The Tennis Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

...Aaaannnd, Stan is flopping.

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[Soapsuds]

And again ESPN is pimping the rope a dope match between Murray and Joker...yawn....same old [!@#$%^&*]..promoting a match that don't bring in the ratings.

[DramatistDreamer]

That's sad @Soapsuds

 

Speaking of pathetic,

The U.S. Davis Cup team is having their next tie versus Switzerland in Alabama. Gosh, talk about Trump country. Well, Isner should feel right at home. 

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[Soapsuds]

And they will probably lose again like they did with Croatia....LOL

[DramatistDreamer]

 

LMAO.

[DramatistDreamer]

Rafa and his hair from another angle.

 

[DramatistDreamer]

I'm nodding off during this Murray/Raonic match.

[Faulkner]

Well, that was embarrassing for Kei. For a top player who can be so dangerous, he sure can tank big matches.

 

 I'm one of those rare Nole fans, so I'm happy with the result. Murray looked vulnerable against Raonic (who really should have won today), so it'll be interesting to see what level he brings against Djokovic tomorrow.

[DramatistDreamer]

Almost nothing has been interesting about this year's WTF.

 

A friend of mine who is attending tells me the scheduling has been an utter mess. Kei looked spent today and seemed to have nothing to offer.

 

We had Murray playing some loooonnng matches (including one against Kei days ago) and Djokovic with a quickie match today.  

I'm not sure I'm going to watch the final because I think the result is going to be predictable and I'm just not that interested in another Murray/Djokovic encounter.

@Faulkner No problem, you should always feel good about rooting for your fave. Not everyone will agree but we all have our favorites. I can respect that.

Edited November 20, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[DramatistDreamer]

I have been watching this match. Murray looks the more focused, he wants to win in straight sets, probably because he has spent more time on court and realizes the danger of going into a 3 set match against Djokovic, who looks surprisingly lackluster. I didn't expect that. I thought Djokovic would be raring to go considering he didn't spend much time on court but he looks flat and is playing flat, so far.

Edited November 20, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

The match was boring as usual. I didn't see most of it but what I saw describes your post. Novak looked like he didn't give one damn if he won or not. His game has gone downhill since Paris and he doesn't seem to care. I do believe it's because Rafa and Roger have been pretty much nonexistent this year. He has no one to really spark his fire. I am sure he knows in his heart that Murray is just rope a dope tennis when he plays him.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Unless someone brand new emerges out of nowhere, this is bad news for the ATP Tour. Roger and Rafa are not going to be around forever and none of these other guys are currently stepping up. 

 

During the Djokovic/Nishikori match someone literally shouted out "I miss you Roger!"

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 Some people may be tired of Roger and Rafa but they sell tickets. I was told that there were still some empty seats (though I couldn't tell on TV) whereas the last few years they were sold out.  In a city where Murray is the hometown hero.

[Soapsuds]

Roger does bring in the crowd. Too bad I missed the fan that yelled that out about him. Murray being number 1 and winning the season finale tourney makes tennis future even more bleak. Murray is such a boring player to watch....even worse than Joker.  Tennis is in bad shape and the future doesn't look promising.

Edited November 21, 2016 by Soapsuds

[ChitHappens]

Both #1s dethroned by boring players. WTA is in just as much trouble. American tennis needs a phenom and fast!  

[DramatistDreamer]

American tennis, I think is a separate issue from the health of the WTA though.  In the era of Steffi and Monica tennis was big as well. Yes, it would be nice is Vicki Duval could be healthy and playing to her potential or if Taylor Townsend could get her life together (Taylor could have big marketing potential also) but someone like a Naomi Osaka (who just needs a little more self belief and consistency in big matches) has also proved very popular on a global level.

Viktoria Azarenka was never the most popular player but I bet when she returns from maternity leave, her popularity will increase.

As much as I don't like Sharapova, she does have a lot of fan/media interest and Serena does love to play her.

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Of course the Williams Sisters don't even need to be anyhwere near a tennis court to generate interest.

 

Both the ATP and WTA have done a terrible job of harnessing the interest in their players. They got lucky with the likes of Venus and Serena and Roger and Rafa. Monfils is popular but they call him names and he wavers between wanting to quit the game and wanting to fulfill his potential but if you asked him the % in terms of how much he enjoys tennis, I wouldn't be surprised if it is as low as Nick Kyrgios' assessment.

 

I think the WTA really just needs to help their players stay healthy and some of those interesting players will rise. The ATP needs to figure out a way to have a balance between letting their most dynamic players show their personalities without it getting out of control. You don't want another John McEnroe or Ilie Nastase but you don't want to squash people's personalities and identities.

 

The American players on the ATP side need to develop a way of playing tennis that incorporates something other than serve and forehand. I'm hoping that Tiafoe, Mmoh and Fritz will not be afraid to develop a wider array of shots into their repertoire than the group that came before them.

Edited November 21, 2016 by DramatistDreamer