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Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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That was pretty much one of the worst tennis matches I've ever seen. Around 70 unforced errors for Sabalenka. Something like 15 out of the 30 games played resulted in a break. What's the point if a player can't even hold her serve?

Unwatchable. And it pretty much gave me my fill of tennis for a long time. No immediate hype for this afternoon's men's final after that butchery yesterday.
 
tobydawq

tobydawq

Nov 16, 2013
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Gigs_98 said:
I agree in general but yesterday I really needed the match to finish. My relationship was saved by the introduction of the 5th set match tiebreak!
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It's still a bit funny that there is only one pro singles set ever to have the result 13-12.

They really had a hard time making up their mind. I thought that was a good solution, I don't really get why they removed that rule.
 
Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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BullsFan22 said:
So glad Sinner didn't win.
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He'll be back and make all his haters suffer.

He had the measure of his opponent for most of the match and it took some herculean freakish points from Alcaraz to win that one.

So yeah, the guy who shouts vamos and gets the crowd on his side after every point won came out on top. But if Sinner keeps on doing what he's doing (& don't forget he only had one preparation tournament before RG), their next encounter could have a different outcome.
 
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Rechtschreibfehler

Rechtschreibfehler

Mar 19, 2009
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Rackham said:
He'll be back and make all his haters suffer.

He had the measure of his opponent for most of the match and it took some herculean freakish points from Alcaraz to win that one.

So yeah, the guy who shouts vamos and gets the crowd on his side after every point won came out on top. But if Sinner keeps on doing what he's doing (& don't forget he only had one preparation tournament before RG), their next encounter could have a different outcome.
Click to expand...

Still, basically all of Sinners recent losses came to Alcaraz, and it's not the first time he wins a screamer of a 5 set match against him either (US Open 2022 was also crazy). Due to their rakings they can only meet late in Tournaments, atm only in the final, so a good form of Alcaraz is more or less a guarantee. And then Sinner is in trouble, in 5 set matches anyway, but also in general because Alcaraz is really good at playing herculean freakish tennis on his good day and his ceiling seems to be a bit higher.

I have to say that Sinner grew on me during his runners up speech. But on the pitch, he's such a steely, earnest and hyper controlled entity, that I just have trouble cheering for him, while at the same time it's still easy to admire what he can do. But it's hard to empathize with someone who seems either void of emotions or has a stare like he's out to kill someone when he (probably just) concentrates.
 
Red Rick

Red Rick

Feb 20, 2012
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tobydawq said:
It's still a bit funny that there is only one pro singles set ever to have the result 13-12.

They really had a hard time making up their mind. I thought that was a good solution, I don't really get why they removed that rule.
Click to expand...
It was basically a direct overreaction the 2018 Isner/Anderson Wimbledon semifinal, which bled over into some minor logistical issues with the Djokovic/Nadal semi everyone actually wanted to see not being finished on the Friday because of Wimbledon's unique curfew rules meaning they don't have full on night sessions and they just stop playing at 10 PM local time or something.

One very bad argument used a lot at the time is how it was unfair to the players if they played a match that long because it would affect them in future matches, which is just a clear skill issue, and if you don't want to be tired in the final, you just shouldn't play a 7 hour semi.

The other side of it is that value of extended 5th sets basically got ignored completely, in that it adds something truly unique and that every match that would have gone from 8-6 to 70-68 in the 5th now becomes a completely indiscernable 7-6 where any potential for a single match to become an epic story of it's own is completely diminished.

I guess one more reason to do it is to have more predictable finishing times, or at least to make it clear to the audience the finish line is in sight at a certain point when going to a 5th set, which is much more in line with all other sports, and I can't really think of many sports where a match could go on almost indefinitely.

But really, the most obvious reason is the main match that caused it was an Isner-Anderson match, and nobody likes watching Isner and Anderson fail to put returns in play for 7 hours straight.

That's why I have always advocated for just banning John Isner from tennis altogether rather than breaking what's not broken and making 5th set tiebreaks a thing. It's like having a scratch in the paint of your living room and fixing it with a sledgehammer.
 
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Rackham

Rackham

Jul 16, 2015
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Rechtschreibfehler said:
Still, basically all of Sinners recent losses came to Alcaraz, and it's not the first time he wins a screamer of a 5 set match against him either (US Open 2022 was also crazy). Due to their rakings they can only meet late in Tournaments, atm only in the final, so a good form of Alcaraz is more or less a guarantee. And then Sinner is in trouble, in 5 set matches anyway, but also in general because Alcaraz is really good at playing herculean freakish tennis on his good day and his ceiling seems to be a bit higher.

I have to say that Sinner grew on me during his runners up speech. But on the pitch, he's such a steely, earnest and hyper controlled entity, that I just have trouble cheering for him, while at the same time it's still easy to admire what he can do. But it's hard to empathize with someone who seems either void of emotions or has a stare like he's out to kill someone when he (probably just) concentrates.
Click to expand...

I like Sinner for exactly those reasons. It's admirable how he maintains his composure and focus. He's classy on the court and off it.

And sure his style of ultra efficient tennis is an acquired taste compared to the more flamboyant players but I'll admit I enjoy watching him and I cheer for him.
 
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