Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XII

[kihei]

Tsitsipas is playing exceedingly well right now against Rafa, getting a break for 4-3. Rafa really has his hands full today.

Rafa immediately responds with a break of his own, 4-all.

Tsitsipas breaks right back and is serving for the set, 5-4.

Despite a break point for Rafa, Tsitsipas holds for the set.

Great set for Stefanos.

 

[kihei]

Nadal's default position these days is defensive. It will be interesting to see if he can up the aggressiveness of his game in order to mount a comeback against a very good player having a very good day.

 

[kihei]

Rafa indeed ups the pressure and is rewarded with a break for 4-2 in the second set....he's rolling now, 5-2 and now Stefanos has to dig deeper....but instead Rafa gets another break and takes the set 6-2.

Rafa really picked up his game dramatically and now I wonder if Stefanos can find any answers.

 

[kihei]

Hard working Stefanos nabs the first break, 3-2. Rafa broke right back last time, so the question is can he hold on to it.

Stefanos wobbles but recovers from 15-40 with brilliant play, 4-2

Tsitsipas gets yet another break, 5-2. Now that is damn impressive on clay in Madrid.

Rafa breaks easily for 5-3. Cue The Perils of Paulene soundtrack.

Nadal save a match point on serve with a brilliant shot...Faces another one after a blazing cross court forehand by Tsitsipas....saves that one with a volley....saves a third with a crazy high-risk drop shot....blows a gimme volley right at the net....and makes an unforced error on the fourth match point.

Great performance by Tsitsipas--one that will be a memorable benchmark in his career.

 

[MsMeow]

OMG, Tsitsipas won?? I did not see that coming. I figured it would be Thiem vs Rafa. Glad I'm not a betting person!

 

[kihei]

OMG, Tsitsipas won?? I did not see that coming. I figured it would be Thiem vs Rafa. Glad I'm not a betting person!

I smelled a potential close match so I only put a token amount on Rafa. Glad I did.

 

[MeowLeafs]

Nadal needs to step it up, he just doesn't look as dominant as he has been before. Unfortunately I'm thinking it's due to his age and injuries taking their toll...so he might never get to the same level as before. I'm not at all confident that he'll win the French open. And I'm starting to think he won't catch up to federer in grand slams and djokovic will pass him too. Nadal is my favourite player so I hope I'm wrong!

 

[kihei]

Nole seems the obvious pick, but Stefanos won his last tournament (Estoril) and is playing terrific tennis right now.

 

[kihei]

Tsitsipas stumbles early and Nole is off to a 3-love lead and looking sleek and engaged

 

[MsMeow]

I think for the first time in a long time, The French will end up being hotly contested by a number of guys. I think Nole and Thiem will be leading the way. Rafa may not make the final if he keeps playing like he is.

 

[kihei]

Nole with a dominant, authoritative first set win, 6-3. If he wins this, especially in this manner, Djokovic will be the clear French Open front runner going into Rome.

 

[kihei]

Super convincing win for Nole even though Tsitsipas didn't play that badly. Novak's fans should feel a sense of relief--he played at a very high level today,

 

[Tuggy]

Tsitsipas played well but never felt like the result was in much doubt.

Felix first up tomorrow against Coric. Felix is 1-0 against him (Felix beat him in Miami this year).

Serena playing this week, she's up after Felix tomorrow. Feel like it's been a while since we've seen her.

 

[Tuggy]

First set to Felix in a TB.

 

[Tuggy]

Coric wins in 3. Fairly close match but Coric was better today.

 

[MsMeow]

Denis plays soon but I think I'll be at work.

 

[Tuggy]

Denis wins in the 2 over PCB.

Djokovic next...

 

[Hadoop]

Denis wins in the 2 over PCB.

Djokovic next...

Gees our young guns sure aren't getting any favours from the draw gods on clay do far.

 

[kihei]

With Felix, I think the big issue is confidence--being sure of his ability to the point that he doesn't have to think about. It will come.

 

[Tuggy]

Horrible stretch continues for Zverev, yikes. Another bunch of points dropped.

 

[Hadoop]

Horrible stretch continues for Zverev, yikes. Another bunch of points dropped.

Heard he's been dealing with variety of non-tennis issues.

 

[YEM]

Horrible stretch continues for Zverev, yikes. Another bunch of points dropped.

he complained on social media that a tweener of his from last week in Madrid didn't make it on a highlight package
his head's not where it should be

 

[kihei]

Speaking of troubled souls, Nick comes up with a curious three set win over Medvedev who was clearly playing injured, at a guess a groin muscle ( Late in the first set, he managed to unwrap about ten feet of bandages from his groin area without exposing himself). Nick started out all Dustin Brown, one trick shot after another, but actually settled down a bit when he realized his opponent was not capable of his best. Lord knows where his head is at sometimes.

 

[Hadoop]

Heard he's been dealing with variety of non-tennis issues.

More specifically he's had 3 different off-court reasons for his dip in form.
ZVEREV. Breaking up with girlfriend, no management team, and sick father his problems


Would say that Djokovic's inconsistency the last few months have been due to extracurricular activities as well, in his case the ongoing disputes against the ATP itself in his role as president of the Player Council. Fortunately he seems to be back in form.

 

[MsMeow]

Rome is in a rain delay. I see Serena retired before her match vs Venus, with a knee injury.