The Tennis Thread

[Faulkner]

Interesting R2 matches:

 

Djokovic/Tsonga

Karlovic/Nishikori 

A. Zverev/Chardy

Wawrinka/Raonic

Coric/Fucsovics 

Cilic/McDonald

Nishioka/Khachanov 

Monfils/Fritz

Anderson/Tiafoe

Dimitrov/Cuevas

Berdych/Haase

Nadal/Ebden

 

Halep/Kenin

V. Williams/Cornet

S. Williams/Bouchard 

Konta/Muguruza 

Siegemund/Hsieh

Andreescu/Sevastova

Bencic/Putintseva 

Tsurenko/Anisimova

Boulter/Sabalenka 

Barty/Wang

Stephens/Babos 

Vondrousova/Martic 

Kontaveit/Sasnovich

Pavlyuchenkova/Bertens

Collins/Vickery

Vekic/Birrell 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2019 by Faulkner

[Soapsuds]

I loathe ESPN. They didn't even bother to stay on air to cover Thiem's match.

[Fevuh]

Not that it bothered me that much because I don't like Kyrgios...but what a rotten early opponent/match to run into.  Has he fallen that far down to run into Raonic this early?  I kind of only follow the slams and a couple of other major tournaments during the year.   

[Faulkner]

It’s the vicious cycle: they don’t get ratings for the non-superstars, but you can’t create superstars when viewers don’t see lesser-known players. 

Indeed he has. He doesn’t seem to enjoy tennis so I don’t know why he bothers. It may just be the only thing he’s good at.

[Faulkner]

 

[Soapsuds]

Huh? The two matches that involved Thiem last year where higher rated than some of their pets. Has ESPN already forgotten the buzz Thiem got at the US Open last year? With everyone asking who he was. ESPN finally gushed over Thiem during that final week and poof now its all gone. This is why tennis will never grow. ESPN is hell bent on featuring the shitty male Americans who suck and those that are retiring in a few years and others who are so boring to watch yet they get on. 

Thiem has won the Acapulco tournament. But the tournament isn't my favorite and neither is the coverage. I am surprised both are skipping it. Maybe Juan and Thiem finally realized they have to cut some tournaments out. JM will lose a lot of points though and Thiem is probably eyeing IW and Miami where he only has 25 total points to defend from last year so he should gain lots of points and rise in the rankings. I know Thiem plays two clay court tournaments after the Australian Open.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Soapsuds

[Faulkner]

They didn’t even show the Azarenka match, which was very tight in the first set, and she’s a two-time champ who has somewhat of a profile here (sponsorships) and a compelling narrative (her custody struggles). Instead they showed a Zverev blowout over Bedene. They have gone all in on Federer (first and foremost), Nadal, Serena, and Maria (still), with a few scraps for players like Novak, Venus, Wozniacki, Halep, and a handful of Americans with limited skill sets. Sascha and Naomi are the only non-U.S. up-and-comers they pay any attention to.

[ChitHappens]

Unless it's Serena, the men's matches will always trump just about all of the ladies matches.  They will have 2 male unknowns on your tv while a Venus, Halep, Mugu, SLOWne, etc update scrolls at the bottom of the screen.  

[Soapsuds]

And I lost count on how many times the ESPN panel talked about Andy's retirement....Lawd please make it stop! Wasted so much time on it while live matches were going on. Just terrible!

[Soapsuds]

Not a minute into their broadcast and Tennis Channel saysssssssss.....coming up a look at the great US males who have advanced to the next round and we are all hot and bothered over them and were are talking about them today....blah.....awful.....surprised they mentioned Tsitsipas. ESPN has all but forgotten about him too after his Canadian run. 

Edited January 15, 2019 by Soapsuds

[Faulkner]

I think tennis screwed themselves. They haven’t positioned themselves well for the future, overinvested in Federer über alles, and they now have to create Olympics-style sob-story melodrama to make it all relevant to a dwindling number of casual fans. The game itself isn’t cutting it, so they barely show it. I was pissed there was no way to (legally) watch the Azarenka/Siegemund match.

 

Serena is the only one who really transcends the sport on a level where Americans are interested in her life outside of tennis. It’s unique for any athlete really. That’s a LeBron/Tom Brady/ARod level of fame/notoriety. Some people will tune in just to see if she loses it.

[Soapsuds]

And Tennis Channel made no mention of Thiem's match last night......AWFUL!!!

[Faulkner]

Pavlyuchenkova takes out Bertens.

 

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

Back at the Tennis and watching the Cilic v McDonald game. My 3rd day will be Friday my time.

[Faulkner]

Berdych is looking *really* good.