The real Tennis thread.

[Red Rick]

Murray beats world #1 doubles Cabal/Farah team with Feliciano Lopez in his first match back. Confirms he's playing Wimbledon in doubles and also looking to play mixed doubles

What a sight to see.

 

[Nirvana]

Apparently (i can only read reports because neither Sky nor Eurosport have the rights) the old man is playing really bad on the grass compared to what we have seen on the clay, could really be a golden chance for Nadal in Wimbledon also considering that Djokovic hasn't improved as expected in Paris compared to the Masters 1.000 whereas Nadal's form was in the upward trajectory from Rome onward.

 

[Red Rick]

Don't have a single worry about Djokovic at Wimbledon

Meanwhile, Lopez vs Simon Queens final is another sign of #nextgen hilarity.

Tsitsipas deciding to play all 3 weeks of grass tuneups is more idiocy.

 

[BullsFan22]

Ashleigh Barty becomes World #1. That is hilarious.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Great day for Lopez at Queen’s, wins the singles and then the doubles final with Murray.

 

[Red Rick]

Lopez carried Murray so hard in that tiebreak.

From 4-4 to 9-4 it went

Lopez return winner
Lopez ace
Lopez volley winner
Lopez forehand winner
Lopez return winner

Absolutely love it.

 

[movingtarget]

Ashleigh Barty becomes World #1. That is hilarious.

There's consistency for you. Women's tennis isn't known for that.

 

[Red Rick]

Not sure what's so hilarious about it. Barty is one of the few players on the WTA Tour with great touch and variety, as well as a very solid serve and forehand.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

Not sure what's so hilarious about it. Barty is one of the few players on the WTA Tour with great touch and variety, as well as a very solid serve and forehand.

I think it's the fact that she'd never made it beyond the third round of a GS going into 2019 (so could be seen as a little like if Fulgsang wins the TDF), though having said that, I think she had been under performing a little in 2018 in the slams. Osaka should really still be number 1, but it's not Barty's fault that she is incredibly inconsistent.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Not sure what's so hilarious about it. Barty is one of the few players on the WTA Tour with great touch and variety, as well as a very solid serve and forehand.

I think it's the fact that she'd never made it beyond the third round of a GS going into 2019 (so could be seen as a little like if Fulgsang wins the TDF), though having said that, I think she had been under performing a little in 2018 in the slams. Osaka should really still be number 1, but it's not Barty's fault that she is incredibly inconsistent.

She was a junior champion and won the Wimbledon Junior's Title. She took some time off and has come back stronger. She was also a cricket international and was deciding which career to pursue, obviously tennis was the right choice. Barty is only 23. Women's tennis hasn't been dominated by a big four or big three like the men's has. Looking at the winners of the four major tournaments over the past 10 years just shows how different it is to the men results wise.

 

[Red Rick]

Boy do we have controversy about the Wimbledon seeding system now.

It's trash imo, but it's been there forever. 2017 was more egregious imo, but it benefitted both Nadal and Federer, so people weren't rioting. Djokovic getting a much higher seed last year also benefitted all the top players.

Meanwhile, Kevin Anderson who played like 2 matches in the last 3 months and who's 8th in the world, gets the #4 seed.

 

[Red Rick]

Nadal-Kyrgios 2nd round at Wimbledon.

Typical

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Nadal-Kyrgios 2nd round at Wimbledon.

Typical

Assuming that Kyrgios gets past Thompson, a guy that's played quite well on the Grass already. Lost a tight semifinal today, lost in the final in a tournament before that. Also not sure that Kyrgios won't just throw away the match with his usual antics.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Nadal-Kyrgios 2nd round at Wimbledon.

Typical

Assuming that Kyrgios gets past Thompson, a guy that's played quite well on the Grass already. Lost a tight semifinal today, lost in the final in a tournament before that. Also not sure that Kyrgios won't just throw away the match with his usual antics.

That would be great if he did that.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

Nadal-Kyrgios 2nd round at Wimbledon.

Typical

Assuming that Kyrgios gets past Thompson, a guy that's played quite well on the Grass already. Lost a tight semifinal today, lost in the final in a tournament before that. Also not sure that Kyrgios won't just throw away the match with his usual antics.

That would be great if he did that.

I agree. On the other hand, it wouldn't shock me if he got through a tough 1st rounder where he whines and moans through the match and then plays a great match to upset Nadal. I hope not, but it's certainly possible.

 

[Red Rick]

The complaints about court speed have already begun.

 

[Laplaz]

Tsitsipas and A. Zverev already out

 

[Red Rick]

I would kill to make Hewitt or Roddick 21 again.

 

[del1962]

Re:

The complaints about court speed have already begun.

too slow or too fast?

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

The complaints about court speed have already begun.

too slow or too fast?

Always too slow. Ever since Nadal started winning on grass and HC, people have been complaining, and then when Djokovic started dominating they complained even more. Most of it's just been fans being very Fed-biased and dominant players being some of the best athletes the sport has seen.

What 90% of fans fail to see it wasn't court speed that caused the problem, it's modern racket technology. Poly strings in particular, make it so much more easy to hit with topspin so you can play with much more racket head speed and topspin. Poly strings have made it much harder to play at the net, but they've also made it much easier to hold serve. Despite slower courts, ace% and hold% are through the roof since the 90s, and people who want fast courts don't realise if you make the courts that fast again you're not gonna see any rallies and they're not gonna get their beloved serve&volley either.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

Tsitsipas and A. Zverev already out

Add Thiem to the list of Round 1 casualties.

 

[Red Rick]

Just looking at how anyone outside Fedalovic are doing, I'm not counting out Murray reaching the top 5 again.

 

[tobydawq]

Nadal is being deliberately, provocatively slow with getting ready to serve and return, Kyrgios is complaining about it all the time, and the umpire doesn't really care.

In the first set, Kyrgios fired an ace of 230 kph. On a second serve!

Fun match.

Oh, and now two underhand serves from Kyrgios who also had the audacity to spit vigourously on the sacred Centre Court lawn earlier.

 

[Red Rick]

Standard stuff for a Nadal/Kyrgios match. Nadal needs to remember a time when he didn't stand 18m behind the baseline to receive serve.

 

[Pricey_sky]

All fun and games, as expected. A really entertaining match so far with al the added drama.