Venus was one of my Top 2. Her skin alone, she was positively glowing.

Oh okay, the tennis. The WTA side has been unpredictable for years but unpredictable would be a tremendous understatement for what happened this year. The so-called ascendants who acted like Serena was in their way to the major titles...what happened to them?! Garbiñe? Svitolina? Bencic, who always acts like she is condescending whenever she has to play Venus, where was that spirit of entitlement then? Congrats to Raducanu for grabbing what was ripe for the taking and congrats to Fernandez for cutting a huge swath through all those WTA players who were supposed to contend for this year's title. Nobody saw them coming, but it will be interesting to see who familiarizes themselves with Raducanu and Fernandez's games going forward.

Well, nobody could claim that Medvedev came out of nowhere, with two other finals under his belt, but it had really been Novak's title to lose and lose, he did. Unlike many of the players who face Djokovic in the majors, Daniil knew that mixing it up (what some might call junk-balling) was an effective strategy for someone who was likely fatigued and nervous. Had Daniil played a predictable game, with obvious patterns for Novak to become comfortable with, Nolé might have been able to settle down and find his way in. What's really funny is that Medvedev employed the same type of tactics that Monfils used when he took a set off Djokovic at the US Open few years ago, but Daniil was ruthlessly efficient and ultimately successful. I guess the point is, when you win, there won't be criticism of your strategy. Congrats to Daniil on his success at the Open.

I had low expectations for this tournament, so it was fun to watch, the handful of matches that I did watch in their entirely.

The Carolina Herrera dress Leylah Fernandez wore to the Met Gala was inspired by the dresses Serena and Venus wore for a Vogue shoot back in 1998. How cool is that? pic.twitter.com/sbTuM6618O

— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) September 14, 2021

And Venus looking glorious. Folks need to understand that it's a costume gala. And some understood the assignment.

 

Venus Williams serving looks on the #MetGala carpet. pic.twitter.com/g1Zaj5CjFU

— #MetGalaOutfits (@MetGalaOutfits) September 14, 2021

 

1 hour ago, ChitHappens said:

 

😂 

🔥 

 

Sloane's dress is next level.  They look so good together!

Oh and Venus, Serena and Sharapova all now follow one another on Insta.  Wow!  But I love it when people grow.  

Is this some type of record?

 

Bernard Tomic has lost a match in... 36 minutes 😮

Australian player has been defeated 6-0 6-1 by Quentin Halys in Istanbul Challenger. It's only 8 minutes longer than his record of 28 minutes! pic.twitter.com/VlPwTqZu3J

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) September 14, 2021

Oh, it's not a record, but Tonic does indeed have a faster losing time.

Apparently, Tennys Sandgren got defaulted, like what, two games into the first round of a Challenger match?

 

Indeed Sandgren was defaulted. After a long discussion with the supervisor, he heads over to shake hands with Eubanks. Gets a smattering of applause as he heads off.

See also: https://t.co/ynxunbhkkp pic.twitter.com/wkpmW4vjuP

— Wilfy (@whitelinefervor) September 14, 2021

10 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Apparently, Tennys Sandgren got defaulted, like what, two games into the first round of a Challenger match?

 

He's probably pissed because his ranking has plummeted outside the #100.😂😂😂

36 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

He's probably pissed because his ranking has plummeted outside the #100.😂😂😂

He's spent most of his career outside of the top 💯.

The chair umpire saying "It is what it is" though 😂.

 

No big surprise that I'm seeing the women's matches rated higher than the men's. Hasn't it been this way for years now?

6 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

No big surprise that I'm seeing the women's matches rated higher than the men's. Hasn't it been this way for years now?

Obviously NFL competition is a MAJOR factor here as it always on that Sunday but an interesting TV data point nevertheless:

U.S. Open women's final: 2.442 million viewers on ESPN.

U.S. Open men's final: 2.051 million viewers on ESPN.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) September 14, 2021

 

The women's peaked at 3.4 million, while the men's peaked at 2.7 million.

https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2021/09/us-open-viewership-up-33-in-prime-time-13-overall/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

@DramatistDreamer Thanks!!

Surprised the men's final didn't do better. I guess Novak isn't loved.😂

The women's final was dull. Shocked it did so well.

I knew numbers would go up from last year because no one watched sports last year except for maybe the NFL.

Edited September 15, 20214 yr by Soapsuds

The Djokovic-Medvedev final was up 37% over last year's men's final. For the men, that is a definite improvement in ratings.