letdown. He expected some big coronation and it didn't happen. Fans and non-fans pretty much view him in the light they viewed him before he won the French, not much changed.

 

I know someone who is attending this years WTF and she had tickets for the evening session but made a trade so that she could watch Monfils and Thiem in the afternoon session. Can't blame her. Djoker vs. Raonic would not be a 'must see' match for me either.

[Soapsuds]

Oye....LOL....I was watching when the commentators mentioned that he was yelling at them.....

 

Joker is no Rafa or Roger in the popularity race. That's what he has always wanted but it will never happen.

 

I'd love to see one of Thiem's matches in person. Who knows maybe one day. Raonic is just blah for me...he is worse in the popularity scale than Joker...LOL

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I just clicked onto the livestream in time to see Djokovic yelling and then reaching out for a towel.

It's happening again.

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My friend who went to London like Thiem but is a huge Monfils and Federer fan. I don't think she's going to have the best time as a fan this year though. 

This tie-break has become a bit more interesting. Wonder how long that will last. Well, at least there's no John Isner.

Damn, Milos, that was brutal.

[Soapsuds]

I am watching on and off on the Tennis Channel. Ummm...I was a Monfils fan but I just couldnt with his semi performance against Joker in the US Open...it was downright awful.

 

John Isner...eh....he had one good week and now poof he is back in the top 20 and America's number 1 male again...pfft....doesnt mean much though......LOL .  And of course his ex coach who shall not be mentioned came running in to call his matches....so much blah......LOL

[DramatistDreamer]

Monfils admitted that he tried a different tactic and it only worked for awhile and not overall. Personally, I think people made a big fuss over it for nothing. Arthur Ashe junkballed Jimmy Connors and won Wimbledon. Ashe admitted that it wasn't his normal game but he had to do something new that would bother Connors. He and friends sat down the night before the match and discussed strategy. It may not have seemed like it but Monfils also talked to his coaches about strategy--probably to rattle Nolé was at the top of the list.

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 Had Monfils won, people might have thought differently, as it was he only one a set. Whatever, when asked what player he enjoys watching the most and what player he'd like to coach if her weren't playing himself, Novak immediately said Gael Monfils.

 

I really couldn't stand John McEnroe calling Monfils unprofessional. McEnroe, a man who smoked weed and snorted coke during his career, got defaulted for verbal and racquet abuse then proceeded to turn over a TV camera in retaliation and was defaulted from the Australian Open had the temerity to call anyone unprofessional. Just. stop.

 

Isner and Harrison are Trump acololytes, I cannot abide either one of them. I'm hoping that the younger generation of ATP American tennis players brush them both aside like dust. I hope Isner and Harrison get beaten consistently by everyone, TBH.

 

 

Looks like Milos is going away in this match. Same old dynamic as always when he plays Novak.

 

ETA. If Milos is going to make a stand, he needs to just go on ahead and do it and stop messing around.

 

Is this actually making news in Spain??

 

Edited November 15, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

Not surprised Isner voted for Trump. Sad about Harrison....The one I see voting for Trump too is Sock. The guy is full of hate. His twitter feeds are proof.....

 

Milos sucks.....he only has a serve and forehand at times...he cant run.....he cant volley and his backhand is awful. And lately he has been injured a lot. He looks like the jolly green giant when running around the court....LOL

 

Whats happening in Spain??

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Rafa's hair apparently. Everyone seems to have an opinion about his new haircut. These folks who are complaining-- what did they expect him to do, wear a bad comb over and a bandana forever? 

 

I think Sock as well as CoCo Vandeweghe are also Trumpers. I'm not a big Sloane Stephens fan but I'm glad she dumped Jack's ass.

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I thought Milos and Novak were friendly. Why are they both being so testy in this match??

[Soapsuds]

What?? Sloane was dating Jack?

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Milos thinks he can win a major and Novak is just pissed that no one loves him....LOL...thus the testy.....LOLOLOL

[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

Yeah, they once dated a couple years back but it seems like forever ago now.

 

Both Novak and Milos are taking turns barking at their boxes. It's hilarious! Not sure where it comes from but it might be a Baltic thing.

I sometimes get the impression that Raonic is the younger tennis brother that Novak never wanted.