The Tennis Thread

[ChitHappens]

Jesus!  He may just have to lose to Nadal 10 times before he's successful against him.  It's not just anyone..it's an in form in his zone Nadal!  Grow a pair!

 

Danielle Collins looks like she's 40 (as opposed to 25), but that could very well be because of that constant bitch face some folks think is cute!  Glad she lost but would love it if Carlos Ramos found another gig.  He calls a let on her serve and they have to replay the point.  Then he calls another let directly after the first one but gives Kvitova the point because DC's ball was out?  How ridiculous is this clown?!  

[DramatistDreamer]

Carlos Ramos is too much and unfortunately, the ITF has given him license to go even further with his OTT "enforcement".  

It still remains a fact that rules "enforcement" is still wildly uneven in the way it is applied and no amount of Ramos making a big show is going to change that.

 

People on twitter have been saying that Collins looks like the lady who always demands to speak to the manager.

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[Faulkner]

Totally!! You can tell she’d be a nightmare customer at Applebee’s. 

[Faulkner]

Jan-Michael Gambill and the bf at the Elton John concert.

 

 

[I Am A Swede]

I'm so completely and utterly bored with the Nadal/Djokovic/Federer stranglehold on men's tennis. I wish all three would retire and maybe then tennis would be interesting again.  

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[Faulkner]

I think you’ll get your wish with Roger soon. As for Nadal/Djokovic, I’m sure Tsitsipas, Zverev, Tiafoe, Coric, et al will do what Rafa and Novak had to do when they were emerging in Federer’s prime: take their Grand Slam beatdowns for the first couple of years and learn. 

 

I’m most looking forward to the end of the fawning Federer coverage, but they’ve already crowned Tsitsipas as his YouTube-generation heir apparent.

Edited January 24, 2019 by Faulkner

[ChitHappens]

If the younger players want it, they have to be patient, put in the work and take it.  I hope Roger, Rafa and Djoker surrender nothing.  They are exciting players and worked hard to just give it all away.  

 

Naomi Osaka is taking it, and as whiny as she is, I respect it!  She has a complete game and her USO win was not a fluke (side eyeing you, SLOWne Stevens)!  

[Faulkner]

 

[ChitHappens]

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

Despite his poor performance at Hopman Cup, Tiafoe mentioned that having the benefit of watching Roger Federer and Serena "work", how they go about their play, their attitude toward competing, etc. really informed him on how champions approach situations.  I think that, if these younger guys are smart, they will learn as much as they can and even figure out a way to beat these guys while they're still competing.  Roger did it with Sampras, Agassi, etc. as did Nadal with Federer and Djokovic with both Nadal and Federer. 

Players who achieve 'the hard way' by beating the greats are more likely to have a more resilient game and perhaps have the "stuff" to build some type of sports legacy if they have to compete and learn to beat the best, rather than win because there is no one left.

I like Tiafoe's attitude (yes, despite the unorthodox FH).  He considers it a challenge and he seems eager to tackle it.

 

The women's final does look like it has the makings of a competitive match, which is a good thing.  I consider myself one of the early observers of Osaka's game because I remember when she was coached by her father. 

Still, I'm gonna have to catch that match with her and Kvitova on the replay because I am not getting up at 3: 30 in the morning!

[Soapsuds]

His bf is cute. Wasn't Gambill coaching someone?

First of all it was deflating watching Tsitsipas lose to Nadal. That said he had a great two weeks and has beaten everyone except for Rafa...he is 0-3 against him. I didn't care for the game plan he was given against Nadal. Why was he playing so far back? He should've played on the baseline taking Rafa's shots early like Roger did the time he smoked him in Australia and IW. People are already clamoring for Mr. Magoo to step aside since he won't help him beat Nadal. I was watching when ESPN crowned Tsitsipas as the new Roger....my jaw dropped.....I was like the Baby Fed love for Grigor is gone? LOL. Tsitsipas should've watched clips of matches were Roger played Nadal and last year's Thiem vs Nadal US Open match or any match with those two...would've given him an idea on how to beat Nadal. 

Tiafoe's FH is dreadful. If he is going to compete with the best IMO he needs to fix it. 

 

The women's final should be good but now I am debating whether I should see it live or just DVR it. I already stayed up last night watching Tsitsipas match.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Tiafoe is competing with the best.  If he wants to get to the uppermost echelon, yes it's likely that he will have to modify his forehand.

 

I was listening to a podcast and former pro Tim Mayotte (who runs a tennis facility) was being interviewed and his comment about Tiafoe was that although he believes that forehand will be a liability for Frances, if he wants to be Top 5, he said two things:

1. He hopes to be proven wrong about the FH and
2. He would advise against changing the FH right now.  He suggested that Frances be allowed to continue to build confidence in his game and continue to climb in the rankings and then when Frances has hit a plateau in his game, then focus on changing those aspects of his game that would be holding him back from progressing further.  Rafa employed a similar strategy with the takeback on his FH which used to be quite loopy.  

Listening to what he had to say, it made sense not to make drastic changes right now.

 

But Mayotte thought that of all the young American guys, he liked Frances' game (sans FH) and Mackie McDonald's games the best.  He said that Mackie's lack of height concerned him, especially since McDonald didn't seem to have the speed to make up the difference for the lack of height.  Mayotte also liked Jared Donaldson's game but thought that it lacked variety.  He said he thought that Tiafoe had the biggest potential of all of the current crop of young Americans.

[Soapsuds]

I love Mackie's game but he needs a good coach to get him going. Jared's game is boring and too robotic. I agree though that it has no variety to it. I don't see him doing much in his career. 

[DramatistDreamer]

OMG.  I shouldn't be laughing but I can't help it.

 

[Faulkner]