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Other Discussions => Other / General Sports => Topic started by: Moranis on January 25, 2012, 08:40:04 PM

Title: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on January 25, 2012, 08:40:04 PM
Since the 2005 French Open, the only grand slam that was not won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic was the 2009 U.S. Open won by Juan Martin Del Potro.

Adding in Andy Murray, no one else made a final last year (Murray and Federer 1 appearance each, with the other 6 slots split evenly by Djokovic and Nadal).  Those four are the only men left at this years Australian Open, which means 4 of the last 5 Grand Slams semi finals comprised those four (last year at Wimbledon Federer lost in the quarters to Tsonga or it would have been 5 straight). 


I don't ever remember a time where 4 men (I'm including Murray since he is clearly way better than everyone else) dominated the rest of the field like this.  Totally impressive, especially since they are all doing it on all 3 surfaces. 


The questions I'm struggling with are

Is this good for tennis?  If not, what can tennis do about it?

What does this mean for American tennis (since none are American)?

Who is going to be the person to challenge those four?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: pearljammer10 on January 25, 2012, 08:47:23 PM
It is pretty amazing... And those four can almost be taken down to two up until these past couple years because Nadal and Federer were there in everyyyyy championship.

This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: jdz101 on January 25, 2012, 09:28:44 PM
At least they're entertaining players to watch. Nadal especially.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: wiley on January 25, 2012, 09:38:54 PM
I think it's great for men's tennis.  Having an elite group makes their matches
against each other unbelievable exciting, and it's fun to see/predict who can/will
break into their circle.  U.S. men's tennis is downright horrid at the moment.
Quantity as always but no shining stars.

The women's game is also great these days, but it's been hurt I think
by early retirements and no clear elite 2-4.  It's more like an elite 6-10.
The Williams sisters make things interesting.  Go Venus.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: letsgoblue86 on January 25, 2012, 09:59:38 PM
Those guys are just miles ahead of the rest.  It's mostly mental too, the guy ranked 75th in the world works as hard as Djokovic, has the same amount of talent, it's just all mental.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: DKClassic on January 25, 2012, 10:02:02 PM
Hoping Fed will make a final push in his career and win a few more titles.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 26, 2012, 06:47:00 AM
Great match so far from Federer and Nadal.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: TheTruthFot18 on January 26, 2012, 02:36:48 PM
Unlike team sports like Basketball and football a dominant player can take over a game in golf or tennis. If the NBA was set up for singles matches, it would be the same with Kobe, Wade, Durant, and Lebron winning them all for the last few years.

In tennis you don't have to defer, so these guys with the most talent just leave it all on the court every game and it shows.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 29, 2012, 12:03:26 PM
Djokovic is now the defending champion in the last 3 Grand Slams and has to be the clear favorite at the French Open. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: ben on January 29, 2012, 12:07:07 PM
It is pretty amazing... And those four can almost be taken down to two up until these past couple years because Nadal and Federer were there in everyyyyy championship.

This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
tiger.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 29, 2012, 05:47:56 PM
It is pretty amazing... And those four can almost be taken down to two up until these past couple years because Nadal and Federer were there in everyyyyy championship.

This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
tiger.
I concur, but if Djokovic can close out the French, he might very well surpass them both.  Novak had the 40+ win streak to start last year, won 3 of the 4 Grand Slams and if not for a late stretch where he was injured may have closed out the greatest tennis season of the modern era.  All he needs is the French Open and he will have the supposed Tiger Slam.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 08, 2012, 03:24:47 PM
Murray lost in the quarters, but the other three all made the semis of the French. 

Nadal beat Ferrer in straight sets and lost 5 games the whole match to reach the finals.  Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets to reach his first French Open final.  If Djokovic beats Nadal, he will be the first man in 43 years to be the defending champion at all 4 majors. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Lucky17 on June 08, 2012, 03:34:53 PM
Were it not for the Australian Open, you could have said the same thing about Connors, McEnroe, and Borg during the late 70s/early 80s.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: TheBigTicket23 on June 08, 2012, 03:51:36 PM
I think the current level of men's tennis is as high as ever. Those top 4 + Ferrer, Tsonga and Soderling (healthy) play on such an unbelieveble high level.

Nadal - Djokovic final is gonna be great, I guess Nadal wins this time. He is playing amazing
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 10, 2012, 11:20:35 AM
delay in the final, probably a good think for Djokovic as he was very flat all game long.  The occassional flash like he is going to put it together, but mostly flat and Nadal has a fairly big lead, up a set and up a break at 4-2 in the second.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 06, 2012, 11:01:45 AM
Down goes Djokovic.  Federer looked like the player from a few years ago.  If Federer beats Tsonga/Murray to win Wimbledon he will again be the top ranked player in the world, which is huge as it means he would likely only have to beat one of Djokovic and Nadal to win the US Open (tennis and there asinine seeding rules doesn't guarantee it). 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 02, 2015, 07:09:33 PM
Novak Djokovic plays Rafael Nadal in the French Open Quarters tomorrow.  Novak has started the year 39-2, won the Australian and the 4 Masters events he has entered.  If he beats Nadal, which is favored to do, he will undoubtedly win the French and will be the heavy favorite at Wimbledon and the US Open.  If that happens he will have the greatest single season in Tennis History and will solidify his place among the best players ever and make a real claim that he belongs at the top.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 02, 2015, 07:34:21 PM
It seems like it's down to two.  I'd love to see Federer win one more major before it's all said and done, but it doesn't seem likely.

Pulling for Djokovic in tomorrow's big match against Nadal.  Everyone seems to be pegging Novak as the favorite, but Raffa's won nine out the last ten French Opens.  I wouldn't count him out. 

Murray's on the fringes.  It would be cool to see Joe Willie Tsonga win one before his home crowd, but I'm not counting on anybody beating one of the two heavyweights. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 08:16:27 AM
Andre Agassi was on MadDog Sports yesterday and said he thinks it is more likely that Djokovic beats Nadal in straight sets than Nadal beating Djokovic.  Said he has never seen someone play as well and be as dominate as Novak and expects him to win the Grand Slam.  Some high praise from an all time great.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 08:32:53 AM
Going for the Joker to beat Nadal,
Amazing that Nadal has only lost once at the French in all these years.
I think Murray has a good chance to win either Wimbledon or the U.S Open this year.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 08:52:50 AM
Andre Agassi was on MadDog Sports yesterday and said he thinks it is more likely that Djokovic beats Nadal in straight sets than Nadal beating Djokovic.  Said he has never seen someone play as well and be as dominate as Novak and expects him to win the Grand Slam.  Some high praise from an all time great.

I've been seeing that sentiment all over the tennis coverage from all the experts.  I hope Novak's not listening to all that hype. 

I mean, seriously, is there any way Raphael Nadal can ever have the status as the "underdog" at the French Open? 

Raffa, on the other hand, is probably listening to every word of the hype about how Djokovic is going to give him a beating this year. 

Can't wait.  When's this thing start.  I just tuned in to ESPN to see Serena crushing some poor soul. 

Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: kozlodoev on June 03, 2015, 08:52:53 AM
This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
Djokovic (with a little bit more time) :P
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Tr1boy on June 03, 2015, 08:57:07 AM
On a side note, anyone else think lebron and federer kind of look alike?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 08:57:32 AM
I'd rather be watching Baczynsky vs. Uttvangt (however you spell their names) right now. 

That's a cool story.  A couple of kids off the street playing to get to the French Open Semi Finals. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 08:58:18 AM
On a side note, anyone else think lebron and federer kind of look alike?

Federer is a 'roid freak. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 08:59:19 AM
This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
Djokovic (with a little bit more time) :P
Definitely interesting seeing how much has changed in the 3 years since I started this thread (and how much hasn't changed as those 4 are still pretty darn dominate).  Now there is legitimate talk of Novak Djokovic going down as the greatest tennis player ever.  Murray finally broke through.  Nadal still wins the French every year.  Federer keeps on making it to semis and finals, though winning is much less frequent.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: kozlodoev on June 03, 2015, 09:09:27 AM
This question always comes up around the bon fire...Who was more dominant at their own sport...Federer or Tiger?
Djokovic (with a little bit more time) :P
Definitely interesting seeing how much has changed in the 3 years since I started this thread (and how much hasn't changed as those 4 are still pretty darn dominate).  Now there is legitimate talk of Novak Djokovic going down as the greatest tennis player ever.  Murray finally broke through.  Nadal still wins the French every year.  Federer keeps on making it to semis and finals, though winning is much less frequent.
Wow, I didn't realize this thread is so old. Nice necro :P
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Eja117 on June 03, 2015, 09:13:37 AM
Isn't this the way it's been in tennis for a long time. I mean sometimes it's dominated by just two guys right? At one point wasn't it all Sampras/Agassi with a  tad bit of Chang?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on June 03, 2015, 09:16:51 AM
Isn't this the way it's been in tennis for a long time. I mean sometimes it's dominated by just two guys right? At one point wasn't it all Sampras/Agassi with a  tad bit of Chang?

Correct. The difference between now and a few years ago is that Federer is old(er), Nadal is playing poorly even on Clay, and Djoko is on a level all by himself right now. Before you could point to three or four guys that were all grouped, more or less, and the talented youngsters coming up behind them, but the young guns haven't managed to accomplish much in the grand scheme of things.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 09:22:04 AM
Isn't this the way it's been in tennis for a long time. I mean sometimes it's dominated by just two guys right? At one point wasn't it all Sampras/Agassi with a  tad bit of Chang?

Back when Sampras and Agassi were dominating the game, you'd always see some other guys break through and win one every once in a while, particularly at the French . . . until Nadal came around and just decided to win all of them. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on June 03, 2015, 09:25:56 AM
But that's mostly because clay, like the sea, is a cruel mistress. Unless you're Rafa.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 09:27:19 AM
But that's mostly because clay, like the sea, is a cruel mistress. Unless you're Rafa.

She can't get enough of Rafa.  Maybe today's the day she chews him up and spits him out. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 09:28:11 AM
All due respect to Serena, can you please hurry up and get this over with so we can move on to the main event. 

Edit:

Ok thank you, Serena
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 09:30:07 AM
Isn't this the way it's been in tennis for a long time. I mean sometimes it's dominated by just two guys right? At one point wasn't it all Sampras/Agassi with a  tad bit of Chang?

Back when Sampras and Agassi were dominating the game, you'd always see some other guys break through and win one every once in a while, particularly at the French . . . until Nadal came around and just decided to win all of them.
Jim Courier managed to win a couple of Australian and French opens and was number 1 in the world for awhile.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Tr1boy on June 03, 2015, 09:44:36 AM
On a side note, anyone else think lebron and federer kind of look alike?

Federer is a 'roid freak.

you sure?  lol

Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on June 03, 2015, 09:47:02 AM
As a comparison:

Between the time Pete Sampras won his first grand slam tournament to his last, eight other men won multiple grand slam titles:

Boris Becker
Stefan Edberg
Jim Courier
Sergei Bruguera
Yefgeny Kafelnikov
Gustavo Kuerten
Andre Agassi
Patrick Rafter

Between the time Roger Federer won his first and late (up until now) grand slam, only Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray have also won more than one. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 09:49:50 AM
10 am eastern start for Djokovic and Nadal.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 09:52:06 AM
As a comparison:

Between the time Pete Sampras won his first grand slam tournament to his last, eight other men won multiple grand slam titles:

Boris Becker
Stefan Edberg
Jim Courier
Sergei Bruguera
Yefgeny Kafelnikov
Gustavo Kuerten
Andre Agassi
Patrick Rafter

Between the time Roger Federer won his first and late (up until now) grand slam, only Nadal, Djokovic, and Andy Murray have also won more than one.
It has been 12 years since a American male has won a grand slam singles title, Andy Roddick -2003 US Open.
When will the  drought be broken?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on June 03, 2015, 10:09:17 AM
Not any time soon, I don't think.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 10:55:06 AM
Novak roars out to a 4-0 lead, Rafael comes back, but the 1st set to Novak 7-5.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 10:57:20 AM
Murray up 4-3 on Ferrer in the other match right now.  There have been 5 breaks of serve in the 7 service games.  Crazy.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 11:08:18 AM
Murray serving for the first set is broken at love.  5-5, Ferrer serving.

Rafa/Novak on serve in the second.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 11:42:17 AM
One to go Novak , put him to sleep please ;D
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 11:56:46 AM
It was 3-3 in the second set.  Djokovic hasn't lost a game since and it is looking like a runaway. 

The most dominant player in tennis appears headed to a destruction of the most dominant player on clay ever.  Truly a masterful performance from Djokovic and I can't see how he loses this tournament barring injury. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 12:01:28 PM
It will be interesting to see how Nadal handles this, he is going to drop to 10 in the rankings, if Tsonga makes the final it could be to no 11 I believe.
He has had a history of injuries following big losses it tournaments.Interesting to see how it plays out for him.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on June 03, 2015, 12:19:23 PM
Boom.
Novak only guy to beat Nadal and Federer at all 4 grand slam events.
If he maintains his level over the next 2-3 years and wins the gold next year , he would have to be right in the conversation as one of the greatest of all times.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: TheTruthFot18 on June 03, 2015, 12:28:36 PM
Roddick made it (US Open?) in 2006 I think.

Wouldn't it motivate others though? Like it's not just a fluke that a guy wins one of the major events so to take them on requires some serious skill. Seeing them win over and over I think would make some guys want it more, not that it has worked.

What's even more impressive is that these guys keep winning and they don't have a ref handing them wins like in basketball.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2015, 01:21:09 PM
Absolutely amazing, wins 9 of 10 games to close out the match and many of those were at love.  He is something special.  A few years back he started the year at like 44-0, now he appears headed to the first 2 Majors and may very well win the Grand Slam.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: kozlodoev on June 03, 2015, 01:49:47 PM
Absolutely amazing, wins 9 of 10 games to close out the match and many of those were at love.  He is something special.  A few years back he started the year at like 44-0, now he appears headed to the first 2 Majors and may very well win the Grand Slam.
A 2015 Grand Slam is absolutely on the table.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 05, 2015, 09:13:37 AM
Tsonga v. Wawrinka off to a good start tied 1-1 at a set a piece.

Djokovic v. Murray scheduled to start at 10 am eastern.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on June 05, 2015, 09:17:58 AM
Would love to see Murray win but would also love to see a Calendar Slam.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: BornReady on June 05, 2015, 09:30:16 AM
With Federer, Nadal getting older

Djokovic has a chance to capitalise on this as I don't see anyone else on these guys level
No offense to Murray and Berdych

Djokovic would perhaps be top 5 all time if he stays healthy and there's no competition left
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 05, 2015, 09:39:17 AM
With Federer, Nadal getting older

Djokovic has a chance to capitalise on this as I don't see anyone else on these guys level
No offense to Murray and Berdych

Djokovic would perhaps be top 5 all time if he stays healthy and there's no competition left
If he wins the Calendar Slam that would give him 11 title and tied with Borg and the only men ahead of him would be Federer with 17 and Sampras and Nadal at 14.  Nadal might have another 1 or 2 in him, but Federer appears done.  Presumably Djokovic will win grand slams next year and even after that, so he could reasonably end up 1st or 2nd all time.  Give him the Calendar Year Slam, something that hasn't happened since the 60's, plus he is already the best ever at the Australian Open (in the open era, Emerson has 1 more overall than him), would be creeping up the Wimbledon list, and I think that all adds up to he might very well be the best ever, not just top 5.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on June 05, 2015, 09:52:03 AM
Yeah that's a hard thing to argue with, especially if he winds up catching Nadal (I think he's too old to catch Feds).
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 05, 2015, 01:31:45 PM
Cruising right along up 2 sets and on serve at 4-3 in the 3rd.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 05, 2015, 01:46:19 PM
wow.  Murray breaks at 5-5, now serving for the 3rd set.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 07, 2015, 10:52:27 AM
Murray pushed Djokovic after a rain delay to 5 sets, but Novak pulled out on Saturday.

Wawrinka breaks Djokovic to take the 2nd set, all tied up at a set a piece.  Live on NBC right now.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: saltlover on June 07, 2015, 11:22:41 AM
Murray pushed Djokovic after a rain delay to 5 sets, but Novak pulled out on Saturday.

Wawrinka breaks Djokovic to take the 2nd set, all tied up at a set a piece.  Live on NBC right now.

Wawrinka doesn't get the credit he deserves for the player he's become.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 07, 2015, 12:15:40 PM
Wawrinka really playing well, appears to be the better man today. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 07, 2015, 12:27:03 PM
Wawrinka wins in 4 sets.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 06, 2015, 04:35:45 PM
Wimbledon has been interesting this year for both the men and women.  Lots of upsets, but the big shocker almost happened today as Novak fell down 2 sets before forcing a 5th set right before darkness suspended the match. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Donoghus on July 12, 2015, 11:02:16 AM
This Wimbledon men's final is off the hook so far.  Tied at one set each.  Both sets have gone to tiebreaker.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Donoghus on July 12, 2015, 12:29:50 PM
Djokovic is such a machine.  Just pulled away in those last two sets.  Great match to watch.  Too bad Novak gave away the French or we'd be looking at two potential Grand Slams in New York.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: max215 on July 12, 2015, 12:36:35 PM
Tremendous match. It's remarkable what Roger can still do at 33. Djokovic was dominant in the final set and a half though.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 13, 2015, 10:08:02 PM
As a result of a long rain delay, the final is actually on ESPN right now.  Novak up 2 sets to 1 and up a break in the 4th against Roger.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 13, 2015, 10:13:59 PM
If Novak finishes this out, it will be the first time since 2002 that Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal has not won at least one major.  Novak would have 3 with Stan Wawrinka winning the other and would be the second time Novak has won 3 just missing out on the French each time.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: GC003332 on September 13, 2015, 10:18:42 PM
If he wins this match and makes it no 10, wonder if he can actually overtake Nadal's 14 or even catch Federer's 17 in next 3 or 4 years? who would have thought that a couple of years back.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Tr1boy on September 14, 2015, 02:50:07 AM
If he wins this match and makes it no 10, wonder if he can actually overtake Nadal's 14 or even catch Federer's 17 in next 3 or 4 years? who would have thought that a couple of years back.

After getting beat over and over again, he strengthened up + refined skills + height adv  and now is considered the best tennis player in the world

I think there is a chance Andy Murray pulls the next "Djokovic" +  Federer and Nadal slowly fading
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Jesus Shuttlesworth #20 on September 14, 2015, 05:24:17 AM
Question, why would someone create a thread about tennis on a blog for Celtics talk? It seems like a very nerdy topic. I imagine someone coming on Celticsblog for the first time and not coming back because one of the threads was about tennis mainly due to the lameness of breaking down tennis players.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Donoghus on September 14, 2015, 07:30:03 AM
Question, why would someone create a thread about tennis on a blog for Celtics talk? It seems like a very nerdy topic. I imagine someone coming on Celticsblog for the first time and not coming back because one of the threads was about tennis mainly due to the lameness of breaking down tennis players.

You can avoid these threads if you don't like them. No one is putting a gun to your head to read it.

There are plenty of non-basketball threads on here.  It's a community blog centered around basketball but not "basketball only".  You've been around here long enough to realize that.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 14, 2015, 09:57:09 AM
nice article on Novak

http://espn.go.com/tennis/usopen15/story/_/id/13652849/tennis-novak-djokovic-search-love (http://espn.go.com/tennis/usopen15/story/_/id/13652849/tennis-novak-djokovic-search-love)
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics18 on September 14, 2015, 10:32:32 AM
Valiant effort by Federer.  I'd love to see him get one more slam title before he retires. 

Yesterday he looked like he was the second best tennis player in the world.  I have so much respect for the way that he's accepted that he's not as dominant as he used to be, but he's still pretty darn good.  It just seems refreshing to me. 

I wouldn't mind seeing Roger play until he's 40. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: ChainSmokingLikeDino on September 14, 2015, 12:39:04 PM
Question, why would someone create a thread about tennis on a blog for Celtics talk? It seems like a very nerdy topic. I imagine someone coming on Celticsblog for the first time and not coming back because one of the threads was about tennis mainly due to the lameness of breaking down tennis players.

It takes about 10 seconds to look at your posts page and see you have contributed to a thread about the best show on TV. That could really put some people off, coming here to talk about The Celtics and seeing one of the threads is about some mindless entertainment. Read a book!

And, really, you posit that tennis is lame as if it were some universal truth. Many people like tennis, myself included, and perhaps even the hypothetical visitor you imagine. They could even like tennis.

(and the thread was in an area called general sports....hmm)
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: D.o.s. on September 14, 2015, 01:50:33 PM
Sports Forum Discusses Sports: Controversy Ensues.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics4ever on September 14, 2015, 03:24:50 PM
Nothing has changed, there have only been a handful of guys to watch in every era, the rest has always been rubbish to me.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 14, 2015, 03:41:24 PM
Nothing has changed, there have only been a handful of guys to watch in every era, the rest has always been rubbish to me.
There are times when there are a lot more major winners.  1996 to 2003 for example.  There were 32 Titles and 17 different winners.  Sampras won 6, Agassi won 5, Kuerten won 3, Hewitt and Kafelnikov each had 2, but every one else won just once (that includes Federer's 1st in 2003).

In the 48 Grand Slams since then however, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have dominated winning 40 of the 48.  Only Gaudio in the 2004 French (before Nadal), Safin at the 2005 Australian, del Potro in the 2009 US Open, Cilic in the 2014 US Open, and then the 2 from Wawrinka (14 Aus, 15 Wim) and Murray (12 US, 13 Wim).

Even pre-96, Sampras won a lot, but he had not real consistent competitor winning majors and Sampras really only dominated on grass. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 05, 2016, 01:38:49 PM
Novak finally wins in France and is now the defending champion in all 4 majors, the first man since 1969 to be able to say that.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 09, 2018, 08:30:40 PM
So still basically the same in mens tennis. Since the start of 2004 there have been 60 majors.

Federer has won 19
Nadal 17
Djokovic 14
Murray 3
Wawrinka 3
Del Potro, Cilic, Gaudio, Safin each have 1.

Gaudio and Safin were in 04 and 05.  Cilic was the most recent of the not 5 and that was way back in 2014.  Federer has 20 overall winning his first at Wimbledon in 03.  It looked like he would be done at 17 winning that one in 2012.  He didn't win again until 2017 and picked up 2 more after that one. All time Federer is 1, Nadal is 2, and Djokovic just tied Sampras today for 3.  Absolutley amazing dominance from those 3 with Murray and Wawrinka mixed in (makes you wonder what those 2 might have done in a different era).
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: rondofan1255 on September 13, 2018, 04:26:28 PM
Impressive stats. All active grand slam champs will be 30+ soon (Del Potro and Cilic turning 30 this month...) Sad that those in the Raonic, Dimitrov, Nishikori age range (feels weird saying generation) have underachieved. Or are the big 3 or 4 just too good
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: JSD on September 13, 2018, 04:34:08 PM
Crazy that 3 of tennis’ all time players have put together their careers during the same span.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: smokeablount on September 13, 2018, 05:04:13 PM
Impressive stats. All active grand slam champs will be 30+ soon (Del Potro and Cilic turning 30 this month...) Sad that those in the Raonic, Dimitrov, Nishikori age range (feels weird saying generation) have underachieved. Or are the big 3 or 4 just too good

If Thien can keep playing like he did against Rafa in the US Open and get better at approaches / net and handling opponents at net, he's got serious upside.  His groundies and serve are massive and he's very quick and nimble, with good height and great endurance, but also with huge strength, power, spin and placement. 

However... I haven't seen a lot of him beyond his all time best match against Rafa.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Somebody on October 17, 2018, 03:52:16 AM
I still want Fed to win a few more lol
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 27, 2019, 11:42:21 AM
Djokovic is back in dominating form.  He is now the defending champion of 3 straight Grand Slams and he absolutely throttled Nadal in the Aussie Final today.  He now has 15 and has moved past Sampras.  He is 2 behind Nadal and 5 behind Federer.  The French Open should be pretty interesting this year given Nadal's dominance on clay and Djokovic's current form.  If Djokovic wins it, he will for the 2nd time in his career be the defending champion of all 4 majors (though he has yet to do it in the same season). 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 03, 2019, 09:46:11 AM
Djokovic has now advanced to the quarter finals at the French.  it is his 10th straight quarters or better at the French, which is an all time record.  Not even Nadal made it a decade straight at least that far.  Just 3 victories away from again holding all 4 majors at the same time. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 06, 2019, 02:29:42 PM
Top 4 seeds all roll into the semis.  Djokovic (still yet to lose a set) will face #4 seed Thiem (last year's runner-up), while Nadal and Federer will face off in the other semi. 

On the women's side, 17 year old American Amanda Anisimova just rolled the defending champ Halep to reach the semis.  She has also yet to lose a set in the tournament. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 07, 2019, 08:13:21 AM
I called out of work to watch the matches today. Won’t be many Federer vs Nadal matchups left. Either guy could hang it up at any time. It’s going to be a sad day when it happens..
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: rondofan1255 on July 12, 2019, 06:27:14 PM
Top 4 seeds all roll into the semis.

And it continues...

Big 3 (Federer Nadal Djokovic) made the semis of Wimbledon ... Djokovic-Federer Wimbledon final for the third time...
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: RodyTur10 on July 12, 2019, 06:39:04 PM
Top 4 seeds all roll into the semis.

And it continues...

Big 3 (Federer Nadal Djokovic) made the semis of Wimbledon ... Djokovic-Federer Wimbledon final for the third time...

Federer-Nadal in the semis was a great match, Federer was agressive and impressive. Really hope the GOAT can win another Wimbledon title.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 14, 2019, 02:24:36 PM
Top 4 seeds all roll into the semis.

And it continues...

Big 3 (Federer Nadal Djokovic) made the semis of Wimbledon ... Djokovic-Federer Wimbledon final for the third time...

Federer-Nadal in the semis was a great match, Federer was agressive and impressive. Really hope the GOAT can win another Wimbledon title.
magnificent final with Djokovic just edging him out
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: jambr380 on July 14, 2019, 03:29:28 PM
Top 4 seeds all roll into the semis.

And it continues...

Big 3 (Federer Nadal Djokovic) made the semis of Wimbledon ... Djokovic-Federer Wimbledon final for the third time...

Federer-Nadal in the semis was a great match, Federer was agressive and impressive. Really hope the GOAT can win another Wimbledon title.
magnificent final with Djokovic just edging him out

It really was! I was pushing for Federer, but that was certainly a treat. Even if you aren't a huge fan of tennis, everybody's heard of these two and they really put on a show today. 5 hours with a 13-12 final set - are you kidding me?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Walker Wiggle on July 14, 2019, 06:55:36 PM
Time to stop whistling past the graveyard... Tennis, like pretty much any other sport, has a big PED problem. There was a time when the men noticeably started declining at 30, and the women much earlier. There was something like a physical speed limit on dominance; no one, however great, could defy the laws of biology, which was a great equalizer. Those days are gone, and what you’re left with is a situation where those that truly distinguish themselves are not just the ones who have mastered their craft, but have (along with their trainers and doctors) also mastered the new sciences of performance. I know a lot of people don’t care about this, but I do. It’s getting ridiculous.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Walker Wiggle on July 14, 2019, 06:56:27 PM
<deleted — double post >
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on February 02, 2020, 07:02:44 PM
Djokovic picked up his 8th Australian Open today and now has 17 all time.  He has won 5 of the last 7 Grand Slams, though the other 2 went to Nadal who is up to 19 all time.  Federer has 20, but hasn't won in awhile (still can basically beat anyone not named Djokovic or Nadal, but really can't take those 2).  Nadal has won the last 3 French Opens and 12 overall, so he will be a pretty heavy favorite to tie Federer in the next Grand Slam event.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: NKY fan on February 02, 2020, 08:29:33 PM
Djokovic picked up his 8th Australian Open today and now has 17 all time.  He has won 5 of the last 7 Grand Slams, though the other 2 went to Nadal who is up to 19 all time.  Federer has 20, but hasn't won in awhile (still can basically beat anyone not named Djokovic or Nadal, but really can't take those 2).  Nadal has won the last 3 French Opens and 12 overall, so he will be a pretty heavy favorite to tie Federer in the next Grand Slam event.
Djokovic is headed for greatness. At next years ausie open the three greats might be at 20 slam titles each. It’s amazing how many great players they depraved of a grand slam title the last 20 years
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on February 13, 2021, 02:23:09 PM
Anyone watching the Aussie Open? This may be the year and first major where one of the young guns breakthrough. Thiem did win the US Open in 2020, However, Djokovic was disqualified for hitting the lines person in the throat with a ball and Roger/Rafa didn’t play.

I think Thiem could win his second major at the AO this year. He’s been incredible. Medvedev and Rublev are playing at a high level as well. Should be interesting....
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Rikibellevie on February 13, 2021, 02:44:15 PM
I don't root after Thiem as he really must face an obstacle course to advance to final : Kyrgios in five, then a Dimitrov in good shape, then Auger Allasime who may be one of the guys of the year, then Djokovic or more probably Zverev...
I would go for
Zverev- Thiem and Nadal-Medvedev, then Nadal Zverev and the title for Nadal. Next year Nadal and Djoko will begin to regressit is inevitable, so with some young bucks in ascencion (Auger Alassime, Sinner, Humbert...) and all the good new gens players(Thiem, Zverev, Medvedev ...) it will be a big fight in each Gran Slam...
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on February 13, 2021, 05:04:20 PM
I don't root after Thiem as he really must face an obstacle course to advance to final : Kyrgios in five, then a Dimitrov in good shape, then Auger Allasime who may be one of the guys of the year, then Djokovic or more probably Zverev...
I would go for
Zverev- Thiem and Nadal-Medvedev, then Nadal Zverev and the title for Nadal. Next year Nadal and Djoko will begin to regressit is inevitable, so with some young bucks in ascencion (Auger Alassime, Sinner, Humbert...) and all the good new gens players(Thiem, Zverev, Medvedev ...) it will be a big fight in each Gran Slam...

Zverev does not perform well under pressure. He gets the yips with his second serve. I don’t think he’s ready mentally to win a major. Thiem did have a tough match vs Kyrgios, but I think he takes care of Felix and Gregor in straight sets . Novak barely squeaked out a win for vs Fritz and he doesn’t seem his usual self. I would give the edge to Thiem, then Medvedev, and Rubilev as a dark horse.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Vox_Populi on February 19, 2021, 03:27:10 PM
How do we like Medvedev's chances?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: boscel33 on February 19, 2021, 03:40:14 PM
Late 80's and into the 90's, the foursome of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and Stefan Edberg was pretty dominate. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on February 19, 2021, 03:41:50 PM
How do we like Medvedev's chances?

I think Medvedev wins. He’s been really impressive and similar to what Naomi did to Serena, I feel like Daniil can beat Novak at his own game. Medvedev is 6’6” and has a bigger serve. He moves and plays defense just as well as Djokovic . It’s going to be an epic match.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on February 21, 2021, 11:20:29 AM
So Novak got his 9th Aussie today.  Now has 18 all time.  Probably should have 19 but got ejected at the US Open last year and of course Wimbledon was cancelled or he might already have 20 and be tied with Federer and Nadal. It looks like he will end up with the most ever which is just crazy to think about.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: NKY fan on February 21, 2021, 11:29:55 AM
So Novak got his 9th Aussie today.  Now has 18 all time.  Probably should have 19 but got ejected at the US Open last year and of course Wimbledon was cancelled or he might already have 20 and be tied with Federer and Nadal. It looks like he will end up with the most ever which is just crazy to think about.
He also has winning records against both head to head. I think the fact that he is a little younger than both helped him though.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on February 21, 2021, 12:16:24 PM
Really disappointing final. Djokovic played well, but Medvedev completely lost it mentally. Way too many mistakes, couldn’t get his first serve in for most of the match. Played safe and didn’t go for enough Winning shots during rallies. Recipe for disaster against Novak. Too bad...
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on February 21, 2021, 12:24:51 PM
I don't know what it is about Australia, but Novak just completely dominates everyone there.  Doesn't matter that he tore something in his stomach in the 3rd round.  He just owns that court.  Doesn't have the same sort of success on any other hard courts, but in Australia you might as well just give him the title before it starts.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on February 21, 2021, 12:28:00 PM
So Novak got his 9th Aussie today.  Now has 18 all time.  Probably should have 19 but got ejected at the US Open last year and of course Wimbledon was cancelled or he might already have 20 and be tied with Federer and Nadal. It looks like he will end up with the most ever which is just crazy to think about.

It’s going to be close. Nadal will probably win the French again this year as he doesn’t really have much competition on that surface. Djokovic is not great on grass and he can’t beat Rafa on clay.in addition to Nadal,  Thiem and Medvedev are now legit threats to Novak on hard courts. Djokovic doesn’t usually win the US open either.

Hope Roger can get healthy enough to play one more Wimbledon and US Open. Would be sad to see his career end due to injury.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 14, 2021, 08:56:43 AM
Novak took a tough 4 setter from Nadal in the semis and started off slow against the young up and comer Tsitsipas in the French Final, falling down 2 sets to 0, before dominating the last 3 sets to win his 2nd French.  He now has 19, one behind Nadal and Federer.  He also is just the 3rd person in history to win at least 2 of each grand slam (Rod Laver and Roy Emerson).  He will be the heavy favorite at Wimbledon, which if he wins will not only tie him for the most all time, but put him from just the US Open away from the calendar year slam something that hasn't been done since Laver.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 14, 2021, 12:08:56 PM
Novak took a tough 4 setter from Nadal in the semis and started off slow against the young up and comer Tsitsipas in the French Final, falling down 2 sets to 0, before dominating the last 3 sets to win his 2nd French.  He now has 19, one behind Nadal and Federer.  He also is just the 3rd person in history to win at least 2 of each grand slam (Rod Laver and Roy Emerson).  He will be the heavy favorite at Wimbledon, which if he wins will not only tie him for the most all time, but put him from just the US Open away from the calendar year slam something that hasn't been done since Laver.

TP for the post, Moranis. The Djokovic/Rafa match on Friday was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. I don’t think many appreciate how elite those two athletes are, playing a 5.5 hour match like that ... I saw Rafa play on Ashe at the US open a few years back in a 5+hr match. Nadal lost In the 5th set tiebreak and it was one of the most incredible sporting events that I’ve experienced live. That stadium is modern day coliseum, packed with 24k fans. Place was electric.

I’m not a fan of Novak, however, if he does finish his career at least tied with Roger and Rafa for the most majors and has the head to head advantage vs those two, I’m not sure how anyone can dispute that he’s the greatest men’s tennis player of all time.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Kernewek on June 14, 2021, 12:15:42 PM
Time to stop whistling past the graveyard... Tennis, like pretty much any other sport, has a big PED problem. There was a time when the men noticeably started declining at 30, and the women much earlier. There was something like a physical speed limit on dominance; no one, however great, could defy the laws of biology, which was a great equalizer. Those days are gone, and what you’re left with is a situation where those that truly distinguish themselves are not just the ones who have mastered their craft, but have (along with their trainers and doctors) also mastered the new sciences of performance. I know a lot of people don’t care about this, but I do. It’s getting ridiculous.

This is probably 20-30% true, but I'm not sure it's as simple as saying "these all-time greats are hoarding all the best PEDs for themselves", rather than wondering about why the next generation of great tennis players never really broke through:

Dominic Thiem is the only men's player born in the 90's to have won a single Grand Slam.  Up until last year's US Open, only three players born in the 90's had even made it to the Finals:
2016 Wimbledon: Milos Raonic
2018 French Open: Dominic Thiem
2019 US Open: Daniil Medvedev
(There's an asterisk here: in that Kei Nishikori made it to the 2014 US Open finals and he was born on December 29th, 1989, so he very nearly counts)


Obviously the 2020 US Open was between Thiem and Zverev, but that is very much the exception, not the rule.

To put it in more wild perspective: a woman born in the 2000's won a Grand Slam before a man born in the 90's did.

The Big 3 have won 59 of the past 70 Grand Slams (including Wimbledon 2020, which was cancelled due to COVID). By the end of the year it could very easily be 61 of 72. That's absolutely insane, and you can't put it all down to PEDs.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 14, 2021, 12:43:36 PM
Time to stop whistling past the graveyard... Tennis, like pretty much any other sport, has a big PED problem. There was a time when the men noticeably started declining at 30, and the women much earlier. There was something like a physical speed limit on dominance; no one, however great, could defy the laws of biology, which was a great equalizer. Those days are gone, and what you’re left with is a situation where those that truly distinguish themselves are not just the ones who have mastered their craft, but have (along with their trainers and doctors) also mastered the new sciences of performance. I know a lot of people don’t care about this, but I do. It’s getting ridiculous.

This is probably 20-30% true, but I'm not sure it's as simple as saying "these all-time greats are hoarding all the best PEDs for themselves", rather than wondering about why the next generation of great tennis players never really broke through:

Dominic Thiem is the only men's player born in the 90's to have won a single Grand Slam.  Up until last year's US Open, only three players born in the 90's had even made it to the Finals:
2016 Wimbledon: Milos Raonic
2018 French Open: Dominic Thiem
2019 US Open: Daniil Medvedev
(There's an asterisk here: in that Kei Nishikori made it to the 2014 US Open finals and he was born on December 29th, 1989, so he very nearly counts)


Obviously the 2020 US Open was between Thiem and Zverev, but that is very much the exception, not the rule.

To put it in more wild perspective: a woman born in the 2000's won a Grand Slam before a man born in the 90's did.

The Big 3 have won 59 of the past 70 Grand Slams (including Wimbledon 2020, which was cancelled due to COVID). By the end of the year it could very easily be 61 of 72. That's absolutely insane, and you can't put it all down to PEDs.
Especially when presumably the younger guys are also using them at the same rate as the older guys.  I mean even if you assume that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all using PED's (and that is obviously a huge assumption), why wouldn't you also make that assumption with the Tsitspas of the world?

It just seems to me that American's and many of the other formerly great tennis producing countries, have just lost interest in the sport and haven't developed any real challengers.  That isn't to say those 3 are legitimately great, they are, but they can also hang around because there quite simply hasn't been anyone to remove them. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics4ever on June 14, 2021, 01:45:21 PM
I think it has been that way for the majority of my adult life.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: slamtheking on June 14, 2021, 01:54:04 PM
Time to stop whistling past the graveyard... Tennis, like pretty much any other sport, has a big PED problem. There was a time when the men noticeably started declining at 30, and the women much earlier. There was something like a physical speed limit on dominance; no one, however great, could defy the laws of biology, which was a great equalizer. Those days are gone, and what you’re left with is a situation where those that truly distinguish themselves are not just the ones who have mastered their craft, but have (along with their trainers and doctors) also mastered the new sciences of performance. I know a lot of people don’t care about this, but I do. It’s getting ridiculous.

This is probably 20-30% true, but I'm not sure it's as simple as saying "these all-time greats are hoarding all the best PEDs for themselves", rather than wondering about why the next generation of great tennis players never really broke through:

Dominic Thiem is the only men's player born in the 90's to have won a single Grand Slam.  Up until last year's US Open, only three players born in the 90's had even made it to the Finals:
2016 Wimbledon: Milos Raonic
2018 French Open: Dominic Thiem
2019 US Open: Daniil Medvedev
(There's an asterisk here: in that Kei Nishikori made it to the 2014 US Open finals and he was born on December 29th, 1989, so he very nearly counts)


Obviously the 2020 US Open was between Thiem and Zverev, but that is very much the exception, not the rule.

To put it in more wild perspective: a woman born in the 2000's won a Grand Slam before a man born in the 90's did.

The Big 3 have won 59 of the past 70 Grand Slams (including Wimbledon 2020, which was cancelled due to COVID). By the end of the year it could very easily be 61 of 72. That's absolutely insane, and you can't put it all down to PEDs.
Especially when presumably the younger guys are also using them at the same rate as the older guys.  I mean even if you assume that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all using PED's (and that is obviously a huge assumption), why wouldn't you also make that assumption with the Tsitspas of the world?

It just seems to me that American's and many of the other formerly great tennis producing countries, have just lost interest in the sport and haven't developed any real challengers.  That isn't to say those 3 are legitimately great, they are, but they can also hang around because there quite simply hasn't been anyone to remove them.
you can say this about any American sport to be honest.  Lack of quality players in many sports is allowing older players to hang around the game as well as allowing the lowering of the quality of the various sports in general.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Walker Wiggle on June 14, 2021, 01:59:34 PM
Time to stop whistling past the graveyard... Tennis, like pretty much any other sport, has a big PED problem. There was a time when the men noticeably started declining at 30, and the women much earlier. There was something like a physical speed limit on dominance; no one, however great, could defy the laws of biology, which was a great equalizer. Those days are gone, and what you’re left with is a situation where those that truly distinguish themselves are not just the ones who have mastered their craft, but have (along with their trainers and doctors) also mastered the new sciences of performance. I know a lot of people don’t care about this, but I do. It’s getting ridiculous.

This is probably 20-30% true, but I'm not sure it's as simple as saying "these all-time greats are hoarding all the best PEDs for themselves", rather than wondering about why the next generation of great tennis players never really broke through:

Dominic Thiem is the only men's player born in the 90's to have won a single Grand Slam.  Up until last year's US Open, only three players born in the 90's had even made it to the Finals:
2016 Wimbledon: Milos Raonic
2018 French Open: Dominic Thiem
2019 US Open: Daniil Medvedev
(There's an asterisk here: in that Kei Nishikori made it to the 2014 US Open finals and he was born on December 29th, 1989, so he very nearly counts)


Obviously the 2020 US Open was between Thiem and Zverev, but that is very much the exception, not the rule.

To put it in more wild perspective: a woman born in the 2000's won a Grand Slam before a man born in the 90's did.

The Big 3 have won 59 of the past 70 Grand Slams (including Wimbledon 2020, which was cancelled due to COVID). By the end of the year it could very easily be 61 of 72. That's absolutely insane, and you can't put it all down to PEDs.
Especially when presumably the younger guys are also using them at the same rate as the older guys.  I mean even if you assume that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all using PED's (and that is obviously a huge assumption), why wouldn't you also make that assumption with the Tsitspas of the world?

It just seems to me that American's and many of the other formerly great tennis producing countries, have just lost interest in the sport and haven't developed any real challengers.  That isn't to say those 3 are legitimately great, they are, but they can also hang around because there quite simply hasn't been anyone to remove them.
you can say this about any American sport to be honest.  Lack of quality players in many sports is allowing older players to hang around the game as well as allowing the lowering of the quality of the various sports in general.

Totally agree that the PED problem is not unique to tennis. Basically all sports leagues -- with the possible exception of the Olympics, if you consider that a league -- is giving the outward facade of caring about the issue, but in reality welcoming it.

The way PEDs create small pools of dominant players is because it can have cumulative effects. So, for instance, a guy who's been doping for 15 years and is in his mid-30s could very well have an advantage over a similarly-skilled player in his early 20s who just started using.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: nickagneta on June 14, 2021, 02:01:28 PM
You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 14, 2021, 04:45:37 PM
You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

It can be boring, but that depends entirely on the matchup. Some of the big servers, like Isner, who hit the ball 140mph on their first serve and have 2-3 hit rallies are not fun to watch at all.

Try to tune in for the quarters or Semi’s of Wimbledon or another major tournament. Watch Federer, Nadal and Djokovic play against each other or some of the other top 10 players in the world. It’s a different game.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on June 28, 2021, 02:06:05 PM
Novak lost the 1st set today at Wimbledon, but then cruised.  Big upset though as 3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in straight sets to American Frances Tiafoe. On the women's side American Sloane Stephens upset 2 time champ Petra Kvitova in straight sets.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 28, 2021, 04:09:58 PM
Novak lost the 1st set today at Wimbledon, but then cruised.  Big upset though as 3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in straight sets to American Frances Tiafoe. On the women's side American Sloane Stephens upset 2 time champ Petra Kvitova in straight sets.

That was a huge upset...Frances certainly is a dangerous player. Watching the Murray match now, hoping he doesn’t choke.  :-X
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 07, 2021, 08:14:24 PM
Federer got blitzed today going out in straight sets to 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz.  Novak breezed into the Semis.  He will face 10th seeded Canadian Denis Sharpovalov who is in his first major semi-final.   Hurkacz will face 7th seeded Matteo Berrettini.  In other words, if Novak does not win the title he will be beaten by someone who may very well pull off the biggest upset in tennis history (given the totality of the circumstances). 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 09, 2021, 02:48:41 PM
Novak Djokovic is advancing to the Wimbledon final. Brought his B game today and still won easily in straight sets. Final will be Sunday morning and If Djokovic wins, he will tie Federer and Nadal for the most majors of all time with 20.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Redz on July 09, 2021, 03:42:57 PM
You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

It can be boring, but that depends entirely on the matchup. Some of the big servers, like Isner, who hit the ball 140mph on their first serve and have 2-3 hit rallies are not fun to watch at all.

Try to tune in for the quarters or Semi’s of Wimbledon or another major tournament. Watch Federer, Nadal and Djokovic play against each other or some of the other top 10 players in the world. It’s a different game.

You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

Women's tennis is often better to watch for that reason.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 09, 2021, 04:24:09 PM
You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

It can be boring, but that depends entirely on the matchup. Some of the big servers, like Isner, who hit the ball 140mph on their first serve and have 2-3 hit rallies are not fun to watch at all.

Try to tune in for the quarters or Semi’s of Wimbledon or another major tournament. Watch Federer, Nadal and Djokovic play against each other or some of the other top 10 players in the world. It’s a different game.

You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

Women's tennis is often better to watch for that reason.
It may very well be the only sport where the viewing experience is comparable if not better for the women's game.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 09, 2021, 07:41:28 PM
You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

It can be boring, but that depends entirely on the matchup. Some of the big servers, like Isner, who hit the ball 140mph on their first serve and have 2-3 hit rallies are not fun to watch at all.

Try to tune in for the quarters or Semi’s of Wimbledon or another major tournament. Watch Federer, Nadal and Djokovic play against each other or some of the other top 10 players in the world. It’s a different game.

You have to be an amazing athlete to succeed at tennis. Much respect to them, but my Lord do I find it to be a boring sport and extremely difficult to watch.

Women's tennis is often better to watch for that reason.

Women’s tennis has been good. I’ve really enjoyed watching Coco Gauff.  it’s incredible how good she is at 17 years old. I saw her play live at the US open 2 years ago and I wouldn’t  be at all surprised if she wins a major While still in her teens. Ash Barty is another player that’s fun to watch.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2021, 04:02:03 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 11, 2021, 04:28:05 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 11, 2021, 06:29:25 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie
This is like if Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano all fought in the same 20ish year period. Ludicrous concentration of winning
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2021, 06:45:59 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
He said today he was now only 50 50 on if he was going to do the Olympics
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 11, 2021, 07:08:42 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
He said today he was now only 50 50 on if he was going to do the Olympics

I get it.  It’s not a typical tournament, there’s no financial incentive, he could use the rest, the Covid protocols are in place and seem ridiculously restrictive.

Still, I hope he does it.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2021, 09:02:58 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.

The calendar slam plus a gold medal= The Calendar Golden Slam. Steffi Graf is the only player to have ever won this.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2021, 11:59:34 PM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
He said today he was now only 50 50 on if he was going to do the Olympics

Yeah... he’s full of it. There is no way he passes up the opportunity to do something that no one else in men’s tennis has ever done.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2021, 09:18:27 AM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
He said today he was now only 50 50 on if he was going to do the Olympics

Yeah... he’s full of it. There is no way he passes up the opportunity to do something that no one else in men’s tennis has ever done.
I don't know about that.  He can't take his full team with him, including his stringer which when he talked was clearly a big deal for him.  He will basically be isolated and can't even go watch other events.  It sounds like 2 weeks of basically quarantine with all the added stress of that.  I'm sure he'd love the Gold Medal, but there is no guarantee he wins it and it will make his US Open more difficult so I get why he has some hesitation.  When he said he was going earlier this summer it didn't look like they were going to be nearly this restrictive in the covid stuff.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 12, 2021, 11:06:11 AM
No surprise, Novak won and picked up his 20th grand slam title tying Federer and Nadal and is still on pace for winning the calendar year slam and breaking the tie

The calendar slam plus a gold medal.
He said today he was now only 50 50 on if he was going to do the Olympics

Yeah... he’s full of it. There is no way he passes up the opportunity to do something that no one else in men’s tennis has ever done.
I don't know about that.  He can't take his full team with him, including his stringer which when he talked was clearly a big deal for him.  He will basically be isolated and can't even go watch other events.  It sounds like 2 weeks of basically quarantine with all the added stress of that.  I'm sure he'd love the Gold Medal, but there is no guarantee he wins it and it will make his US Open more difficult so I get why he has some hesitation.  When he said he was going earlier this summer it didn't look like they were going to be nearly this restrictive in the covid stuff.

We shall see, but I would be very surprised if he didn’t go. Olympics end Aug 6th and the US open starts Aug 30th. That’s plenty of time for him to recover, plus the Olympic matches are best of 3, not 5, so it’s not going to be as taxing on his body.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 15, 2021, 07:56:27 PM
Novak Djokovic tweets that he is in for Tokyo Olympics

After Djokovic won Wimbledon on Sunday for his record-tying 20th career Grand Slam title, he said he didn't know whether he was going to play in Tokyo.

If the top-ranked Djokovic wins gold in men's singles and at the US Open, he would become the first male tennis player to complete a "Golden Slam" -- all four Grand Slam tournaments and the Olympics in the same calendar year.

Steffi Graf is the only woman to have done it, in 1988.

While Djokovic is headed for Tokyo, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios are among the top men's players who won't be competing in the Olympics.




https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31824066/novak-djokovic-posts-for-tokyo-olympics
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 30, 2021, 08:48:48 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 30, 2021, 09:00:10 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.

Bummer. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 30, 2021, 10:01:59 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.

Wow, I’m shocked. Who did he lose to?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 30, 2021, 10:09:42 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.

Wow, I’m shocked. Who did he lose to?
Alexander Zverev of Germany. It was in the semis, so he can take the bronze still.  He can also take the bronze in mixed doubles.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 30, 2021, 10:15:15 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.

Wow, I’m shocked. Who did he lose to?
Alexander Zverev of Germany. It was in the semis, so he can take the bronze still.  He can also take the bronze in mixed doubles.

It’s weird, too, because he basically dominated the first set.I still think that he would have had a good shot at winning if this was under Grand Slam rules, but so be it.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 30, 2021, 11:06:36 AM
No Golden Slam as Novak loses.  Hopefully he still gets the US Open and this Japan trip doesn't derail that.

Wow, I’m shocked. Who did he lose to?
Alexander Zverev of Germany. It was in the semis, so he can take the bronze still.  He can also take the bronze in mixed doubles.

It’s weird, too, because he basically dominated the first set.I still think that he would have had a good shot at winning if this was under Grand Slam rules, but so be it.

Zverev is a wildcard. If he’s getting his second serve in, he can beat anyone. There are only a few players that have the skillset to beat Novak: Rafa, Medvedev, Thiem, Tsistsipas, and Zverev.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 31, 2021, 08:17:25 AM
Novak lost to Busta of Spain, threw a tizzy, and then withdrew from mixed doubles citing a shoulder injury. If he is really injured the US Open is in doubt and you have to feel bad for his mixed doubles partner who doesn't get a chance to win a bronze
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 31, 2021, 09:29:45 AM
Novak lost to Busta of Spain, threw a tizzy, and then withdrew from mixed doubles citing a shoulder injury. If he is really injured the US Open is in doubt and you have to feel bad for his mixed doubles partner who doesn't get a chance to win a bronze
He loves his tantrums
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 31, 2021, 09:59:04 AM
Novak lost to Busta of Spain, threw a tizzy, and then withdrew from mixed doubles citing a shoulder injury. If he is really injured the US Open is in doubt and you have to feel bad for his mixed doubles partner who doesn't get a chance to win a bronze
He loves his tantrums

And that’s why the fans don’t love him like they do with Roger and Rafa. Really sucks for his doubles partner.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on August 12, 2021, 11:16:00 AM
Novak pulled out of the Master's event in Cincinnati citing that he needed more time to recover from the Olympics.  His next event will be the US Open.  Be interesting to see how he starts out and if he gets any problematic early match-ups.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on August 30, 2021, 09:46:12 PM
Interesting 1st round match at the US Open with some controversy.

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32116329/andy-murray-lost-respect-stefanos-tsitsipas-taking-lengthy-bathroom-break-5-hour-match
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: tenn_smoothie on August 30, 2021, 09:50:57 PM
Since the 2005 French Open, the only grand slam that was not won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic was the 2009 U.S. Open won by Juan Martin Del Potro.

Adding in Andy Murray, no one else made a final last year (Murray and Federer 1 appearance each, with the other 6 slots split evenly by Djokovic and Nadal).  Those four are the only men left at this years Australian Open, which means 4 of the last 5 Grand Slams semi finals comprised those four (last year at Wimbledon Federer lost in the quarters to Tsonga or it would have been 5 straight). 


I don't ever remember a time where 4 men (I'm including Murray since he is clearly way better than everyone else) dominated the rest of the field like this.  Totally impressive, especially since they are all doing it on all 3 surfaces. 


The questions I'm struggling with are

Is this good for tennis?  If not, what can tennis do about it?

What does this mean for American tennis (since none are American)?

Who is going to be the person to challenge those four?

late 70's into early 80's .............. Connors, Borg, McEnroe.

People forget that Jimmy Connors came back in 1982
to sweep Wimbledon (vs McEnroe) and the US Open (vs Lendl) and regain the World #1 ranking.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on August 30, 2021, 11:04:46 PM
Since the 2005 French Open, the only grand slam that was not won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic was the 2009 U.S. Open won by Juan Martin Del Potro.

Adding in Andy Murray, no one else made a final last year (Murray and Federer 1 appearance each, with the other 6 slots split evenly by Djokovic and Nadal).  Those four are the only men left at this years Australian Open, which means 4 of the last 5 Grand Slams semi finals comprised those four (last year at Wimbledon Federer lost in the quarters to Tsonga or it would have been 5 straight). 


I don't ever remember a time where 4 men (I'm including Murray since he is clearly way better than everyone else) dominated the rest of the field like this.  Totally impressive, especially since they are all doing it on all 3 surfaces. 


The questions I'm struggling with are

Is this good for tennis?  If not, what can tennis do about it?

What does this mean for American tennis (since none are American)?

Who is going to be the person to challenge those four?

late 70's into early 80's .............. Connors, Borg, McEnroe.

People forget that Jimmy Connors came back in 1982
to sweep Wimbledon (vs McEnroe) and the US Open (vs Lendl) and regain the World #1 ranking.
They certainly won a lot, but there was always others winning titles, like Vilas, Wilander, Noah, etc.  For that stretch there (and it really hasn't been much better since that original post) there has just been complete and utter domination by the 3 men that have won the most grand slams in the sports history.  To have that happen at the same time is astonishing.  Imagine how many title they'd have if they weren't taking them from each other.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on August 30, 2021, 11:26:29 PM
Interesting 1st round match at the US Open with some controversy.

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32116329/andy-murray-lost-respect-stefanos-tsitsipas-taking-lengthy-bathroom-break-5-hour-match

That was a great match. Went almost 5hrs...Murray had a lot of opportunities and he just  played too safe at times. Tsistsipas and his antics are becoming obnoxious. A lot of the players despise him for it.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on August 30, 2021, 11:35:31 PM
And seriously since Marat Safin won the 2005 Australian Open, the only guys not the big 3 to win are as follows

09 US - del Potro
12 US - Murray
13 WI - Murray
14 AU - Wawrinka
14 US - Cilic
15 FR - Wawrinka
16 WI - Murray
16 US - Wawrinka
20 US - Thiem (and Novak probably would have won if he didn't DQ himself)

That is it.  In basically 17 years, only 9 grand slam titles have not been won by the big 3 and of those 6 were won by Murray and Wawrinka. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on August 30, 2021, 11:41:27 PM
And seriously since Marat Safin won the 2005 Australian Open, the only guys not the big 3 to win are as follows

09 US - del Potro
12 US - Murray
13 WI - Murray
14 AU - Wawrinka
14 US - Cilic
15 FR - Wawrinka
16 WI - Murray
16 US - Wawrinka
20 US - Thiem (and Novak probably would have won if he didn't DQ himself)

That is it.  In basically 17 years, only 9 grand slam titles have not been won by the big 3 and of those 6 were won by Murray and Wawrinka.

It’s wild. Hoping someone new breaks through and beats Novak at this years US Open. Feel like the only players that can beat him are Zverev and Medvedev. My money is on Zverev. He’s been on a tear  lately.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: tenn_smoothie on August 30, 2021, 11:43:37 PM
Since the 2005 French Open, the only grand slam that was not won by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic was the 2009 U.S. Open won by Juan Martin Del Potro.

Adding in Andy Murray, no one else made a final last year (Murray and Federer 1 appearance each, with the other 6 slots split evenly by Djokovic and Nadal).  Those four are the only men left at this years Australian Open, which means 4 of the last 5 Grand Slams semi finals comprised those four (last year at Wimbledon Federer lost in the quarters to Tsonga or it would have been 5 straight). 


I don't ever remember a time where 4 men (I'm including Murray since he is clearly way better than everyone else) dominated the rest of the field like this.  Totally impressive, especially since they are all doing it on all 3 surfaces. 


The questions I'm struggling with are

Is this good for tennis?  If not, what can tennis do about it?

What does this mean for American tennis (since none are American)?

Who is going to be the person to challenge those four?

late 70's into early 80's .............. Connors, Borg, McEnroe.

People forget that Jimmy Connors came back in 1982
to sweep Wimbledon (vs McEnroe) and the US Open (vs Lendl) and regain the World #1 ranking.
They certainly won a lot, but there was always others winning titles, like Vilas, Wilander, Noah, etc.  For that stretch there (and it really hasn't been much better since that original post) there has just been complete and utter domination by the 3 men that have won the most grand slams in the sports history.  To have that happen at the same time is astonishing.  Imagine how many title they'd have if they weren't taking them from each other.

For what it's worth -

1976
French - Panatta
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - Connors

1977
French - Vilas
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - Vilas

1978
French - Borg
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - Connors

1979
French - Borg
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - McEnroe

1980
French - Borg
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - McEnroe

1981
French - Borg
Wimbledon - Borg
US Open - McEnroe

1982
French - Wilander
Wimbledon - Connors
US Open - Connors

1983
French - Noah
Wimbledon - McEnroe
US Open - Connors

Also note that:
Connors won Wimbledon and US Open and Australian in '74. (Connors banned from the French or he would have won the Grand Slam)
Borg won Paris in '74, '75 & Wimbledon in '76,
McEnroe won Wimbledon '84, US Open '84
(The Australian was not a high priority in this era, though still a Grand Slam event)

A couple of interlopers, but the Big 3 dominated.




Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 06, 2021, 08:46:29 PM
Novak is running into some trouble for his quest for the calendar slam and most majors of all time. He’s playing a 20 year old American who took the first set 6-1. Djokovic is leading in the second. Incredible match on ESPN
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 06, 2021, 09:40:13 PM
Novak is running into some trouble for his quest for the calendar slam and most majors of all time. He’s playing a 20 year old American who took the first set 6-1. Djokovic is leading in the second. Incredible match on ESPN
won the 2nd set 6-3 and is leading 5-1 in the 3rd.  Seems like the trouble is probably averted.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 06, 2021, 11:24:35 PM
Novak is running into some trouble for his quest for the calendar slam and most majors of all time. He’s playing a 20 year old American who took the first set 6-1. Djokovic is leading in the second. Incredible match on ESPN
won the 2nd set 6-3 and is leading 5-1 in the 3rd.  Seems like the trouble is probably averted.

Indeed. The wheels fell off fast after that first set. If that 20 year old American develops a serve, though.... watch out. He was very impressive.

I’m taking the field over Novak at this point. He has Berratteni next and than most likely Zverev, who has been playing lights out since winning gold at the Olympics. Medvedev has it much easier on the other half of the draw. I’m anticipating a Zverev/Medvedev final, with Medvedev winning.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 08, 2021, 10:16:43 PM
Berrettini just broke Djokovic at 5-5 in the 1st set.  So serving for the 1 set lead.  Berrettini is the 6th seed who made the Finals at Wimbledon this year, so not a young upstart.  That said he won the 1st set at Wimbledon against Djokovic in the Final before Novak won the last 3. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 09, 2021, 12:08:07 AM
Seems like Novak likes to lose the 1st set before he settles in.  He won the 2nd and 3rd at 6-2 each. 

And it is really weird to see a guy going for the Grand Slam not have the crowd behind him when playing against a random non-American player.  I mean I'd get the crowd supporting an American or someone like Federer or Nadal, who are both extremely popular, but to see the crowd supporting Berrettini is just strange to me.

Assuming Novak doesn't choke this away, he will face the man that entering the tournament would have the best odds to beat him (and maybe the only one that realistically could), in 4th seeded Zverev.  Zverez beat him at the Olympics, so should be an interesting match.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: BudweiserCeltic on September 09, 2021, 12:13:32 AM
Seems like Novak likes to lose the 1st set before he settles in.  He won the 2nd and 3rd at 6-2 each. 

And it is really weird to see a guy going for the Grand Slam not have the crowd behind him when playing against a random non-American player.  I mean I'd get the crowd supporting an American or someone like Federer or Nadal, who are both extremely popular, but to see the crowd supporting Berrettini is just strange to me.

Assuming Novak doesn't choke this away, he will face the man that entering the tournament would have the best odds to beat him (and maybe the only one that realistically could), in 4th seeded Zverev.  Zverez beat him at the Olympics, so should be an interesting match.

Well, there are many Italians/Italian-Americans in New York, so that can be part of it... though in general Novak has a lot of love-hate around.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2021, 10:43:04 AM
Seems like Novak likes to lose the 1st set before he settles in.  He won the 2nd and 3rd at 6-2 each. 

And it is really weird to see a guy going for the Grand Slam not have the crowd behind him when playing against a random non-American player.  I mean I'd get the crowd supporting an American or someone like Federer or Nadal, who are both extremely popular, but to see the crowd supporting Berrettini is just strange to me.

Assuming Novak doesn't choke this away, he will face the man that entering the tournament would have the best odds to beat him (and maybe the only one that realistically could), in 4th seeded Zverev.  Zverez beat him at the Olympics, so should be an interesting match.

Well, there are many Italians/Italian-Americans in New York, so that can be part of it... though in general Novak has a lot of love-hate around.

Exactly. Berrettini, has a good personality too. Novak does not, that and his on/off the court antics is the reason for the lack of support from the crowd/fans. Im rooting for the field.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 09, 2021, 01:00:52 PM
Seems like Novak likes to lose the 1st set before he settles in.  He won the 2nd and 3rd at 6-2 each. 

And it is really weird to see a guy going for the Grand Slam not have the crowd behind him when playing against a random non-American player.  I mean I'd get the crowd supporting an American or someone like Federer or Nadal, who are both extremely popular, but to see the crowd supporting Berrettini is just strange to me.

Assuming Novak doesn't choke this away, he will face the man that entering the tournament would have the best odds to beat him (and maybe the only one that realistically could), in 4th seeded Zverev.  Zverez beat him at the Olympics, so should be an interesting match.

Well, there are many Italians/Italian-Americans in New York, so that can be part of it... though in general Novak has a lot of love-hate around.

Exactly. Berrettini, has a good personality too. Novak does not, that and his on/off the court antics is the reason for the lack of support from the crowd/fans. Im rooting for the field.
If I don't have a rooting interest, I generally root for history to be made.  So I hope he pulls it out and gets the Grand Slam.  No man has done that in my lifetime, so that would be cool.  It is the same reason I loved seeing the Triple Crown.  I wasn't quite born when Affirmed won it so for American Pharoah to finally break through a few years back was awesome, especially as so many had come close and failed.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 10, 2021, 10:17:14 PM
Incredible match between Djokovic and Zverev on ESPN. Looks like it will be a 5 setter.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2021, 10:39:45 PM
2-0 Novak in 5th
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2021, 10:43:58 PM
 3-0, and 30-30 on Alex serve.  Feels like Alex ran out of gas winning the 4th.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2021, 10:45:59 PM
 Yep. No gas left as Novak breaks again. Serving up 4 to 0. Novak will play Medvedev again.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on September 10, 2021, 11:02:12 PM
Yep. No gas left as Novak breaks again. Serving up 4 to 0. Novak will play Medvedev again.

Yeah, Novak's stamina seems unrivaled.  It's probably why he is less dominant at the Olympics; it's easier for opponents to stay with him over three sets than it is five.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 10, 2021, 11:05:18 PM
Zverev is still alive... barely, though.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 11, 2021, 05:08:12 PM
2 teenagers playing for women's title right now
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: BudweiserCeltic on September 11, 2021, 07:01:36 PM
2 teenagers playing for women's title right now

I was rooting for Emma Raducanu, glad that she won as she was being overshadowed by Fernandez (with reason) arriving to the Finals, but the 3 or 4 matches I had seen of her she had impressed me.

In all it was cool match, plenty of great rallies... the result doesn't do justice to how competitive every single game was. Fernandez struggled a lot with her first serve, and I think that played a lot into why she lost, but Emma was very much deserving and in all it was a great tournament to watch.

Tomorrow, history will be made once again...hopefully.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 12, 2021, 11:44:18 AM
2 teenagers playing for women's title right now

I was rooting for Emma Raducanu, glad that she won as she was being overshadowed by Fernandez (with reason) arriving to the Finals, but the 3 or 4 matches I had seen of her she had impressed me.

In all it was cool match, plenty of great rallies... the result doesn't do justice to how competitive every single game was. Fernandez struggled a lot with her first serve, and I think that played a lot into why she lost, but Emma was very much deserving and in all it was a great tournament to watch.

Tomorrow, history will be made once again...hopefully.

I was rooting for Leylah Fernandez. Her path to the final was much more difficult and that’s why Emma was overshadowed. She beat Osaka(arguably the most dominant player in womens tennis), Kerber, who won the US open a few years back, Svetlina top 5 player and Sabalenka who is the #2 ranked player in the world.

Many of Fernandez’s matches went 3 sets and I think that is why her serve was off in the final. Tired legs.the match was very competitive as you had mentioned.  I was hoping that Leylah would win, I saw her play Kerber live last Sunday in NY and she’s a really exciting young player. Happy for Emma, too. She had an incredible run and didn’t drop a set the whole tournament, which is unreal. Future of women’s tennis is bright.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: blink on September 12, 2021, 03:51:47 PM
2 teenagers playing for women's title right now

I was rooting for Emma Raducanu, glad that she won as she was being overshadowed by Fernandez (with reason) arriving to the Finals, but the 3 or 4 matches I had seen of her she had impressed me.

In all it was cool match, plenty of great rallies... the result doesn't do justice to how competitive every single game was. Fernandez struggled a lot with her first serve, and I think that played a lot into why she lost, but Emma was very much deserving and in all it was a great tournament to watch.

Tomorrow, history will be made once again...hopefully.

I was rooting for Leylah Fernandez. Her path to the final was much more difficult and that’s why Emma was overshadowed. She beat Osaka(arguably the most dominant player in womens tennis), Kerber, who won the US open a few years back, Svetlina top 5 player and Sabalenka who is the #2 ranked player in the world.

Many of Fernandez’s matches went 3 sets and I think that is why her serve was off in the final. Tired legs.the match was very competitive as you had mentioned.  I was hoping that Leylah would win, I saw her play Kerber live last Sunday in NY and she’s a really exciting young player. Happy for Emma, too. She had an incredible run and didn’t drop a set the whole tournament, which is unreal. Future of women’s tennis is bright.

Yeah I was rooting for Fernandez too.  I admired what both ladies did to get to the final though.  It just felt like after the first game or so that Raducanu was the favorite as she looked more dominating.  It was fun to see Fernandez stay competitive in both sets.  Match was much closer than the score, with many games going into deuce / ad and back and forth.  I came out of watching the match as a fan of both players.  I am sure I probably enjoyed that match more than the one today.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 12, 2021, 05:02:17 PM
Medvedev takes the first set in the final vs Djokovic.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 12, 2021, 06:36:20 PM
Danil Medvedev beats Novak Djokovic in straight sets and wins the US open.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on September 12, 2021, 06:36:51 PM
Danil Medvedev beats Novak Djokovic in straight sets and wins the US open.
Love it! Can't stand Djokovic
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on September 12, 2021, 06:37:04 PM
 :-[straight set win for medvedev. Very anti climatic
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: BudweiserCeltic on September 12, 2021, 06:38:06 PM
:-[straight set win for medvedev. Very anti climatic

Agreed =(
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: blink on September 12, 2021, 06:43:41 PM
:-[straight set win for medvedev. Very anti climatic

Agreed =(

Not for Medvedev!!

Medvedev played an incredible match.  Djokovic seemed a step slow all day.  The pressure on him seemed palpable.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 12, 2021, 06:44:32 PM
Danil Medvedev beats Novak Djokovic in straight sets and wins the US open.
Love it! Can't stand Djokovic

I’m not a fan of him either. He’s probably the greatest tennis player of all time, but his on and off the court antics make him unlikable. Hoping that Roger, Rafa and Novak retire tied with 20
Majors each.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: footey on September 12, 2021, 07:44:38 PM
OP needs to change the heading of this thread, LOL.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on November 29, 2021, 09:20:55 PM
So Novak is unvaccinated and therefore cannot enter Australia so he will not be defending his title (he has won the last 3 and has 9 Aussie's total). 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on November 29, 2021, 11:39:50 PM
So Novak is unvaccinated and therefore cannot enter Australia so he will not be defending his title (he has won the last 3 and has 9 Aussie's total).

He’s supposedly not vaccinated, yet. There’s still time. AO doesn’t start until January 17th.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: BudweiserCeltic on November 30, 2021, 02:24:09 AM
So Novak is unvaccinated and therefore cannot enter Australia so he will not be defending his title (he has won the last 3 and has 9 Aussie's total).

Didn't they have to be vaccinated for the Olympics?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on November 30, 2021, 08:03:35 AM
So Novak is unvaccinated and therefore cannot enter Australia so he will not be defending his title (he has won the last 3 and has 9 Aussie's total).

Didn't they have to be vaccinated for the Olympics?
apparently not.  Perhaps individual sports were treated differently than team ones.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 04, 2022, 09:26:46 AM
Really surprised they are letting him get away with this in Australia... Novak is the only one that I’ve heard of to receive this vaccine exemption for both the men and women competing in the AO which is a few weeks away.


Novak Djokovic ended speculation over his Australian Open title defence by announcing on Tuesday that he would compete at the tennis season's opening Grand Slam event after receiving a medical exemption from getting vaccinated against COVID-19.

The world No. 1, who had declined to reveal his vaccination status, said previously that he was unsure whether he would compete at the Jan. 17-30 tournament in Melbourne due to concerns over Australia's quarantine rules.

"I've spent fantastic quality time with my loved ones over the break and today I'm heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let's go 2022," the Serbian said on Instagram.

Organisers of the Australian Open had stipulated that all participants must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a medical exemption granted by an independent panel of experts.

The organisers issued a statement later on Tuesday to confirm Djokovic will be allowed to compete at the Australian Open and is on his way to Australia.



https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32990613/novak-djokovic-defend-australian-open-title-exemption-vaccination
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 05, 2022, 09:14:12 AM
Novak Djokovic needs to prove vaccine exemption ahead of Australian Open or go home: Australian PM


Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially said the decision was a matter for the government of Victoria, where Melbourne is the state capital.

"They have provided (Djokovic) with an exemption to come to Australia, and so we then act in accordance with that," Morrison said. "States provide exemptions for people to enter on those basis, and that's been happening for the last two years."

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews clarified in a statement that the Australian Border Force would make the final determination.

"While the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may permit a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it is the Commonwealth government that will enforce our requirements at the Australian border," Andrews said. "If an arriving individual is not vaccinated, they must provide acceptable proof that they cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons to be able to access the same travel arrangement as fully vaccinated travelers."

Morrison later added, when asked about Djokovic, that "If that evidence is insufficient, then he won't be treated any different to anyone else and he'll be on the next plane home."


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32997513/novak-djokovic-needs-prove-exemption-go-home-australian-pm

Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 05, 2022, 05:12:43 PM


Novak Djokovic has been denied entry into Australia after initially being granted a medical exemption for the country's COVID-19 vaccination requirements so that the world's No. 1-ranked tennis player could play in the Australian Open.

Djokovic, left stranded at Melbourne's Tullamanrien airport overnight, was issued a letter by the Australian government saying his visa had been denied and he would be deported.

The Australian Border Force, in a statement issued Thursday, said it "will continue to ensure that those who arrive at our border comply with our laws and entry requirements," and also noted that Djokovic "had access to his phone."


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33001055/novak-djokovic-denied-entry-australia-initial-covid-19-medical-exemption
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: ozgod on January 06, 2022, 12:13:38 AM
That's kind of hilarious how it ended up like this: Novax hems and haws about his vaccination status, yet he gets a visa anyway, then Tennis Australia grants him an exemption to play, so he takes the long flight Down Under, then they stop him at the border and cancel his visa because he's not vaccinated and then ship him off to a quarantine hotel where he's now stuck  :laugh:

I definitely support Australia's right to decide what the vaccination status of foreign nationals entering their country should be, and I can understand the outrage with him getting an exemption when thousands of Aussie citizens have been stuck outside their country for 2 years unable to return because of Covid but they shouldn't have given him a visa in the first place. If I get a visa to somewhere and am allowed on the plane to go there, I'd be pretty upset to get there after 24 hours flying to find out it was cancelled. I'm guessing the visa was given in error and then the public outcry from Aussies who have made huge sacrifices undergoing 200 day lockdowns seeing a tennis player get given an exemption forced the politicians to push to have the visa cancelled.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 06, 2022, 09:22:22 AM
The saga continues. Unreal.

Novak Djokovic spent a day confined in an immigration detention hotel waiting for a court ruling and dealing with the prospect of deportation from Australia because of an issue with his visa application relating to COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

The 20-time major champion from Serbia will spend at least another night in immigration detention, probably even the weekend, with his chances of playing in this month's Australian Open in limbo.

With his visa canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules, Djokovic had to trade the practice courts for the law courts on Thursday.

Djokovic has not disclosed whether he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the visa cancellation followed a review of Djokovic's medical exemption by border officials who looked "at the integrity and the evidence behind it."

Djokovic was transferred Thursday morning to a secure hotel controlled by immigration officials that also houses asylum seekers and refugees.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had spoken to Djokovic and that his government is asking that, before Monday, the 20-time major champion be allowed to move to a house he has rented and "not to be in that infamous hotel."




https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33005069/novak-djokovic-remain-visa-limbo-monday-fights-deportation-australia

Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Kiorrik on January 06, 2022, 10:43:07 AM
The saga continues. Unreal.

Novak Djokovic spent a day confined in an immigration detention hotel waiting for a court ruling and dealing with the prospect of deportation from Australia because of an issue with his visa application relating to COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

The 20-time major champion from Serbia will spend at least another night in immigration detention, probably even the weekend, with his chances of playing in this month's Australian Open in limbo.

With his visa canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules, Djokovic had to trade the practice courts for the law courts on Thursday.

Djokovic has not disclosed whether he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the visa cancellation followed a review of Djokovic's medical exemption by border officials who looked "at the integrity and the evidence behind it."

Djokovic was transferred Thursday morning to a secure hotel controlled by immigration officials that also houses asylum seekers and refugees.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had spoken to Djokovic and that his government is asking that, before Monday, the 20-time major champion be allowed to move to a house he has rented and "not to be in that infamous hotel."




https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33005069/novak-djokovic-remain-visa-limbo-monday-fights-deportation-australia

Unreal indeed.

Just get the jab and get on with it.

Idiot.

Seriously. How does he, as a professional tennis player, literally top of the world, NOT have his vax paperwork sorted out?

That's on him, and his management. Not on ANYONE else.

You had ONE job.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 06, 2022, 10:56:29 AM
The saga continues. Unreal.

Novak Djokovic spent a day confined in an immigration detention hotel waiting for a court ruling and dealing with the prospect of deportation from Australia because of an issue with his visa application relating to COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

The 20-time major champion from Serbia will spend at least another night in immigration detention, probably even the weekend, with his chances of playing in this month's Australian Open in limbo.

With his visa canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules, Djokovic had to trade the practice courts for the law courts on Thursday.

Djokovic has not disclosed whether he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the visa cancellation followed a review of Djokovic's medical exemption by border officials who looked "at the integrity and the evidence behind it."

Djokovic was transferred Thursday morning to a secure hotel controlled by immigration officials that also houses asylum seekers and refugees.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had spoken to Djokovic and that his government is asking that, before Monday, the 20-time major champion be allowed to move to a house he has rented and "not to be in that infamous hotel."




https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33005069/novak-djokovic-remain-visa-limbo-monday-fights-deportation-australia

Unreal indeed.

Just get the jab and get on with it.

Idiot.

Seriously. How does he, as a professional tennis player, literally top of the world, NOT have his vax paperwork sorted out?

That's on him, and his management. Not on ANYONE else.

You had ONE job.

He’s against Vaccines and already had Covid back in 2020, so I’m sure he’s like many others that think they have sufficient antibodies to protect them.

How are people in Australia reacting to this story? I watch the AO every year on TV and there are some passionate tennis fans down under for sure. Matches get rowdy and loud, it’s a lot of fun. If they do let Novak compete, the fans are going to be brutal.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Kiorrik on January 06, 2022, 11:01:11 AM
The saga continues. Unreal.

Novak Djokovic spent a day confined in an immigration detention hotel waiting for a court ruling and dealing with the prospect of deportation from Australia because of an issue with his visa application relating to COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

The 20-time major champion from Serbia will spend at least another night in immigration detention, probably even the weekend, with his chances of playing in this month's Australian Open in limbo.

With his visa canceled by Australian Border Force officials who rejected his evidence to support a medical exemption from the country's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules, Djokovic had to trade the practice courts for the law courts on Thursday.

Djokovic has not disclosed whether he is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the visa cancellation followed a review of Djokovic's medical exemption by border officials who looked "at the integrity and the evidence behind it."

Djokovic was transferred Thursday morning to a secure hotel controlled by immigration officials that also houses asylum seekers and refugees.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he had spoken to Djokovic and that his government is asking that, before Monday, the 20-time major champion be allowed to move to a house he has rented and "not to be in that infamous hotel."




https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33005069/novak-djokovic-remain-visa-limbo-monday-fights-deportation-australia

Unreal indeed.

Just get the jab and get on with it.

Idiot.

Seriously. How does he, as a professional tennis player, literally top of the world, NOT have his vax paperwork sorted out?

That's on him, and his management. Not on ANYONE else.

You had ONE job.

He’s against Vaccines and already had Covid back in 2020, so I’m sure he’s like many others that think they have sufficient antibodies to protect them.

How are people in Australia reacting to this story? I watch the AO every year on TV and there are some passionate tennis fans down under for sure. Matches get rowdy and loud, it’s a lot of fun.

Jeebus H. Having had Covid doesn't prevent you from getting it again. It's been 2 years man, come on, this is public knowledge. And vaccines and boosters help you against getting it again. And once more; it's been 2 years. This is public knowledge. Come, on.

As for people in Australia and how they're responding ... they're responding by saying things like;

Quote
Unreal indeed.

Just get the jab and get on with it.

Idiot.

Seriously. How does he, as a professional tennis player, literally top of the world, NOT have his vax paperwork sorted out?

That's on him, and his management. Not on ANYONE else.

You had ONE job.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: MarcusSmartFanClub on January 06, 2022, 11:09:34 AM
Embarrassing for Novak. Incredible tennis player, but he appears to be a narcissist. I don't think it is shocking for a singularly focused driven athlete to not care about others.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Kiorrik on January 06, 2022, 11:11:35 AM
Embarrassing for Novak. Incredible tennis player, but he appears to be a narcissist. I don't think it is shocking for a singularly focused driven athlete to not care about others.

I think part of the problem is examples set by others.

We're herd animals.

If the leaders don't set a simple straight-foward example, followers will be confused and second-guess.

That's what's happening.

People are unsure because they get mixed signals.

And that's where we are right now.

In a weird impasse.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 06, 2022, 11:12:23 AM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 06, 2022, 03:29:52 PM
All you can do is laugh...  :laugh:


federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly adjourned Djokovic's case until Monday because of a delay in receiving the application for a review of the visa decisions and the temporary ban on his deportation. A lawyer for the government agreed that Djokovic should not be deported before the next hearing.

Djokovic's family said he was the victim of a "political agenda."

"They're keeping him in captivity. They're stomping all over Novak to stomp all over Serbia and Serbian people," Djokovic's father Srdjan told reporters in Belgrade on Thursday.

"I feel terrible since yesterday that they are keeping him as a prisoner. It's not fair. It's not human. I hope that he will win," Djokovic's mother, Dijana, said after speaking with him briefly by telephone from Belgrade. She added: "Terrible, terrible accommodation. It's just some small immigration hotel, if it's hotel at all." It's so dirty and the food is so terrible," she added. "[The authorities] don't want to give him any chance to move on to some better hotel or house that he already rented."

Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: MarcusSmartFanClub on January 06, 2022, 04:07:41 PM
All you can do is laugh...  :laugh:


federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly adjourned Djokovic's case until Monday because of a delay in receiving the application for a review of the visa decisions and the temporary ban on his deportation. A lawyer for the government agreed that Djokovic should not be deported before the next hearing.

Djokovic's family said he was the victim of a "political agenda."

"They're keeping him in captivity. They're stomping all over Novak to stomp all over Serbia and Serbian people," Djokovic's father Srdjan told reporters in Belgrade on Thursday.

"I feel terrible since yesterday that they are keeping him as a prisoner. It's not fair. It's not human. I hope that he will win," Djokovic's mother, Dijana, said after speaking with him briefly by telephone from Belgrade. She added: "Terrible, terrible accommodation. It's just some small immigration hotel, if it's hotel at all." It's so dirty and the food is so terrible," she added. "[The authorities] don't want to give him any chance to move on to some better hotel or house that he already rented."



A little tone deaf. We have a family member on a ventilator right now. Yet, we should be concerned about Novak's accommodations, given that he refuses to vaccinate (and thus help his society)?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 06, 2022, 06:58:16 PM
All you can do is laugh...  :laugh:


federal Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly adjourned Djokovic's case until Monday because of a delay in receiving the application for a review of the visa decisions and the temporary ban on his deportation. A lawyer for the government agreed that Djokovic should not be deported before the next hearing.

Djokovic's family said he was the victim of a "political agenda."

"They're keeping him in captivity. They're stomping all over Novak to stomp all over Serbia and Serbian people," Djokovic's father Srdjan told reporters in Belgrade on Thursday.

"I feel terrible since yesterday that they are keeping him as a prisoner. It's not fair. It's not human. I hope that he will win," Djokovic's mother, Dijana, said after speaking with him briefly by telephone from Belgrade. She added: "Terrible, terrible accommodation. It's just some small immigration hotel, if it's hotel at all." It's so dirty and the food is so terrible," she added. "[The authorities] don't want to give him any chance to move on to some better hotel or house that he already rented."



A little tone deaf. We have a family member on a ventilator right now. Yet, we should be concerned about Novak's accommodations, given that he refuses to vaccinate (and thus help his society)?

Sorry to hear that. I completely agree.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 07, 2022, 10:38:49 AM
Obviously Novak is a narcissist and may very well be an a___hole, but Australian officials have also clearly mismanaged this, singled him out, and have made an example of him for political gains.

I mean he received a valid medical exemption from Australian officials.  He wouldn't have gotten on the plane and flown there without that.  Then you have the health minister or whatever basically acknowledging that because Novak was high profile that they focused more on him (so treating him differently because of who he is).  Then they detain him under armed guard in a tiny room.  Then they send him to one of the most controversial "hotels" on the planet (when they could have sent him to a private house that he paid for away from anyone else). 

Here is an article that sort of summarizes how I feel.  https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/opinions/novak-djokovic-australia-covid-vaccine-requirements-myles/index.html
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 07, 2022, 12:45:15 PM
Obviously Novak is a narcissist and may very well be an a___hole, but Australian officials have also clearly mismanaged this, singled him out, and have made an example of him for political gains.

I mean he received a valid medical exemption from Australian officials.  He wouldn't have gotten on the plane and flown there without that.  Then you have the health minister or whatever basically acknowledging that because Novak was high profile that they focused more on him (so treating him differently because of who he is).  Then they detain him under armed guard in a tiny room.  Then they send him to one of the most controversial "hotels" on the planet (when they could have sent him to a private house that he paid for away from anyone else). 

Here is an article that sort of summarizes how I feel.  https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/06/opinions/novak-djokovic-australia-covid-vaccine-requirements-myles/index.html

He brought the attention to himself by flaunting through social media the fact that he was able to get the medical exception and compete despite not being vaccinated and apparently he did not receive the exemption/approval from the right officials. They aren’t giving him special treatment and I don’t think they should be. He did this to himself, as usual.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: RodyTur10 on January 07, 2022, 05:25:59 PM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.

I very much doubt it. Djokovic is immensely popular in Australia.
Great tennis player and a great person as well.
No idea where this comes from that Novak is deemed unlikeable.
Hopefully he will be able to play.
As usual, Australian government making a fool of themselves.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 07, 2022, 08:23:15 PM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.

I very much doubt it. Djokovic is immensely popular in Australia.
Great tennis player and a great person as well.
No idea where this comes from that Novak is deemed unlikeable.
Hopefully he will be able to play.
As usual, Australian government making a fool of themselves.

Are you serious? There’s been a ton of controversy regarding Djokovic throughout the years. Faking injuries, hitting a lines person In the throat with a ball, which resulted in him getting disqualified from the US open, hosting a tournament with thousands of fans in his home town during summer of 2020 when Covid was spreading like wildfire, against all advice. No one was wearing masks or using social Distancing. Many came down with Covid including players, fans, as well as Novak and his wife. All other tournaments had been Suspended back in March. He’s openly stated that he’s against vaccines of any kind and now he’s trying to get an exemption so that he can compete in the Australian Open despite the countries strict rules on this.  During last years AO Novak wrote a list of demands to the organisers asking for ease in quarantine rules for the players. Then he refused to wear a mask while walking on court for the final. His antics go on and on..
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: RodyTur10 on January 07, 2022, 08:39:38 PM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.

I very much doubt it. Djokovic is immensely popular in Australia.
Great tennis player and a great person as well.
No idea where this comes from that Novak is deemed unlikeable.
Hopefully he will be able to play.
As usual, Australian government making a fool of themselves.

Are you serious? There’s been a ton of controversy regarding Djokovic throughout the years. Faking injuries, hitting a lines person In the throat with a ball, which resulted in him getting disqualified from the US open, hosting a tournament with thousands of fans in his home town during summer of 2020 when Covid was spreading like wildfire, against all advice. No one was wearing masks or using social Distancing. Many came down with Covid including players, fans, as well as Novak and his wife. All other tournaments had been Suspended back in March. He’s openly stated that he’s against vaccines of any kind and now he’s trying to get an exemption so that he can compete in the Australian Open despite the countries strict rules on this.  During last years AO Novak wrote a list of demands to the organisers asking for ease in quarantine rules for the players. Then he refused to wear a mask while walking on court for the final. His antics go on and on..

1. Faking injuries: agreed there has been controversy about that
2. Hitting linesman: completely unintentional, this was a accident for which he apologized.
3. The rest: all covid nonsense.

You're not making a strong case.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 07, 2022, 09:58:03 PM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.

I very much doubt it. Djokovic is immensely popular in Australia.
Great tennis player and a great person as well.
No idea where this comes from that Novak is deemed unlikeable.
Hopefully he will be able to play.
As usual, Australian government making a fool of themselves.

Are you serious? There’s been a ton of controversy regarding Djokovic throughout the years. Faking injuries, hitting a lines person In the throat with a ball, which resulted in him getting disqualified from the US open, hosting a tournament with thousands of fans in his home town during summer of 2020 when Covid was spreading like wildfire, against all advice. No one was wearing masks or using social Distancing. Many came down with Covid including players, fans, as well as Novak and his wife. All other tournaments had been Suspended back in March. He’s openly stated that he’s against vaccines of any kind and now he’s trying to get an exemption so that he can compete in the Australian Open despite the countries strict rules on this.  During last years AO Novak wrote a list of demands to the organisers asking for ease in quarantine rules for the players. Then he refused to wear a mask while walking on court for the final. His antics go on and on..

1. Faking injuries: agreed there has been controversy about that
2. Hitting linesman: completely unintentional, this was a accident for which he apologized.
3. The rest: all covid nonsense.

You're not making a strong case.

Regarding hitting the lines person, Novak almost did it again at last years open. He just doesn’t care. Covid nonsense, Really?

‘Keep your cool’, ‘What is going on?’ Djoker close to hitting ball kid in US Open deja vu

Leading 3-1 in the fourth set and having just one his first point of the fifth game, Djokovic unnecessarily hit a ball back in the direction of the ball kids and chair umpire as he turned around following Berrettini’s long shot.

The ball missed the ball kids by a fraction.
A year after he was controversially disqualified for unintentionally hitting a linesperson, the moment wasn’t missed in commentary as history almost repeated with a semi-final against Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev within touching distance.



https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/us-open/us-open-2021-novak-djokovic-almost-hits-ball-kid-quarterfinal-video-matteo-berrettini-alexander-zverev-score-result/news-story/1ad3a3581db81275582db9e3e0d48900
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on January 10, 2022, 08:15:29 AM
Well the Judge has cancelled his visa cancellation so for the moment Novak is free to enter Australia. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 10, 2022, 11:15:10 AM
Well the Judge has cancelled his visa cancellation so for the moment Novak is free to enter Australia.

He’s not out of the bush yet...(sorry, terrible joke)

Djokovic's ordeal is not yet over. Government lawyer Christopher Tran told the judge after the ruling that the minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, Alex Hawke, "will consider whether to exercise a personal power of cancellation.''

Hawke was still considering whether to cancel Djokovic's visa a second time, a spokesman said later on Monday.

That would mean that the nine-time Australian Open winner and defending champion could again face deportation and could miss the tournament, which starts on Jan. 17. It could also bar him from the country for three years.


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33034506/men-top-ranked-tennis-player-novak-djokovic-hits-tennis-court-visa-reinstatement-says-remains-focused-competing-australian-open
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: MarcusSmartFanClub on January 10, 2022, 12:00:52 PM
I sort of hope they let him compete. The crowd would eat Djokovic alive. It’s a lose/lose situation for him at this point, which is what he deserves. Novak was pretty unlikable to begin with, but good luck trying to play in NY and Aus for the rest of your career after all of this.

I very much doubt it. Djokovic is immensely popular in Australia.
Great tennis player and a great person as well.
No idea where this comes from that Novak is deemed unlikeable.
Hopefully he will be able to play.
As usual, Australian government making a fool of themselves.

Are you serious? There’s been a ton of controversy regarding Djokovic throughout the years. Faking injuries, hitting a lines person In the throat with a ball, which resulted in him getting disqualified from the US open, hosting a tournament with thousands of fans in his home town during summer of 2020 when Covid was spreading like wildfire, against all advice. No one was wearing masks or using social Distancing. Many came down with Covid including players, fans, as well as Novak and his wife. All other tournaments had been Suspended back in March. He’s openly stated that he’s against vaccines of any kind and now he’s trying to get an exemption so that he can compete in the Australian Open despite the countries strict rules on this.  During last years AO Novak wrote a list of demands to the organisers asking for ease in quarantine rules for the players. Then he refused to wear a mask while walking on court for the final. His antics go on and on..

1. Faking injuries: agreed there has been controversy about that
2. Hitting linesman: completely unintentional, this was a accident for which he apologized.
3. The rest: all covid nonsense.

You're not making a strong case.

Nah, it's not nonsense. He's been heavily criticized for his lack of compliance regarding Covid. Aaron Rodgers is also a great athlete, and his stock has also taken a huge fall after his noncompliance/lying.

If you act like a selfish prick, open season.....
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 14, 2022, 09:39:07 AM
Novak Djokovic faces deportation again after the Australian government revoked his visa for a second time, the latest twist in the ongoing saga over whether the No. 1-ranked tennis player will be allowed to compete in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated for COVID-19.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said Friday that he used his ministerial discretion to cancel the 34-year-old Serb's visa on public interest grounds -- just three days before play begins at the Australian Open, where Djokovic has won a record nine of his 20 Grand Slam titles.



https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33062826/novak-djokovic-faces-deportation-australia-revokes-visa-again
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on January 14, 2022, 09:44:10 AM
I read somewhere that this may mean he has to be suspended from entering Australia for three years?

As somebody who enjoys watching great athletes compete, I hope that's not the case, even if I strongly disagree with his stance.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 14, 2022, 01:08:17 PM
I read somewhere that this may mean he has to be suspended from entering Australia for three years?

As somebody who enjoys watching great athletes compete, I hope that's not the case, even if I strongly disagree with his stance.

Yes, he could be banned from entering the country according to the article.

Deportation from Australia can lead to a three-year ban from the country, although that might be waived, depending on the circumstances.

I don’t see how they can let him compete at this point. It would make the Australian government look really foolish, IMO. The optics are bad either way, though.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 16, 2022, 11:18:32 AM
Saga concluded.

Novak Djokovic leaves Australia, 'disappointed' after court dismisses deportation appeal

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Novak Djokovic's final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19 ended Sunday when a court unanimously dismissed the No. 1-ranked tennis player's challenge of a government minister's decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling but respected it. He released a statement shortly after three Federal Court judges unanimously upheld a decision made Friday by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to cancel Djokovic's visa on public interest grounds because he is not vaccinated.


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Phantom255x on January 16, 2022, 11:52:52 AM
Saga concluded.

Novak Djokovic leaves Australia, 'disappointed' after court dismisses deportation appeal

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Novak Djokovic's final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19 ended Sunday when a court unanimously dismissed the No. 1-ranked tennis player's challenge of a government minister's decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling but respected it. He released a statement shortly after three Federal Court judges unanimously upheld a decision made Friday by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to cancel Djokovic's visa on public interest grounds because he is not vaccinated.


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia

Good. 100% the right move.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on January 16, 2022, 05:39:12 PM
Saga concluded.

Novak Djokovic leaves Australia, 'disappointed' after court dismisses deportation appeal

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Novak Djokovic's final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19 ended Sunday when a court unanimously dismissed the No. 1-ranked tennis player's challenge of a government minister's decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling but respected it. He released a statement shortly after three Federal Court judges unanimously upheld a decision made Friday by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to cancel Djokovic's visa on public interest grounds because he is not vaccinated.


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia
Best part about it is that it was with cost. Fronting the bill for the time of three federal judges is brilliant icing.

Novak's nutjob father has likened his treatment to an "assassination attempt".
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 16, 2022, 07:54:27 PM
Saga concluded.

Novak Djokovic leaves Australia, 'disappointed' after court dismisses deportation appeal

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Novak Djokovic's final bid to avoid deportation and play in the Australian Open despite being unvaccinated against COVID-19 ended Sunday when a court unanimously dismissed the No. 1-ranked tennis player's challenge of a government minister's decision to cancel his visa.

Djokovic said he was "extremely disappointed" by the ruling but respected it. He released a statement shortly after three Federal Court judges unanimously upheld a decision made Friday by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to cancel Djokovic's visa on public interest grounds because he is not vaccinated.


https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/33076998/novak-djokovic-loses-deportation-appeal-australia
Best part about it is that it was with cost. Fronting the bill for the time of three federal judges is brilliant icing.

Novak's nutjob father has likened his treatment to an "assassination attempt".

Seriously? :laugh: I did hear an interview with his mother where she made it sound like he was being held against his will and tortured. Completely ridiculous, all you can do is laugh.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 29, 2022, 10:34:00 PM
Rafael Nadal goes for a record 21 grand slam titles against Daniil Medvedev, who had stopped Djokovic from the winning the calendar slam at the US Open last season. Should be an incredible match. Live on ESPN at 3:30am tomorrow and a replay will be shown on ESPN2 at 10am. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on January 30, 2022, 02:49:49 PM
Rafael Nadal wins his 21st Grand Slam by beating #2 in the word Daniil Medvedev in a five set 5.5 hour match. Nadal surpasses both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most majors of all time at 21. It was one of best matches that I’ve ever seen.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on January 30, 2022, 03:57:54 PM
Rafael Nadal wins his 21st Grand Slam by beating #2 in the word Daniil Medvedev in a five set 5.5 hour match. Nadal surpasses both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most majors of all time at 21. It was one of best matches that I’ve ever seen.
Incredible comeback effort.

Medvedev had one of the weirder post-match press conferences afterward
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on March 23, 2022, 10:18:32 AM
Ash Barty fresh off her Australian Open victory has decided to retire at age 25 and ranked #1 in the world. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on March 23, 2022, 10:58:22 AM
Ash Barty fresh off her Australian Open victory has decided to retire at age 25 and ranked #1 in the world.

It’s disappointing as she was a great ambassador for the sport and is such a likable person. Have no idea who will be the face of women’s tennis with Barty retiring. I’m not shocked regarding the news as she has stepped away from the sport in the past. Seems like all the traveling and the daily grind burnt her out. Ash is an incredible athlete and hopefully she comes back to Tennis one day.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on May 31, 2022, 04:10:10 PM
Djokovic and Nadal are playing in the quarterfinals at the French.  Nadal won the first set.

In the women's game, Iga Swiatek, the 21 year-old Polish star ranked #1 in the world, has now won 32 consecutive matches.  She is 2 away from tying Serena Williams' best of 34 (though a very long way from the all time record of 74 by Navratilova in 1984).   If Iga can close this out, she has a real chance to really extend her streak and start getting close to the all time greats as she has no real clear challengers at the moment after the sudden retirement of Barty following the Aussie Open.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on May 31, 2022, 05:24:23 PM
Djokovic and Nadal are playing in the quarterfinals at the French.  Nadal won the first set.

Nadal played super aggressive first set, wins 6-2, then decides to go into passive mode halfway through the second and let’s Novak take it. All even going into the 3rd and Djokovic has the momentum.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: footey on May 31, 2022, 05:31:54 PM
Djokovic and Nadal are playing in the quarterfinals at the French.  Nadal won the first set.

Nadal played super aggressive first set, wins 6-2 and then decides to go into passive mode halfway through the second and let’s Novak take it. All even going into the 3rd and Djokovic has the momentum.

How could the seedings be such that they would meet in quarters?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on May 31, 2022, 05:56:40 PM
Djokovic and Nadal are playing in the quarterfinals at the French.  Nadal won the first set.

Nadal played super aggressive first set, wins 6-2 and then decides to go into passive mode halfway through the second and let’s Novak take it. All even going into the 3rd and Djokovic has the momentum.

How could the seedings be such that they would meet in quarters?

Nadal was injured for 6 weeks with a fractured rib and missed out on a ton of tournament points. His ranking is currently 5 and should move up to 4 after this event. Novak is the number 1 ranked player. Ranking determines seeding so they ended up being in the same half of the draw.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on May 31, 2022, 07:33:42 PM
Incredible match. It’s pretty rare in any sport when you have the #1 and #2 greatest players of all time facing off against each other. It didn’t disappoint. Have to give Novak a lot of credit, he’s not only playing Rafa, but the crowd as well. He got zero support throughout the match.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 10, 2022, 12:53:16 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 10, 2022, 01:01:05 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 10, 2022, 01:26:37 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Roy H. on July 10, 2022, 01:32:09 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.

Also, doesn't Nadal have 22?
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: ozgod on July 10, 2022, 02:46:34 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.

Also, doesn't Nadal have 22?

Yes, Rafa has 22 and Djoker has 21. Soon to be 23 probably if Rafa is out for the US and then the Aus Open next year.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 10, 2022, 02:53:11 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.

Also, doesn't Nadal have 22?
yeah. I forgot the number
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 10, 2022, 02:56:51 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.
yeah but Nadal won the Aussie without Djokovic and I kind of feel like the whole Aussie ordeal cost Djoker the French. Even if he would have still lost the French, he almost certainly would have won the Aussie and would be in the lead right now.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 10, 2022, 04:07:59 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)



Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 10, 2022, 05:36:24 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.
yeah but Nadal won the Aussie without Djokovic and I kind of feel like the whole Aussie ordeal cost Djoker the French. Even if he would have still lost the French, he almost certainly would have won the Aussie and would be in the lead right now.

The Australian open is in January and the French Open isn’t until mid May. I don’t see the logic there. Also, It’s not even close to a certainty that Novak would have won the AO. He lost to Medvedev at the US Open last year and Nadal leads Djokovic 11–7 in matches at majors.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 10, 2022, 05:47:28 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)
He'll be coming home to face the music over domestic violence charges. Would prefer he don a different teams gear
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 10, 2022, 06:22:23 PM
Djokovic back tied with Nadal after winning his 7th Wimbledon and 21st Grand Slam.  He'd probably be a couple ahead had he just got vaccinated but he will probably end up a few clear of Nadal anyway.  Men's tennis needs some new blood as the old guys just keep on winning everything.

Novak was only banned from the Australian Open. He played and lost to Nadal at the French Open. Djokovic may not be able to play at the US open due to his vaccination status. Rafa is injured with a torn abdominal muscle; so he could potentially miss the last major of the year as well. I’m hoping they are both there and healthy. These two legends aren’t going to be around for much longer.
yeah but Nadal won the Aussie without Djokovic and I kind of feel like the whole Aussie ordeal cost Djoker the French. Even if he would have still lost the French, he almost certainly would have won the Aussie and would be in the lead right now.

The Australian open is in January and the French Open isn’t until mid May. I don’t see the logic there. Also, It’s not even close to a certainty that Novak would have won the AO. He lost to Medvedev at the US Open last year and Nadal leads Djokovic 11–7 in matches at majors.
Novak has won 9 Aussie Opens and had won the last 3.  It would have been an amazing upset for anyone to beat him there. Could happen, but unlikely. 

As for the French, I feel like the whole Aussie ordeal took a lot out of him and he started his year late.  He seemed pretty rusty that whole tournament.  He was the defending champion and had beaten Nadal rather easily the prior year so I think it could have had a different result had he had a more normal year.

Of course all of that is own fault and now Novak isn't going to play the next 2 majors without some major rule changes either. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 10, 2022, 06:32:33 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)
He'll be coming home to face the music over domestic violence charges. Would prefer he don a different teams gear

Guilty until proven innocent? There has been very little information regarding the accusation, unlike the Miles Bridges incident which seems clear cut. They did recently interview Nicks former girlfriend who is also a pro tennis player that dated him for several years and she stated that she’d never experienced that with him. So who knows.

Tomljanović and Kyrgios had a two-year relationship that reportedly ended in 2017.

"Sorry to start on this subject," the reporter began. "What was your experience of being in a relationship with him?"

Tomljanović had every right to refuse the question, but did her best to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged incident as well as distancing her own relationship and experience from it.

"It's been a while since our relationship ended," she answered.

Obviously I've always kept my relationship very private. I would like to keep it like that.

"I'm definitely against domestic violence. I hope it gets resolved. But, yeah, I mean, I haven't had that experience with him."


 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 10, 2022, 07:00:43 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)
He'll be coming home to face the music over domestic violence charges. Would prefer he don a different teams gear

Guilty until proven innocent? There has been very little information regarding the accusation, unlike the Miles Bridges incident which seems clear cut. They did recently interview Nicks former girlfriend who is also a pro tennis player that dated him for several years and she stated that she’d never experienced that with him. So who knows.

Tomljanović and Kyrgios had a two-year relationship that reportedly ended in 2017.

"Sorry to start on this subject," the reporter began. "What was your experience of being in a relationship with him?"

Tomljanović had every right to refuse the question, but did her best to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged incident as well as distancing her own relationship and experience from it.

"It's been a while since our relationship ended," she answered.

Obviously I've always kept my relationship very private. I would like to keep it like that.

"I'm definitely against domestic violence. I hope it gets resolved. But, yeah, I mean, I haven't had that experience with him."


 

Given how reliable the justice system is in cases of violence against women, it really isn't so cut and dry.

Regardless, Kyrgios is an old fashioned flog, as are most of the good Australian men's tennis players.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 10, 2022, 09:15:05 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)
He'll be coming home to face the music over domestic violence charges. Would prefer he don a different teams gear

Guilty until proven innocent? There has been very little information regarding the accusation, unlike the Miles Bridges incident which seems clear cut. They did recently interview Nicks former girlfriend who is also a pro tennis player that dated him for several years and she stated that she’d never experienced that with him. So who knows.

Tomljanović and Kyrgios had a two-year relationship that reportedly ended in 2017.

"Sorry to start on this subject," the reporter began. "What was your experience of being in a relationship with him?"

Tomljanović had every right to refuse the question, but did her best to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged incident as well as distancing her own relationship and experience from it.

"It's been a while since our relationship ended," she answered.

Obviously I've always kept my relationship very private. I would like to keep it like that.

"I'm definitely against domestic violence. I hope it gets resolved. But, yeah, I mean, I haven't had that experience with him."


 

Given how reliable the justice system is in cases of violence against women, it really isn't so cut and dry.

Regardless, Kyrgios is an old fashioned flog, as are most of the good Australian men's tennis players.

I don’t know what Flog means in that sense, but he definitely is controversial in general. No question about that..
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 10, 2022, 10:05:17 PM
I was hoping that Celtics fan Kyrgios would somehow pull it out.

I love Nick. He’s volatile and polarizing, but his matches are always highly entertaining. He’s really good for the sport. As you mentioned, Kyrgios is a huge Celtics fan and has been since he was a kid. Nick was rocking Celtics jerseys and shirts throughout the tournament. He’s great.


(https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/28/magazine/28kyrgios3/28mag-28kyrgios_fix-t_CA1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)

(https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/nick-kyrgios-of-australia-is-seen-practising-in-a-boston-celtics-on-picture-id1407314538?s=2048x2048)

(https://photo-assets.wimbledon.com/images/pics/large/b_kyrgios_075_190625_tl.jpg)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/CfCdXLOsSXq/?hl=en)

(https://library.sportingnews.com/2021-08/kyrgios_1vqy5hi6haxwj16zhi48siyle7.png)
He'll be coming home to face the music over domestic violence charges. Would prefer he don a different teams gear

Guilty until proven innocent? There has been very little information regarding the accusation, unlike the Miles Bridges incident which seems clear cut. They did recently interview Nicks former girlfriend who is also a pro tennis player that dated him for several years and she stated that she’d never experienced that with him. So who knows.

Tomljanović and Kyrgios had a two-year relationship that reportedly ended in 2017.

"Sorry to start on this subject," the reporter began. "What was your experience of being in a relationship with him?"

Tomljanović had every right to refuse the question, but did her best to acknowledge the seriousness of the alleged incident as well as distancing her own relationship and experience from it.

"It's been a while since our relationship ended," she answered.

Obviously I've always kept my relationship very private. I would like to keep it like that.

"I'm definitely against domestic violence. I hope it gets resolved. But, yeah, I mean, I haven't had that experience with him."


 

Given how reliable the justice system is in cases of violence against women, it really isn't so cut and dry.

Regardless, Kyrgios is an old fashioned flog, as are most of the good Australian men's tennis players.

I don’t know what Flog means in that sense, but he definitely is controversial in general. No question about that..
Ah, it might be a particularly Australian term of dislike. Apologies
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 11:31:44 AM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family presents the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing it to a Russian player. The female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Nadal. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2022, 11:40:24 AM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 12:30:40 PM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.

There’s still a lot for Novak to play for this season. There are six 500 series tournaments and four 1000 series left. If he wins two of the Master series, that’s 2000 pts which is the same amount you get for winning a major. He can get himself into much better positioning going into next year, which will make his seeding more favorable for the 2023 Australian Open. Plus, I’m sure he wants to play in the Nitto ATP Finals this season which only allows the top 8 ranked players in the world.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2022, 01:48:15 PM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.

There’s still a lot for Novak to play for this season. There are six 500 series tournaments and four 1000 series left. If he wins two of the Master series, that’s 2000 pts which is the same amount you get for winning a major. He can get himself into much better positioning going into next year, which will make his seeding more favorable for the 2023 Australian Open. Plus, I’m sure he wants to play in the Nitto ATP Finals this season which only allows the top 8 ranked players in the world.
Well he has said he is taking at least the next couple of weeks off and he currently can't enter the US, Australia, Canada, and a few other countries.  So that eliminates two of the 1000 series tournaments right there i.e. the Canadien Open and Cincinnati Masters.  No US Open.  No Aussie Open.  Of the 500 series left, you've got Hamburg in a couple of weeks, but that is seemingly when Novak says he is still on vacation.  Then you have the Citi Open which is in DC so he is out of that.  The final 2 are the Swiss Indoors and Vienna Open leading up to the Paris Masters, ATP next gen, and atp finals at the end of the year.  He will probably play those in October and November, but won't play again until after the Australian Open next in February of next year.  There are obviously some ATP 250 events he can play, but just not that many, especially if he is going to take the next few weeks off. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 04:44:00 PM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.

There’s still a lot for Novak to play for this season. There are six 500 series tournaments and four 1000 series left. If he wins two of the Master series, that’s 2000 pts which is the same amount you get for winning a major. He can get himself into much better positioning going into next year, which will make his seeding more favorable for the 2023 Australian Open. Plus, I’m sure he wants to play in the Nitto ATP Finals this season which only allows the top 8 ranked players in the world.
Well he has said he is taking at least the next couple of weeks off and he currently can't enter the US, Australia, Canada, and a few other countries.  So that eliminates two of the 1000 series tournaments right there i.e. the Canadien Open and Cincinnati Masters.  No US Open.  No Aussie Open.  Of the 500 series left, you've got Hamburg in a couple of weeks, but that is seemingly when Novak says he is still on vacation.  Then you have the Citi Open which is in DC so he is out of that.  The final 2 are the Swiss Indoors and Vienna Open leading up to the Paris Masters, ATP next gen, and atp finals at the end of the year.  He will probably play those in October and November, but won't play again until after the Australian Open next in February of next year.  There are obviously some ATP 250 events he can play, but just not that many, especially if he is going to take the next few weeks off.

I know NY has had a strict policy regarding being vaccinated (I had to show my vax card before I could enter the US Open grounds last year), but I’m not sure what the policies will be for the tournaments in Cincy or DC. He may be able to play in those.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Celtics2021 on July 11, 2022, 04:53:23 PM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.

There’s still a lot for Novak to play for this season. There are six 500 series tournaments and four 1000 series left. If he wins two of the Master series, that’s 2000 pts which is the same amount you get for winning a major. He can get himself into much better positioning going into next year, which will make his seeding more favorable for the 2023 Australian Open. Plus, I’m sure he wants to play in the Nitto ATP Finals this season which only allows the top 8 ranked players in the world.
Well he has said he is taking at least the next couple of weeks off and he currently can't enter the US, Australia, Canada, and a few other countries.  So that eliminates two of the 1000 series tournaments right there i.e. the Canadien Open and Cincinnati Masters.  No US Open.  No Aussie Open.  Of the 500 series left, you've got Hamburg in a couple of weeks, but that is seemingly when Novak says he is still on vacation.  Then you have the Citi Open which is in DC so he is out of that.  The final 2 are the Swiss Indoors and Vienna Open leading up to the Paris Masters, ATP next gen, and atp finals at the end of the year.  He will probably play those in October and November, but won't play again until after the Australian Open next in February of next year.  There are obviously some ATP 250 events he can play, but just not that many, especially if he is going to take the next few weeks off.

I know NY has had a strict policy regarding being vaccinated (I had to show my vax card before I could enter the US Open grounds last year), but I’m not sure what the policies will be for the tournaments in Cincy or DC. He may be able to play in those.

You can't enter the US by air as a non-citizen who's unvaccinated, so it's not a NY vs. DC thing.  He probably can't get to Canada either.  It's unclear if the rules of multiple nations would permit him to fly to Mexico and drive across the border, but I don't think he's up for that anyway.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 07:18:03 PM
Just remembered that Wimbledon was stripped of ATP points this year due to them not allowing any Russian or Belarusian players to compete. The tournament director explained that they didn’t want them to be able to use the success of their players in the tournament as propaganda. Also, the Royal family hands the championship trophy to the winner and I’m sure they didn’t want to be seen handing the it to a Russian player. So the female player that won moved to Kazakhstan a few years ago, but was Russian born so the Soviet government still used it as propaganda stating that she was, “Our Product”. Smh.

Without there being any ATP points awarded, Djokovic moves all the way down to 7th in the rankings and he’s now 3000 points behind Medvedev, 2000 points behind Zverev and 1400 points behind Rafa. Novak’s draws are going to much more difficult…
Novak is basically done for the year.  The next time he will play consistently will be in the leadup to the French Open next year.  He may very well enter the French ranked in the 20's or 30's, which obviously makes his draw tougher, but also isn't really fair to the people that he will play (and likely beat) much earlier in the tournament then they should face him.

There’s still a lot for Novak to play for this season. There are six 500 series tournaments and four 1000 series left. If he wins two of the Master series, that’s 2000 pts which is the same amount you get for winning a major. He can get himself into much better positioning going into next year, which will make his seeding more favorable for the 2023 Australian Open. Plus, I’m sure he wants to play in the Nitto ATP Finals this season which only allows the top 8 ranked players in the world.
Well he has said he is taking at least the next couple of weeks off and he currently can't enter the US, Australia, Canada, and a few other countries.  So that eliminates two of the 1000 series tournaments right there i.e. the Canadien Open and Cincinnati Masters.  No US Open.  No Aussie Open.  Of the 500 series left, you've got Hamburg in a couple of weeks, but that is seemingly when Novak says he is still on vacation.  Then you have the Citi Open which is in DC so he is out of that.  The final 2 are the Swiss Indoors and Vienna Open leading up to the Paris Masters, ATP next gen, and atp finals at the end of the year.  He will probably play those in October and November, but won't play again until after the Australian Open next in February of next year.  There are obviously some ATP 250 events he can play, but just not that many, especially if he is going to take the next few weeks off.

I know NY has had a strict policy regarding being vaccinated :laugh: (I had to show my vax card before I could enter the US Open grounds last year), but I’m not sure what the policies will be for the tournaments in Cincy or DC. He may be able to play in those.

You can't enter the US by air as a non-citizen who's unvaccinated, so it's not a NY vs. DC thing.  He probably can't get to Canada either.  It's unclear if the rules of multiple nations would permit him to fly to Mexico and drive across the border, but I don't think he's up for that anyway.

He could also sail his yacht over...  :laugh:
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: rondofan1255 on July 11, 2022, 08:14:37 PM
Australia apparently lifted restrictions, so he might be able to play there if lawyers do something about the three-year ban
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 09:05:40 PM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2022, 09:10:57 PM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2022, 11:00:51 PM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2022, 05:56:51 AM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
I don't think he falsified anything. I think he did actually have a positive test. He had no symptoms and it may have been a false positive, but I do believe he had a test that said positive on it.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: gouki88 on July 12, 2022, 06:02:07 AM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
I don't think he falsified anything. I think he did actually have a positive test. He had no symptoms and it may have been a false positive, but I do believe he had a test that said positive on it.
After all, Novak is famous for his integrity and being an ethical guy.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2022, 08:11:04 AM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
I don't think he falsified anything. I think he did actually have a positive test. He had no symptoms and it may have been a false positive, but I do believe he had a test that said positive on it.
After all, Novak is famous for his integrity and being an ethical guy.
It was a PCR test, those are sent out, so a lab would have had to fudge the data, not just Novak.  It could happen, I just don't think that is all that likely. 
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 12, 2022, 10:01:46 AM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
I don't think he falsified anything. I think he did actually have a positive test. He had no symptoms and it may have been a false positive, but I do believe he had a test that said positive on it.
After all, Novak is famous for his integrity and being an ethical guy.
It was a PCR test, those are sent out, so a lab would have had to fudge the data, not just Novak.  It could happen, I just don't think that is all that likely.


“Djokovic admits travel document contained false information.”

https://news.yahoo.com/djokovic-admits-travel-document-contained-130030520.html
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2022, 11:05:36 AM
Forgot about the ban. That whole thing was such a mess.
Yeah the ban was always stupid because the only reason Novak went to the country was because government officials told him he could.  Just happened to be the wrong government officials.  Australia really looked bad in that whole situation.

I don’t think the Australian government handled it particularly well, but let’s be honest… Neither did Novak. Falsifying documents in an attempt to obtain a vaccination exemption, stating that he had Covid several weeks prior to the tournament and having pictures on his social media of him attending public events on those dates while allegedly having the virus. Believe he later admitted that he didn’t immediately quarantine once he found out that he had Covid. It was a big mess all around.
I don't think he falsified anything. I think he did actually have a positive test. He had no symptoms and it may have been a false positive, but I do believe he had a test that said positive on it.
After all, Novak is famous for his integrity and being an ethical guy.
It was a PCR test, those are sent out, so a lab would have had to fudge the data, not just Novak.  It could happen, I just don't think that is all that likely.


“Djokovic admits travel document contained false information.”

https://news.yahoo.com/djokovic-admits-travel-document-contained-130030520.html
I wasn't clear enough in my statement, I meant the false information as to the test.  He clearly misstated some of his travel after testing positive.
Title: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on August 09, 2022, 09:44:53 AM
Serena Williams has announced she will "evolve away from tennis" after the US Open.  So the arguable female GOAT will be retiring this year.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: SparzWizard on September 03, 2022, 01:23:43 PM
And it looks like Ajla Tomljanovic sent Serena Williams to the retirement party yesterday.

What a remarkable career with 23 Grand Slam single titles, four gold medals, with about an 85% career record, etc...arguably up there with players like Jordan, Brady, Woods, etc. Hats off to Serena.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Neurotic Guy on September 03, 2022, 03:06:49 PM
And it looks like Ajla Tomljanovic sent Serena Williams to the retirement party yesterday.

What a remarkable career with 23 Grand Slam single titles, four gold medals, with about an 85% career record, etc...arguably up there with players like Jordan, Brady, Woods, etc. Hats off to Serena.

Yes, amazing career. Glad she’s out of the tournament early though.  I realized again how much I dislike watching tennis.  Can’t follow the ball. I was watching reluctantly.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 04, 2022, 10:59:33 AM
And it looks like Ajla Tomljanovic sent Serena Williams to the retirement party yesterday.

What a remarkable career with 23 Grand Slam single titles, four gold medals, with about an 85% career record, etc...arguably up there with players like Jordan, Brady, Woods, etc. Hats off to Serena.


Serena looked much better in the last match from a movement standpoint. It didn’t seem like she took her conditioning serious enough leading up to her comeback and if she did, think Serena would have had a real shot at winning the US Open and tying Margaret Court for the most Majors of all time.

On the Mens side, it will be interesting to see If Rafa can tie Serena for majors with his 23rd which would give him three more than Roger and 2 more than Novak.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 04, 2022, 10:26:37 PM
Nick Kyrgios just beat the #1 player in the world, Daniil Medvedev at the US Open. Immediately following the victory, he takes off his tennis shoes, puts on a pair of Jordans and (most importantly) a Celtics hat before having his on court post-match interview.  8)
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 07, 2022, 10:27:09 PM
Tiafoe followed up the Nadal upset by beating Rublev in straight sets and is the 1st American male to reach the Semis at the US Open since 2006.  That was Roddick who lost to Federer in the semis.  Roddick was the last US male to win a grand slam doing so at the 2003 US Open.  It has been awhile for the US to actually have a male tennis player playing at an elite level. 

Tiafoe will play the winner of the match happening right now between #3 Carlos Alcaraz and #11 Jannik Sinner.

He definitely has the personality to be a genuine star and his back story is a solid one with his parents emigrating from Sierre Leone during their civil war in the 90's.  After coming here and ending up in Maryland, Frances dad helped build a junior tennis center and then worked there as a maintenance worker, which led Frances and his twin brother Franklin to fall in love with the game (I don't think Franklin plays professionally anymore, though he used to).
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: ozgod on September 08, 2022, 02:19:59 AM
Tiafoe followed up the Nadal upset by beating Rublev in straight sets and is the 1st American male to reach the Semis at the US Open since 2006.  That was Roddick who lost to Federer in the semis.  Roddick was the last US male to win a grand slam doing so at the 2003 US Open.  It has been awhile for the US to actually have a male tennis player playing at an elite level. 

Tiafoe will play the winner of the match happening right now between #3 Carlos Alcaraz and #11 Jannik Sinner.

He definitely has the personality to be a genuine star and his back story is a solid one with his parents emigrating from Sierre Leone during their civil war in the 90's.  After coming here and ending up in Maryland, Frances dad helped build a junior tennis center and then worked there as a maintenance worker, which led Frances and his twin brother Franklin to fall in love with the game (I don't think Franklin plays professionally anymore, though he used to).

Just woke up and checked ESPN at 2.20am, they're still playing, starting the 5th set.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 08, 2022, 10:17:00 AM
Tiafoe followed up the Nadal upset by beating Rublev in straight sets and is the 1st American male to reach the Semis at the US Open since 2006.  That was Roddick who lost to Federer in the semis.  Roddick was the last US male to win a grand slam doing so at the 2003 US Open.  It has been awhile for the US to actually have a male tennis player playing at an elite level. 

Tiafoe will play the winner of the match happening right now between #3 Carlos Alcaraz and #11 Jannik Sinner.

He definitely has the personality to be a genuine star and his back story is a solid one with his parents emigrating from Sierre Leone during their civil war in the 90's.  After coming here and ending up in Maryland, Frances dad helped build a junior tennis center and then worked there as a maintenance worker, which led Frances and his twin brother Franklin to fall in love with the game (I don't think Franklin plays professionally anymore, though he used to).

Just woke up and checked ESPN at 2.20am, they're still playing, starting the 5th set.

Looks like Tiafoe will be facing Alcaraz on Friday. I was watching the match and only made it through the 3rd set which was a little after 1am… Will be pulling for Frances.

In the second-longest match(over 5 hours) and the latest-ever finish in US Open history, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 11 Jannik Sinner to move on to the semifinal round.

The match ended at 2:50 a.m. ET, as these players just would not quit. It came down to the fifth set where the 19-year-old Alcaraz finally closed it out for a final score of 6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, and he just laid on the court in awe that it was over.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2022, 07:55:15 AM
Another 5 set classic from Tiafoe but unfortunately he was on the losing side as Alcaraz took him down.  Alcaraz will play Ruud for not only the title but also the #1 ranking.

Also this was the first time since the very first US Open in 1881 that none of the 4 men in the semis had ever been there before.  That is amazing in and of itself.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: footey on September 10, 2022, 11:27:12 AM
Another 5 set classic from Tiafoe but unfortunately he was on the losing side as Alcaraz took him down.  Alcaraz will play Ruud for not only the title but also the #1 ranking.

Also this was the first time since the very first US Open in 1881 that none of the 4 men in the semis had ever been there before.  That is amazing in and of itself.

Obviously Djokovic absence a major factor why this happens.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 10, 2022, 03:20:40 PM
Another 5 set classic from Tiafoe but unfortunately he was on the losing side as Alcaraz took him down.  Alcaraz will play Ruud for not only the title but also the #1 ranking.

Also this was the first time since the very first US Open in 1881 that none of the 4 men in the semis had ever been there before.  That is amazing in and of itself.

Well, Frances certainly won me over with that run.  Farthest an American has gone at the US Open in nearly 20 years. Beating Nadal and then Rublev in straight sets was really impressive. He is super likable, his story is moving and I hope that he can build off of this run going forward. Tiafoe played well last night, but unfortunately, he ran into The Terminator..

I got a chance to watch Alcaraz live last year in the 4th round of the US Open and it’s amazing how much he has changed physically in one year, going from 18 to 19 years old. Him and Nadal are just built differently than the other tennis players.. John McEnroe was calling the match last night and said that Carlos is the fastest player that he’s ever seen step foot on a tennis court. Many current players have also mentioned that he hits the ball harder than anyone else on tour. The combination of speed and power is just devastating. He’s going to win a lot of majors.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2022, 08:15:35 PM
On the women's side Swiatek is looking like she has no equal right now (except on grass).  She has double the points of the 2nd ranked player right now. First women since 2016 to win 2 majors in a year and first time a women has won 7 tournaments in a year since Serena did it in 2014. Still just 21 so she could be around in her prime for a very long time and her dominance on clay is approaching Nadal levels (she lost 1 set at the French and lost just 4 games in the Finals there).  Her 37 straight victories earlier this year were mostly in clay court season. She needs to get better on grass to have a shot at being an all timer, but she definitely has the skill set and confidence you need to be that great.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 11, 2022, 11:21:09 AM
On the women's side Swiatek is looking like she has no equal right now (except on grass).  She has double the points of the 2nd ranked player right now. First women since 2016 to win 2 majors in a year and first time a women has won 7 tournaments in a year since Serena did it in 2014. Still just 21 so she could be around in her prime for a very long time and her dominance on clay is approaching Nadal levels (she lost 1 set at the French and lost just 4 games in the Finals there).  Her 37 straight victories earlier this year were mostly in clay court season. She needs to get better on grass to have a shot at being an all timer, but she definitely has the skill set and confidence you need to be that great.

Just need Ash Barty to come out of retirement so that Swiatek can have a rival. What a shame…
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Roy H. on September 15, 2022, 09:44:05 AM
Sounds like Roger Federer is going to retire after his next tournament.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Donoghus on September 15, 2022, 09:45:29 AM
Sounds like Roger Federer is going to retire after his next tournament.

Man, prime Federer was such a machine.  So good.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 15, 2022, 10:28:09 AM
Sounds like Roger Federer is going to retire after his next tournament.

Yep. Just sucks that injuries robbed him of the last few years of his career. No one has ever played the game as beautifully as Roger did.

"As many of you know, the past three years have presented me with challenges in the form of injuries and surgeries," Federer said. "I've worked hard to return to full competitive form. But I also know my body's capacities and limits, and its message to me lately has been clear.

"I am 41 years old. I have played more than 1500 matches over 24 years. Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamt, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career."

This is a bittersweet decision, because I will miss everything the tour has given me," Federer said. "But at the same time, there is so much to celebrate. I consider myself one of the most fortunate people on Earth. I was given a special talent to play tennis, and I did it at a level that I never imagined, for much longer than I ever thought possible."
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: gouki88 on September 15, 2022, 10:45:15 AM
Sounds like Roger Federer is going to retire after his next tournament.

Man, prime Federer was such a machine.  So good.
Maybe not the best in terms of tournaments won (not far off though!), but none have ever been as pleasing to watch for me. Was to tennis what Bird was to basketball for me - pure beauty.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Donoghus on September 15, 2022, 10:46:49 AM
Sounds like Roger Federer is going to retire after his next tournament.

Man, prime Federer was such a machine.  So good.
Maybe not the best in terms of tournaments won (not far off though!), but none have ever been as pleasing to watch for me. Was to tennis what Bird was to basketball for me - pure beauty.

Yeah, he was must watch.  Like Prime Tiger.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: MarcusSmartFanClub on September 15, 2022, 11:44:23 AM
I’m excited for tennis post Big3. Alcaraz and Tiafoe are exciting, and I’m sure there are plenty of others that can entertain us. I thought this US Open was great, even though Nadal lost early.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on January 27, 2023, 09:17:28 AM
Djokovic easily makes the final of the Aussie Open.  him not winning at this point would be a pretty tremendous upset as he has now won 27 straight matches at the Australian Open and 9 straight over Tsitsipas his opponent in the final.  If he wins it will be his 10th Aussie and 22nd overall (again tying him with Nadal for most all time) and he will go back to #1 extending his record for most ever weeks at #1. 

It also makes that whole debacle last year more into focus on just how many titles Novak missed out on by not getting vaccinated. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 07, 2023, 10:11:45 AM
What might be the best match played all year is going to be Friday in the French semis when Djokovic and Alcaraz match up.  Alcaraz is the favorite so that should tell you how well he is playing on clay.  It would be a major upset in the Finals if this winner did not close out the tourney.  Djokovic is on his quest for history while Alacaraz is looking like he may be actually be the next guy to ascend to dominance in the sport (he won the US last year and clay is his best surface).
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 07, 2023, 11:42:11 AM
What might be the best match played all year is going to be Friday in the French semis when Djokovic and Alcaraz match up.  Alcaraz is the favorite so that should tell you how well he is playing on clay.  It would be a major upset in the Finals if this winner did not close out the tourney.  Djokovic is on his quest for history while Alacaraz is looking like he may be actually be the next guy to ascend to dominance in the sport (he won the US last year and clay is his best surface).

If Alcaraz plays like he did against Tsistsipas the other day, I don’t think anyone can beat him. He’s too explosive of a mover and is absolutely crushing the ball. Alcaraz hit a 115mph forehand during his last match. Fastest serve was 138mph. Just ridiculous.

On the other half of the draw I think Rune will make it to the final. He’s been playing very well and is one of the few players on tour with a winning record against Djokovic. Both Alcaraz and Rune just turned 20. They are the future of mens tennis.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 09, 2023, 11:21:17 AM
Djokovic/Alcaraz matchup is living up to the hype. Just incredible rallies... One set a piece so far, Match is on NBC.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 09, 2023, 12:00:31 PM
6-1 blitz from Djokovic in 3rd.  First game or two will tell us if Alacaraz is done or if he has it in him to come back.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 09, 2023, 12:09:37 PM
It looks over now.  Djokovic serving up 2-0 in the 4th.  Kid is still not ready to unseat the g.o.a.t.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 09, 2023, 01:44:39 PM
It looks over now.  Djokovic serving up 2-0 in the 4th.  Kid is still not ready to unseat the g.o.a.t.

Did you watch any of the match or were you just checking the score? Alcaraz cramped up and couldn’t move during the 3rd set. First two sets were unreal. Djokovic fitness is next level, though. he’s like Brady with the way he takes care of his body. It’s really impressive
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 09, 2023, 02:16:56 PM
It looks over now.  Djokovic serving up 2-0 in the 4th.  Kid is still not ready to unseat the g.o.a.t.

Did you watch any of the match or were you just checking the score? Alcaraz cramped up and couldn’t move during the 3rd set. First two sets were unreal. Djokovic fitness is next level, though. he’s like Brady with the way he takes care of his body. It’s really impressive
at work so didn't see much. i saw some of the first set and it appeared to me that Novak was ready.  Carlos did get the 2nd though.

I imagine he cruises to victory over Ruud or Zverev and he will then stand alone at the top with 23. And he doesn't appear to be slowing down.  If not for the pandemic (or his unwillingness to vaccinate) he might already have close to 30 grand slams.  Just amazing how good he is and for how long he has been this good.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 09, 2023, 02:19:31 PM
I mean I started this thread in 2012 and here we are in 2023 and he is the best in the world.  Absolutley amazing
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: SparzWizard on June 09, 2023, 04:46:21 PM
I mean I started this thread in 2012 and here we are in 2023 and he is the best in the world.  Absolutley amazing

Haven't been keeping up with tennis. Isn't Nadal still playing, or is he no longer part of THAT Big 3
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 09, 2023, 05:04:55 PM
I mean I started this thread in 2012 and here we are in 2023 and he is the best in the world.  Absolutley amazing

Haven't been keeping up with tennis. Isn't Nadal still playing, or is he no longer part of THAT Big 3

Nadal just had hip surgery and is likely out for the rest of the season. Sounds like next year will be his last. Sad to see him go out like that..  :-\
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: SparzWizard on June 09, 2023, 10:56:57 PM
I mean I started this thread in 2012 and here we are in 2023 and he is the best in the world.  Absolutley amazing

Haven't been keeping up with tennis. Isn't Nadal still playing, or is he no longer part of THAT Big 3

Nadal just had hip surgery and is likely out for the rest of the season. Sounds like next year will be his last. Sad to see him go out like that..  :-\

Ah, wow. That's unfortunate. The OGs are slowly fading away. Federer and now Nadal. Djokovic def is the goat these days.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 10, 2023, 05:53:11 PM
Looked like Swiatek was going to blow it, but she pulled it together to win.  Very dominant on clay winning her 3rd French and now 4th major (also has a US).  She is probably the future of the women's game, but definitely needs to start winning on other surfaces.
Title: Re: Men's Tennis dominated by 3 or 4 men
Post by: Goldstar88 on June 11, 2023, 09:33:07 AM
delay in the final, probably a good think for Djokovic as he was very flat all game long.  The occassional flash like he is going to put it together, but mostly flat and Nadal has a fairly big lead, up a set and up a break at 4-2 in the second.

Iga is elite on a hardcourt, too. Grass, not so much. She’s only 22, though. So I expect her to get better on that surface as well.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on June 11, 2023, 12:44:46 PM
Congrats to Novak. all time leader with 23.  Now the defending champion in 3 of the 4 and probably only isn't 4 because he didn't play in the US last year. He should be heavily favored at Wimbledon and favored at the US, so he has a shot at the grand slam, basically the only thing left for him to accomplish.

Looked a bit dicey to start today as fell down 3-0 in the 1st set, but then he turned it around to win in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.  No equal right now.  Hopefully the young guys can challenge him before he gets old.  I'd like to see one of them take it from him, rather than him just getting old.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 11, 2023, 11:12:00 PM
Novak keeps getting some minor challenges, but then just pulls away.  He has now tied Federer for the most grand slam semis ever (he already had the most quarters).  His stamina, especially at his age, is just amazing.  He will face 8th seeded Sinner in the semis (not until Friday).

Yesterday 27 year old American Christopher Eubanks making his Wimbledon debut advanced to the quarters dispatching Tsitsipas in a 5 setter. Next up for him is 3rd seed Medvedev.  Alcaraz and Rune meet tomorrow as well.

Swiatek upset by an unseeded Ukrainian getting blitzed off the court in the 3rd set. The American, Jessica Pegula has lost for the 6th time in the quarters of a major and has yet to advance to the semis.  Pegula lost to an unseeded Czech.  Madison Keys is the last American woman, she faces 2nd seeded Sabalenka while 6th seeded Jabeur takes on 3rd seeded Rybakina. 

Tomorrow should be the best day of the tournament thus far as those quarters should all be interesting.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 11, 2023, 11:51:53 PM
Novak keeps getting some minor challenges, but then just pulls away.  He has now tied Federer for the most grand slam semis ever (he already had the most quarters).  His stamina, especially at his age, is just amazing.  He will face 8th seeded Sinner in the semis (not until Friday).

Yesterday 27 year old American Christopher Eubanks making his Wimbledon debut advanced to the quarters dispatching Tsitsipas in a 5 setter. Next up for him is 3rd seed Medvedev.  Alcaraz and Rune meet tomorrow as well.

Swiatek upset by an unseeded Ukrainian getting blitzed off the court in the 3rd set. The American, Jessica Pegula has lost for the 6th time in the quarters of a major and has yet to advance to the semis.  Pegula lost to an unseeded Czech.  Madison Keys is the last American woman, she faces 2nd seeded Sabalenka while 6th seeded Jabeur takes on 3rd seeded Rybakina. 

Tomorrow should be the best day of the tournament thus far as those quarters should all be interesting.

Sinner will be a major challenge for Djokovic. He has a lot of firepower and can take the racquet out of his opponents hands. Novak had an extremely favorable draw as the other half has Alcaraz, Medvedev, and Rune, who are all capable of beating him. Should be some epic matches over the next few days. Bummed that I have to go into the office tomorrow. Sigh… I’m hoping for an Alcaraz/Djokovic Final. That would be incredible.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: ozgod on July 12, 2023, 04:38:25 AM
Novak keeps getting some minor challenges, but then just pulls away.  He has now tied Federer for the most grand slam semis ever (he already had the most quarters).  His stamina, especially at his age, is just amazing.  He will face 8th seeded Sinner in the semis (not until Friday).

Yesterday 27 year old American Christopher Eubanks making his Wimbledon debut advanced to the quarters dispatching Tsitsipas in a 5 setter. Next up for him is 3rd seed Medvedev.  Alcaraz and Rune meet tomorrow as well.

Swiatek upset by an unseeded Ukrainian getting blitzed off the court in the 3rd set. The American, Jessica Pegula has lost for the 6th time in the quarters of a major and has yet to advance to the semis.  Pegula lost to an unseeded Czech.  Madison Keys is the last American woman, she faces 2nd seeded Sabalenka while 6th seeded Jabeur takes on 3rd seeded Rybakina. 

Tomorrow should be the best day of the tournament thus far as those quarters should all be interesting.

Sinner will be a major challenge for Djokovic. He has a lot of firepower and can take the racquet out of his opponents hands. Novak had an extremely favorable draw as the other half has Alcaraz, Medvedev, and Rune, who are all capable of beating him. Should be some epic matches over the next few days. Bummed that I have to go into the office tomorrow. Sigh… I’m hoping for an Alcaraz/Djokovic Final. That would be incredible.

He'll still get rolled. Novak is unstoppable right now. He can look terrible but then he pulls it out somehow. When they're playing him these young guys are half beaten even before they step on the court, he's got that fear factor. The only one that I think might have been able to beat Novak, other than an in-his-prime-Nadal, would have been Kyrgios on a good day because he's crazy and not afraid of anyone.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2023, 03:02:45 PM
Eubanks made it a match but fell to Medvedev. Alcaraz advanced as well.  That should be a great semi.

Sabalenka made quick work of Keys, so no Americans in the men's or women's semis, continuing a long pattern for the women and a much longer pattern for the men.  Tennis in America is just not being played by the top level yoing athletes any more.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: green_bballers13 on July 12, 2023, 03:11:37 PM
Eubanks made it a match but fell to Medvedev. Alcaraz advanced as well.  That should be a great semi.

Sabalenka made quick work of Keys, so no Americans in the men's or women's semis, continuing a long pattern for the women and a much longer pattern for the men.  Tennis in America is just not being played by the top level yoing athletes any more.

As a parent, I've definitely pushed my kids to play more "team" vs "individual" sports for the positive social benefits. The Tigers and Lances of the world could probably have benefitted from some team play at some point.

I wonder how many other parents feel this way. I love both tennis and golf, but I think they are more "life long" sports vs. high school experiences. To each their own....
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: liam on July 12, 2023, 03:16:48 PM
This thread is a racket!
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Kernewek on July 12, 2023, 03:17:44 PM
Eubanks made it a match but fell to Medvedev. Alcaraz advanced as well.  That should be a great semi.

Sabalenka made quick work of Keys, so no Americans in the men's or women's semis, continuing a long pattern for the women and a much longer pattern for the men.  Tennis in America is just not being played by the top level yoing athletes any more.

Well it’s one of the vanguard of stereotypically yuppie sports - it’s expensive, requires special equipment & play areas, the cost to entry against good competition is often quite high, and it’s niche enough that you’re unlikely to pick it up unless you have a family member who plays.

Granted, it’s more visible than polo.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: green_bballers13 on July 12, 2023, 03:24:15 PM
Eubanks made it a match but fell to Medvedev. Alcaraz advanced as well.  That should be a great semi.

Sabalenka made quick work of Keys, so no Americans in the men's or women's semis, continuing a long pattern for the women and a much longer pattern for the men.  Tennis in America is just not being played by the top level yoing athletes any more.

Well it’s one of the vanguard of stereotypically yuppie sports - it’s expensive, requires special equipment & play areas, the cost to entry against good competition is often quite high, and it’s niche enough that you’re unlikely to pick it up unless you have a family member who plays.

Granted, it’s more visible than polo.

The Frances Tiafoe story is remarkable, considering how much competition and resources are put into youth tennis worldwide.

https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/frances-tiafoe-is-more-than-a-good-story

Kernewek is probably right- our most affluent (not athletic) young people are playing tennis.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 12, 2023, 05:45:17 PM
Novak keeps getting some minor challenges, but then just pulls away.  He has now tied Federer for the most grand slam semis ever (he already had the most quarters).  His stamina, especially at his age, is just amazing.  He will face 8th seeded Sinner in the semis (not until Friday).

Yesterday 27 year old American Christopher Eubanks making his Wimbledon debut advanced to the quarters dispatching Tsitsipas in a 5 setter. Next up for him is 3rd seed Medvedev.  Alcaraz and Rune meet tomorrow as well.

Swiatek upset by an unseeded Ukrainian getting blitzed off the court in the 3rd set. The American, Jessica Pegula has lost for the 6th time in the quarters of a major and has yet to advance to the semis.  Pegula lost to an unseeded Czech.  Madison Keys is the last American woman, she faces 2nd seeded Sabalenka while 6th seeded Jabeur takes on 3rd seeded Rybakina. 

Tomorrow should be the best day of the tournament thus far as those quarters should all be interesting.

Sinner will be a major challenge for Djokovic. He has a lot of firepower and can take the racquet out of his opponents hands. Novak had an extremely favorable draw as the other half has Alcaraz, Medvedev, and Rune, who are all capable of beating him. Should be some epic matches over the next few days. Bummed that I have to go into the office tomorrow. Sigh… I’m hoping for an Alcaraz/Djokovic Final. That would be incredible.

He'll still get rolled. Novak is unstoppable right now. He can look terrible but then he pulls it out somehow. When they're playing him these young guys are half beaten even before they step on the court, he's got that fear factor. The only one that I think might have been able to beat Novak, other than an in-his-prime-Nadal, would have been Kyrgios on a good day because he's crazy and not afraid of anyone.

We shall see. I’d give Djokovic a 60% chance to win tomorrow. Vs Novak, Alcaraz is 1-1 and Rune is 2-1. Medvedev beat Djokovic the last time they played at a major. Kyrgios is as talented as anyone and his serve gives him a lot of free points, but he usually comes up short when the lights are brightest at the majors. The pressure gets to him.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 12, 2023, 08:47:00 PM
It just seems like Novak is destined to win the grand slam this year.  Everything seems to be going his way.  That could change in an instant as he looked like he was going to win the Grand Slam in 2021 and Medvedev took him out in straight sets at Final of the US Open.  One wrong bounce can change the outcome of an entire match.  Fickle sport.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 14, 2023, 11:49:51 AM
Novak wins in straight sets.  Was nearly broken to start the match but then settled in.  Alcaraz and Medvedev up next.  Medvedev is the only man to beat Novak at a grand slam final since Nadal beat him at the 2020 French.  In fact Novak has won 15 of the last 18 grand slam finals he made (he also lost the 2016 US to Wawrinka but that streak dates back to the 2015 wimbledon). 

I can't see Alcaraz or Medvedev beating him on grass in the final on Sunday.  Hurkacz and Sinner because of their serving are tougher matchups for his style on the surface.  The US is his hardest grand slam as he only has 3 wins there and that is where Medvedev beat him in the Finals in 2021 to end his shot at the grand slam (he also only has 3 at the French, but that is far more about Nadal's dominance than Novak's ability).
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 14, 2023, 03:48:32 PM
Alcaraz wins easily. 1 vs. 2 for the title. The way it should be.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 14, 2023, 08:11:04 PM
Novak wins in straight sets.  Was nearly broken to start the match but then settled in.  Alcaraz and Medvedev up next.  Medvedev is the only man to beat Novak at a grand slam final since Nadal beat him at the 2020 French.  In fact Novak has won 15 of the last 18 grand slam finals he made (he also lost the 2016 US to Wawrinka but that streak dates back to the 2015 wimbledon). 

I can't see Alcaraz or Medvedev beating him on grass in the final on Sunday.  Hurkacz and Sinner because of their serving are tougher matchups for his style on the surface.  The US is his hardest grand slam as he only has 3 wins there and that is where Medvedev beat him in the Finals in 2021 to end his shot at the grand slam (he also only has 3 at the French, but that is far more about Nadal's dominance than Novak's ability).

If Alcaraz plays like he did today, he absolutely can beat Djokovic on grass. Carlos is the #1 player in the world for a reason. It should be an epic match Sunday morning.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 16, 2023, 09:06:14 AM
Match time… Should be a good one.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 16, 2023, 09:35:25 AM
not a good start for Alcaraz.  Broken twice already down 4-0
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 16, 2023, 10:43:12 AM
not a good start for Alcaraz.  Broken twice already down 4-0

Not surprised he came out with some nerves. Settled in second set, though. Best of 5, so a long ways to go…
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 16, 2023, 11:10:22 AM
Alcaraz takes the second set in a tiebreak. We have a match!
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on July 16, 2023, 02:22:41 PM
20 year old Carlos Alcaraz beats out Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon championship in a thrilling 5 hour, 5 set match. Youngest male player to win Wimbledon since Rafael Nadal (2006). It was a changing of the guard moment. Alcaraz now has 2 majors, after winning the US Open last year and is the #1 player in the world. The reign of King Carlos has begun.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 16, 2023, 02:27:41 PM
Great match.  I thought Novak post-match was one of the best 2nd place speeches I've ever heard.  Got a bit more respect for him off the court after that.  Alacaraz is definitely the future though tye old man is obviously still a threat.  Hopefully we get them again at the US Open final.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on July 16, 2023, 02:35:22 PM
outstanding final today.  When Carlos went up 2-1 after the 3rd set, you just knew that Novak was going to somehow get back in the match.
Bravo to Carlos, he really had to play well to win that match. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: green_bballers13 on July 16, 2023, 04:35:04 PM
It's wild how successful and dominant these tennis players have been over the last 30 years. Sampras, Federer, now Djokovic. I think you could make the case that each of them was the best ever when they stopped playing full time. The Serbian RFK Jr. is a total goofball, but he's an incredibly talented and resilient champion. It's amazing to watch this living legend, even if he didn't get it done today. And yes, Alcaraz is the next great player.

I'm happy to see Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe crack the top 10. This hasn't happened for Americans since Mardy Fish and John Isner in 2012. Meanwhile, Fish is trying to beat Steph Curry at golf this afternoon in Tahoe.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: green_bballers13 on July 20, 2023, 07:54:54 AM
Saw this recent controversy: https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1681409835819225088?s=20

Apparently Amarissa Toth stepped on a ball mark (to clean it) during a controversial out call. Some of the women on the tour are calling this utterly classless. What do you think?

I personally think tennis is too whiny and we need less arguments. That or take the human element out of officiating and have everything determined by AI. Either way, make this stuff less annoying to watch.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: tazzmaniac on July 20, 2023, 08:55:49 AM
Saw this recent controversy: https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1681409835819225088?s=20

Apparently Amarissa Toth stepped on a ball mark (to clean it) during a controversial out call. Some of the women on the tour are calling this utterly classless. What do you think?

I personally think tennis is too whiny and we need less arguments. That or take the human element out of officiating and have everything determined by AI. Either way, make this stuff less annoying to watch.
The ball was called out and the chair ump agreed.  According to the story I read, Zhang Shuai argued with the chair ump for several minutes and asked for a supervisor to come out which didn't happen.  After playing another point, Shuai continued to complain about the call.  That is ridiculous.  The ump should have cut the complaining off quickly, told her to start playing again and if she didn't start penalizing her points. 

I watch very little tennis nowadays.  Do they really complain much compared to the days of McEnroe, Connors, etc? 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Neurotic Guy on July 23, 2023, 03:12:48 PM
I am absolutely not a fan of Tennis. I don’t like playing or watching.  Have to admit there have been intriguing figures through the years that occasionally got my interest. I watched about 5 minutes of the Wimbledon final - didn’t pull me in so I flipped the station.

I just watched an interview with Chris Eubanks - who I’d never heard of.  Just want to say that he was really impressive.  Engaging,  humble, very bright.  I may not watch much in the future but I’ll be rooting for success for Eubanks.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 23, 2023, 08:10:59 PM
I am absolutely not a fan of Tennis. I don’t like playing or watching.  Have to admit there have been intriguing figures through the years that occasionally got my interest. I watched about 5 minutes of the Wimbledon final - didn’t pull me in so I flipped the station.

I just watched an interview with Chris Eubanks - who I’d never heard of.  Just want to say that he was really impressive.  Engaging,  humble, very bright.  I may not watch much in the future but I’ll be rooting for success for Eubanks.
Eubanks in his first Wimbledon made the quarters, but he isn't all that young at 27.  I have no idea if he is a late bloomer or just had a fluke run, but I do find him to be a good guy to root for and Americans needs someone to root for.  At least there are once again 2 American Men in the top 10 with Fritz at 9 and Tiafoe at 10 (and Tommy Paul is up to 14th).  Seems like forever since that has happened. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: wiley on July 23, 2023, 11:27:42 PM
It's wild how successful and dominant these tennis players have been over the last 30 years. Sampras, Federer, now Djokovic. I think you could make the case that each of them was the best ever when they stopped playing full time. The Serbian RFK Jr. is a total goofball, but he's an incredibly talented and resilient champion. It's amazing to watch this living legend, even if he didn't get it done today. And yes, Alcaraz is the next great player.

I'm happy to see Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe crack the top 10. This hasn't happened for Americans since Mardy Fish and John Isner in 2012. Meanwhile, Fish is trying to beat Steph Curry at golf this afternoon in Tahoe.

You forgot Nadal.  Right now it's

Djokovic with 23 grand slam tournament wins
Nadal with 22
and Federer with 20.

Sampras was 14 I think...or 12 not sure..

I hope Nadal can play and win the French again.  Then retire...
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: green_bballers13 on July 24, 2023, 02:10:20 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 24, 2023, 03:06:07 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I think Novak is the greatest because he is the most complete player on all surfaces collectively (see below for more on that). I think Federer is 2 because of time at #1 and general dominance on both grass and hard court.  Nadal has 22 grand slams, but 14 were at the French (which is also why both Novak and Roger didn't win more there).  Nadal is much more a specialist than the other 2 so I'd have him 3. After those 3 I think Borg, Laver, and Sampras are all close together and very difficult to separate given era.

Also, more support for Novak, he is the only man to be the reigning champion at all 4 grand slams with the 3 different surfaces (laver played on grass and clay only).  He is the only man to win all 4 majors at least three times. He is also the only man to win all 9 masters tournaments in his career, which he has done twice.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: wiley on July 24, 2023, 11:54:19 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I think Novak is the greatest because he is the most complete player on all surfaces collectively (see below for more on that). I think Federer is 2 because of time at #1 and general dominance on both grass and hard court.  Nadal has 22 grand slams, but 14 were at the French (which is also why both Novak and Roger didn't win more there).  Nadal is much more a specialist than the other 2 so I'd have him 3. After those 3 I think Borg, Laver, and Sampras are all close together and very difficult to separate given era.

Also, more support for Novak, he is the only man to be the reigning champion at all 4 grand slams with the 3 different surfaces (laver played on grass and clay only).  He is the only man to win all 4 majors at least three times. He is also the only man to win all 9 masters tournaments in his career, which he has done twice.

I was shocked to see Federer only one the French open once.  Thought he would have got a couple more before Nadal got rolling. 

So there are three non-clay Grand Slams and only one clay grand slam tournament.  This certainly hurt Nadal.  If it were 2 clay and 2 non clay then he would have many more grand slams than the other two.  Clay favors endurance, while faster courts favor big servers and less heavy top spin (flatter harder hitters).  Nadal won a total of 8 non clay grand slams, including two Wimbledon's, which is the fastest surface.  Federer only crossed over and won the clay grand slam once.

I can't favor Federer over Nadal (I'd call them equals more or less).  But I can give the edge to Novak overall.

Federer had some time to dominate early on, before Nadal's rise and long before Novak's rise.
Nadal, all through his career, has had to face both Federer and/or Novak.
And Novak has had to deal with both  Nadal and Federer all through his prime.  And now Alcaraz.

I'd say

1. Novak
2. Federer and Nadal tie (slight edge to Nadal).

If another great player doesn't emerge soon, and Alcaraz can stay healthy, he could eclipse everyone as far as number of grand slam titles.  A lot has to go well though. 

To have three such great champions all at once (Novak, Federer and Nadal) is an anomaly I think.  It's more likely than not that Alcaraz will be a lone superstar for some years.  The level he plays at is extremely rare.  The first three had to share titles.  Not sure who Alcaraz will have to share with, other than Novak for two or three more years.



Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on July 25, 2023, 06:26:10 AM
Federer won his first major at the 2003 Wimbledon.  In 2004, he won 3, losing the French. Claudio Gaston won but Federer lost to 3 time French champion Gustavo Kuerton.  Nadal then started winning the French, picking up his first in 2005 (Federer had only those 4 grand slams at the time).  Federer won it in 2009. It wasn't until Wawrinka in 2015 someone other than Nadal won,  Novak won it in 2016, but then Nadal won the next 4, before Novak won again in 2021, then Nadal picked up his 14th in 2022 (he beat Novak in the quarters) with Novak winning his 3rd this year.  In other words, Federer didn't really have much time before Nadal started winning the French.  There are a lot of clay court specialists throughout tennis history.  Nadal is the best of them and found some success at the other majors, but he is definitely more clay oriented.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: wiley on July 28, 2023, 10:47:57 PM
One thing for sure...Federer made tennis look like ballet (at least on his side of the net).  No one at the top has ever made the game look so effortless.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on August 29, 2023, 10:39:51 AM
As the US Open starts, I saw an amazing stat.  If you take out the last 2 sets at the French when Alcaraz was injured, in the last 1003 points that Carlos and Novak have played, Carlos has won 502 and Novak has won 501.  As close as you can get.  They are 1-1 in slams and 2-2 against each other.  A loss by either before they meet each other would be surprising (though Carlos less so than Novak).  Hopefully they have another instant classic. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: tenn_smoothie on August 29, 2023, 05:18:33 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I think Novak is the greatest because he is the most complete player on all surfaces collectively (see below for more on that). I think Federer is 2 because of time at #1 and general dominance on both grass and hard court.  Nadal has 22 grand slams, but 14 were at the French (which is also why both Novak and Roger didn't win more there).  Nadal is much more a specialist than the other 2 so I'd have him 3. After those 3 I think Borg, Laver, and Sampras are all close together and very difficult to separate given era.

Also, more support for Novak, he is the only man to be the reigning champion at all 4 grand slams with the 3 different surfaces (laver played on grass and clay only).  He is the only man to win all 4 majors at least three times. He is also the only man to win all 9 masters tournaments in his career, which he has done twice.

Borg ? Connors and McEnroe were every bit his equal.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: footey on August 29, 2023, 06:03:13 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I think Novak is the greatest because he is the most complete player on all surfaces collectively (see below for more on that). I think Federer is 2 because of time at #1 and general dominance on both grass and hard court.  Nadal has 22 grand slams, but 14 were at the French (which is also why both Novak and Roger didn't win more there).  Nadal is much more a specialist than the other 2 so I'd have him 3. After those 3 I think Borg, Laver, and Sampras are all close together and very difficult to separate given era.

Also, more support for Novak, he is the only man to be the reigning champion at all 4 grand slams with the 3 different surfaces (laver played on grass and clay only).  He is the only man to win all 4 majors at least three times. He is also the only man to win all 9 masters tournaments in his career, which he has done twice.

Borg ? Connors and McEnroe were every bit his equal.

McEnroe won 7 Majors, Conners 8.  Rod Laver won 11. Don't forget him...
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on August 29, 2023, 10:44:42 PM
I did forget Nadal. He's an all time great. Is there a consensus that he is the second best player of all time? By the measure of majors, I guess you have to give it to him over Federer. Is Sampras 4th best of all time then? Are majors the best way to measure? I like tennis but I'm not an expert, by any means.
I think Novak is the greatest because he is the most complete player on all surfaces collectively (see below for more on that). I think Federer is 2 because of time at #1 and general dominance on both grass and hard court.  Nadal has 22 grand slams, but 14 were at the French (which is also why both Novak and Roger didn't win more there).  Nadal is much more a specialist than the other 2 so I'd have him 3. After those 3 I think Borg, Laver, and Sampras are all close together and very difficult to separate given era.

Also, more support for Novak, he is the only man to be the reigning champion at all 4 grand slams with the 3 different surfaces (laver played on grass and clay only).  He is the only man to win all 4 majors at least three times. He is also the only man to win all 9 masters tournaments in his career, which he has done twice.

Borg ? Connors and McEnroe were every bit his equal.
perhaps on hard courts, but Borg won 6 french and 5 straight at wimbledon.  In fact the only man to ever beat him at the French is Adriano Panatta who beat him in the 4th round in 73 and the quarters in 76.  Every other French Open Borg entered, he won.  McEnroe did end Borg's 41 match win streak at Wimbledon by beating him in the 81 Final.  After losing to McEnroe again at the US Open Final in 81, he walked off the court and basically retired (he played like 4 lesser tournaments until he tried to come back in 91).  He was 26 and still dominating on clay and grass, but walked away in his prime. 

Because Borg was so dominant on grass and clay, and won so much, I think he is ahead of Connors and McEnroe.  Those 11 grand slam titles are still 5th best all time in the open era, behind only Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Sampras (Emerson has 12 and Laver has 6 pre and 5 in open for 11 total).  After Borg, 8 is the next most in the open era from Connors, Lendl, and Agassi.  McEnroe is tied with Wilander with 7. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: tenn_smoothie on September 02, 2023, 12:05:17 AM
I'm not as high on Borg, despite his 11 majors. He wasn't mentally tough enough to handle the US Open. Connors cleaned his clock in the final there in '76 & '78 and McEnroe beat him in two finals there as well. I lost respect when Borg walked away from tennis after losing his World #1 ranking.

The thing people don't recognize is that by the time Borg and Mac hit their respective primes, Connors was on the back end of his but still came back to regain the World #1 in 1982 by beating Mac at Wimbledon and Lendl at the US Open. Connors would have won the Slam sweep in '74 if not for the French Federation banning him from Roland Garros for petty reasons. Also, Connors lost two Wimbledon finals with severe injuries, a stress fracture in '75 vs Ashe and a broken thumb in '77 vs Borg. As for "winning so much", Connors still has the most tournament titles @ 109.

Regarding Laver, you won't get any argument from me about his greatness -  twice sweeping the Slams in one year.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 02, 2023, 11:03:36 AM
Novak was down 2 sets to his countryman (Djere), but blitzed him off the court in the final 3 sets to advance with the final point coming at 1:30 in the morning.  We almost lost a shot at the final we all want.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 03, 2023, 12:16:31 PM
Novak was down 2 sets to his countryman (Djere), but blitzed him off the court in the final 3 sets to advance with the final point coming at 1:30 in the morning.  We almost lost a shot at the final we all want.

I’m hoping Novak plays Tommy Paul in the Semis. He’s currently ranked #12 in the world and is playing the best out of the Americans. Tommy beat Alcaraz in Toronto a few weeks ago.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 08, 2023, 01:57:20 AM
Man, that women's semi was a bit painful to watch. Keys got up 5-3 in the 2nd, and then it felt like she tightened up a lot. Keys lost her composure. Lots of unforced errors from Keys in those last 3 games and the tiebreaker.  Then Keys gets up 4-2 in the third and just doesn't have it in her to pull out the match.  I was hoping to see her against Coco in an all US final. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 08, 2023, 10:49:13 AM
Man, that women's semi was a bit painful to watch. Keys got up 5-3 in the 2nd, and then it felt like she tightened up a lot. Keys lost her composure. Lots of unforced errors from Keys in those last 3 games and the tiebreaker.  Then Keys gets up 4-2 in the third and just doesn't have it in her to pull out the match.  I was hoping to see her against Coco in an all US final.

Really too bad. I was at the US Open on Saturday and saw her play. She looked very good. Best form since she made it to the Final vs Stephens. Coco will face Sabalenka tomorrow for the Championship.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 08, 2023, 06:34:16 PM
Ben Shelton's amazing run ended at Novak today. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 08, 2023, 08:34:07 PM
Alcaraz is in big trouble.  Medvedev took the first set in a tiebreaker and is up 3-0 in the 2nd.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 08, 2023, 09:26:29 PM
Alcaraz making a push to take the 3rd set… Brady, Durant, Butler are at the match. Pretty cool to see.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 08, 2023, 11:55:21 PM
Medvedev played extremely well.  That 2nd semi was played at a high level.  I like watching both guys, and even in losing Alcaraz is making incredible shots.  Medvedev was just rock solid though.  Going to be an interesting final.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: ozgod on September 09, 2023, 01:49:11 AM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 10:56:06 AM
Medvedev played extremely well.  That 2nd semi was played at a high level.  I like watching both guys, and even in losing Alcaraz is making incredible shots.  Medvedev was just rock solid though.  Going to be an interesting final.

Yeah, should be a good one. I’m glad Medvedev advanced. He was beaten badly by Alcaraz the last two times they played. Daniil came in with a new game plan and was a lot more offensive. I think Medvedev wins tomorrow. According to ESPN, match will be at 4pm ET.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 11:57:30 AM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Neurotic Guy on September 09, 2023, 01:13:35 PM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.

Nasty Americans have been beloved. Connors and McEnroe come to mind.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 09, 2023, 01:49:19 PM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.

bolded +1 me too.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 09, 2023, 02:01:05 PM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.

Nasty Americans have been beloved. Connors and McEnroe come to mind.

but they were 'our entitled jerks' so it makes it a tiny bit better right (sarcasm)?

I have to say I was a huge McEnroe fan growing up.  I loved watching McEnroe play, great serve and volley player.  Maybe the best doubles player ever.  His antics were obviously worse that Djokovic's, but McEnroe softened as he got older.   Djokovic doing petty stuff like that at 36 is just dumb.  He should be above it and just take the high road.  Shelton wasn't ever a threat.  Honestly Shelton's actions are just dumb too, the hands to the ears, the dumb little gestures.  He needs to be more concerned about his inability to keep popping out an explosion of unforced errors.  But he is 20.

Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 03:17:17 PM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.

Nasty Americans have been beloved. Connors and McEnroe come to mind.

Djokovic hit a lines judge in the throat with a ball and was DQ’d from the major.  He also hosted a tennis tournament with thousands of people in his home country during the height of the pandemic. This was after the ATP was already shut down and it resulted in players and fans getting sick. Then you have the whole fiasco with him flying to Australia for the AO which didn’t allow unvaccinated individuals to enter the country. Novak then tried to get an exemption so that he could still play, which was denied. This is stuff well beyond being a jerk to an opponent or umpire. Novak has repeatedly shown narcissistic tendencies.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 09, 2023, 05:19:46 PM
Sabalenka just steamrolled Coco in the 1st set.  But Sabalenka has a tendency to have mental breakdowns, and now Coco up a break in the 2nd. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 05:58:02 PM
Sabalenka just steamrolled Coco in the 1st set.  But Sabalenka has a tendency to have mental breakdowns, and now Coco up a break in the 2nd.

I’m rooting for Coco, but I do feel for Sabelenka as the crowd is cheering when she makes an error. Not very classy…
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 09, 2023, 06:02:47 PM
Sabalenka just steamrolled Coco in the 1st set.  But Sabalenka has a tendency to have mental breakdowns, and now Coco up a break in the 2nd.

I’m rooting for Coco, but I do feel for Sabelenka as the crowd is cheering when she makes an error. Not very classy…

Well Coco raised the level of her game, started running EVERYTHING down, and Sabalenka is getting frustrated and then her mental mistakes start piling up.

When Sabalenka gets her head right, she seems tough to beat.  But Coco is just a human backboard out there.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 06:09:59 PM
Sabalenka just steamrolled Coco in the 1st set.  But Sabalenka has a tendency to have mental breakdowns, and now Coco up a break in the 2nd.

I’m rooting for Coco, but I do feel for Sabelenka as the crowd is cheering when she makes an error. Not very classy…

Well Coco raised the level of her game, started running EVERYTHING down, and Sabalenka is getting frustrated and then her mental mistakes start piling up.

When Sabalenka gets her head right, she seems tough to beat.  But Coco is just a human backboard out there.

Oh, I 100% agree with that. Coco seems to get nervous during the 1st set of matches, but then she settles in. Hopefully she closes this thing out.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 09, 2023, 08:07:53 PM
1st American win at a grand slam in a long time.  Glad to see it.  Be nice for the sport if an American male emerged at some point soon
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Goldstar88 on September 09, 2023, 09:56:46 PM
1st American win at a grand slam in a long time.  Glad to see it.  Be nice for the sport if an American male emerged at some point soon

Kenin won the AO in 2020, but she’s fallen off a cliff since. Really happy for Coco. Her reaction after the final point was special. Pretty incredible that she won a major at 19 years old. Believe only Serena, Venus and Tracy Austin won as teenagers. Rare air.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2023, 04:38:32 PM
Novak is dialed in early, got out to a 3-0 lead, now 3-1 with Novak serving.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: blink on September 10, 2023, 05:09:46 PM
honestly the level of play in the men's final right now isn't very good.  Lots of unforced errors on both sides.  Medvedev seems like he has a hangover, his energy level seems so low.  Both players just seem like they are playing not to lose.

I guess we got a really good men's semifinal and women's final so this just seems a bit blah so far.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: footey on September 10, 2023, 07:51:29 PM
Novak is dialed in early, got out to a 3-0 lead, now 3-1 with Novak serving.

He’s the GOAT.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: SparzWizard on September 10, 2023, 09:35:29 PM
Petty from Novak. He's mocking a 20 year old kid. Which is why even if he surpasses Roger and Rafa in terms of records he won't ever be as loved. Then again he likely doesn't care, and the winner can do what he likes.

Quote
Novak Djokovic mocked his defeated opponent Ben Shelton with a “hang up the phone” gesture after completing a straight-sets victory in the US Open semi-final.

The 20-year-old Shelton had used this distinctive celebration after his quarter-final victory over compatriot Frances Tiafoe, miming taking a call and then putting the handset down to suggest that he was “dialled in”.

So when Shelton banged his final forehand into the net, and Djokovic echoed his actions, it felt like a way of putting the young pretender in his place.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2023/09/08/ben-shelton-vs-novak-djokovic-us-open-2023-live-score/

Yep. He is who he is. Incredible tennis player… Not an incredible person. Will be pulling for Medvedev on Sunday.

Nasty Americans have been beloved. Connors and McEnroe come to mind.

Djokovic hit a lines judge in the throat with a ball and was DQ’d from the major.  He also hosted a tennis tournament with thousands of people in his home country during the height of the pandemic. This was after the ATP was already shut down and it resulted in players and fans getting sick. Then you have the whole fiasco with him flying to Australia for the AO which didn’t allow unvaccinated individuals to enter the country. Novak then tried to get an exemption so that he could still play, which was denied. This is stuff well beyond being a jerk to an opponent or umpire. Novak has repeatedly shown narcissistic tendencies.

Novak is like the LeBron of tennis in terms of behavior perhaps. Tho no denying he is currently the goat in his sport, now that Federer retired.
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2023, 09:39:25 PM
1st American win at a grand slam in a long time.  Glad to see it.  Be nice for the sport if an American male emerged at some point soon

Kenin won the AO in 2020, but she’s fallen off a cliff since. Really happy for Coco. Her reaction after the final point was special. Pretty incredible that she won a major at 19 years old. Believe only Serena, Venus and Tracy Austin won as teenagers. Rare air.
3 years is a long time when talking about Americans and tennis.  Before Kenin it was Stephens at the 2017 US.  Serena won her last one at Wimbledon in 2016.  It has been awhile since the US had real chances to win consistently at Grand Slams.  The men is so ridiculously long at this point, I'm not sure when they will get one again.  In case you don't remember it was 2003.  Agassi won the Aussie and then Roddick closed the year winning the US.  Yes it has been so long for the American men that Andre Agassi was still active. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on September 10, 2023, 09:44:08 PM
Congrats to Novak.  This is now his 4th year in which he has won 3 out of the 4 Grand Slams.  Obviously he lost Wimbledon Final to Alcaraz this year.  In 2021, Medvedev beat him in the Final of the US Open.  In 2015, he lost in the French Open Final to Stan Wawrinka.  In 2011, Federer beat him in the semis of the French Open (Fed would lose to Nadal in the Finals). 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on January 24, 2024, 11:39:40 AM
Alcaraz was upset today by Zverev. No Finals rematch for Carlos and Novak.  Zverev will face Medvedev in the semis while Djokovic takes on Sinner in the other one. 

Coco Gauff made her first Aussie semis and will take on Sablenka, while Zheng Qinwen takes on unseeded qualifyier Dayana Yastremska. 
Title: Re: Tennis Thread
Post by: Moranis on January 26, 2024, 06:38:09 AM
Down goes Novak. Loses badly to Sinner in the semis. His first loss in Australia since 2018.