Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XII

[Tuggy]

Djokovic and Shapovalov about to start.

Verdasco takes out Thiem.

Cilic loses again and will fall out of the top 10. Wonder if he'll ever get back...

 

[Tuggy]

Denis steamrolled in the first set 6-1.

 

[MsMeow]

Denis lost 1 and 3. Kyrgios was defaulted at 2-1 in the third set. From what I understand he had already lost a point, then a game and then he kept dropping f-bombs at someone in the crowd, I think, then smashed his racquet and threw a chair. The ump called for a ref and I never heard him actually say game, set, match but Kyrgios packed his stuff and left.

 

[Tuggy]

Denis goes down in straight sets. No surprise.

And Nick, being Nick...what a clown

 

[Tuggy]

 

[kihei]

After his eccentric play against a clearly hurting Medvedev, I thought, uh oh, this might be the (relative) calm before the storm. Then came the interview where he went out of his way to trash Nole, Rafa and Verdasco. Now this. I thought Nick was getting help, but obviously it hasn't been sufficient. I feel for the guy--he has serious mental heath issues that he must address for his own good, forget about tennis. I hope he finally gets the professional care that he so desperately needs.

 

[MsMeow]

After his eccentric play against a clearly hurting Medvedev, I thought, uh oh, this might be the (relative) calm before the storm. Then came the interview where he went out of his way to trash Nole, Rafa and Verdasco. Now this. I thought Nick was getting help, but obviously it hasn't been sufficient. I feel for the guy--he has serious mental heath issues that he must address for his own good, forget about tennis. I hope he finally gets the professional care that he so desperately needs.

I agree he needs help. I also have to say a lot of what he said in the interview is true, not about the fans since he started it but about Nole wanting to be liked and Rafa being a bad sport when he loses although I think most of that is due to being ultra competitive. Not sure I would want to shake hands with Kyrgios after the way he acts on court either but still, Rafa did shake hands.

 

[kihei]

Here's a real shocker: Coric over Federer 4-love.

6-2 Borna. Just an excellent set from Coric though 10 unforced backhand errors from Roger made it a little easier.

 

[kihei]

Roger is grouchy today.

 

[kihei]

Roger wins the second set, takes the third to a breaker, saves two match points, and wins a match that Coric deserved, all with the crowd going nuts. If anything, the whole kit and kaboodle, crowd and all, just goes to show that in the mind of the paying customers, Fed is a legend beyond which no other tennis player in history can compare or even hope to aspire. Few athletes in history have had this aura and this ability to rise to the occasion so many times. Some times it seems more fairy tale than real.

 

[Hadoop]

Fed prevails. Barely.

Can't wait to get home and see the highlights.

RE: Krygios. Maybe he does need help. Then again maybe he just really hates his job, but he hasn't switched careers yet because his current one is so lucrative. Plus occasionally he still finds tennis enjoyable (i.e. Laver cup)

 

[Hadoop]

Roger wins the second set, takes the third to a breaker, saves two match points, and wins a match that Coric deserved, all with the crowd going nuts. If anything, the whole kit and kaboodle, crowd and all, just goes to show that in the mind of the paying customers, Fed is a legend beyond which no other tennis player in history can compare or even hope to aspire. Few athletes in history have had this aura and this ability to rise to the occasion so many times. Some times it seems more fairy tale than real.

They don't call watching Fed a spiritual/religious experience for nothing.

 

[MsMeow]

 

[Hadoop]

Finals moments of the "one vs a million" match between Coric and Fed + the rest of the stadium.

Still don't blame the fans though!

 

[JetsWillFly4Ever]

Fed has to W/D

 

[Tuggy]

Tsitsipas can jump over Zverev in the live rankings with a win in the SF.

 

[MsMeow]

Fed has to W/D

Hope it's just a precaution. Meanwhile, early going between Rafa and Verdasco but Rafa is down 2-0 and at deuce in the third game. Interestingly, the announcers said Rafa is taking 27 seconds on average between serves while Verdasco is taking 26. On the very first point of Verdasco's service game he was given a warning. It shows you how arbitrary they are with this.

 

[Tuggy]

Verdasco with a nice start against Nadal. We'll see how long it lasts.

Didn't last

 

[MsMeow]

Verdasco with a nice start against Nadal. We'll see how long it lasts.

Didn't last

Rafa isn't playing anywhere near peak Rafa but ends up winning the set.

 

[kihei]

Yeah, a typical Verdasco/Nadal match. Rafa doesn't need to be at his peak, and as soon as he takes the first set, Verdasco folds like a broken umbrella.

 

[kihei]

Del Potro plays some fine clay court tennis and takes the first set from Nole, 6-4.

 

[Tuggy]

Draw out for Lyon and Denis/Felix on opposite sides of the draw. Maybe we can get our first (of hopefully many) finals between them

 

[Hadoop]

Past midnight in Rome, but this is going 3 after Djokovic takes the second set in a tiebreaker.

P.S. That drop shot winner from Nole facing match point was clutch.

 

[kihei]

That second set was a beauty with Nole saving two match points in the breaker. Both players deserved to win that set.

 

[kihei]

Almost 7:00 PM EST in Toronto and I am watching the Italian Open live. Seems a little strange.