Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XIII

[Tuggy]

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[Ben Grimm]

Wanting people to win or lose a major because of their age is neurotic. Let the best players win. That's tennis.

 

[kihei]

Wanting people to win or lose a major because of their age is neurotic. Let the best players win. That's tennis.

Reads like a fortune cookie.

 

[kihei]

Notes on various semi-finalists, plus Denis:

Denis: he has become an unforced error machine.

Carreno-Busta: played more muscular tennis against Shapo than has been his norm and it paid off handsomely

Bublik: continues to impress and he has a super cute girlfriend

Mannarino: groundstrokes are so compact, the forehand being little more than a all-arm 18 inch slap, that he has virtually no power, but he's a good volleyer and smart

De Minaur: looks like he is ready to make a significant move upward in the not too distant future. Speed to burn, of course.

 

[Ben Grimm]

The race for the ATP Finals: The Big 4 are in and Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas are probably in. There are 2 more spots left. This info is 2 days old so the numbers may be wrong.

Roberto Bautista Agut
Current Race Position: 7

Matteo Berrettini
Current Race Position: 8

Gael Monfils
Current Race Position: 12

Diego Schwartzman - We need him on the Laver Cup team next year.
Current Race Position: 14

Stan Wawrinka
Current Race Position: 15

Felix Auger-Aliassime - We need him on the Laver Cup team next year.
Current Race Position: 16

 

[kihei]

In Zhuhai, De Minaur stays patient and defeats Mannario in straight sets. Alex didn't serve and volley but as the match developed, he took every opportunity to come to the net at the earliest opportunity to pressure Mannarino's steady but hardly lethal groundstrokes. It was the third win of the year for De Minaur whom the Chinese have christened "The Demon."

 

[kihei]

So, how come Cincy has a "1000" level ATP tournament but Tokyo has only a "500" level one?

 

[JianYang]

I believe this is Bianca's first match since the US open

She's currently going to a 3rd set, and looking really sloppy at the China Open.

Edit: Bianca cruises to a win in the 3rd set 6-1. It's like clockwork. She rarely seems to get through her matches without a lull in it.

She faces Mertens next.

 

[MsMeow]

I believe this is Bianca's first match since the US open

She's currently going to a 3rd set, and looking really sloppy at the China Open.

Edit: Bianca cruises to a win in the 3rd set 6-1. It's like clockwork. She rarely seems to get through her matches without a lull in it.

She faces Mertens next.

I'm not surprised she was sloppy after all the fun stuff and lack of playing time.

 

[Tuggy]

Nice to see Andreescu get the win.

Halep is out so that #4 spot in the world is right there for Bianca to take.

 

[discostu]

She has a potential match with Osaka in the QF. That will be a good one if it happens. Osaka seems to have her confidence back.

Her rise has been so quick, that she hasn't actually played a lot of the other top players yet. Barty is in the other half of the draw as well, so it will take a finals matchup to see it. Halep being out also means that we won't be seeing that matchup this tournament.

 

[kihei]

Rublev breezes by Dimitrov 2 and 5 in Beijing. Surprisingly easy match for Andrey.

 

[kihei]

Benoit Paire can be an asshole. He was fairly beaten by Uchiyama 2 and 2, but he failed to even try in the last three games which took some of the sheen off Uchiyama's accomplishment, which would be a big, big deal for him in Japan. Pissed me off.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Halep & Bianca earn WTA Finals bids.

 

[Tuggy]

Nice wins for Denis and Felix. Straight sets.

Only 3 DF's and only faced 1 BP for Felix.

Zverev next for Felix in a tough matchup. They'll play Thursday I think.

Andresscu and Mertens tomorrow in Beijing.

Denis gets the winner of PCB and Goffin.

Djokovic playing in Tokyo and won his first round match easily.

 

[kihei]

Felix looked really impressive. He started out volleying like a madman, with confidence and touch, exactly what he needs to do more of in the future. He settled in after that and just dominated from the baseline primarily. You could almost see the heart go out of Ramos-Vinolas as it became clearer that he had no answers for Felix today.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Murray beat Berrenetti.

 

[discostu]

Felix looked really impressive. He started out volleying like a madman, with confidence and touch, exactly what he needs to do more of in the future. He settled in after that and just dominated from the baseline primarily. You could almost see the heart go out of Ramos-Vinolas as it became clearer that he had no answers for Felix today.

That's actually really good to hear. He needed a big match to end his slump. We'll see if he can string a couple of victories together here, but zverev will be tougher.

Just serving well is a big enough achievement though. The regular doubles faults has been an issue and if he's done anything to work on that, that's a positive.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Bianca vs Mertens will be good.

 

[JianYang]

Murray beat Berrenetti.

I'm pulling for Murray. I'm a sucker for comeback stories.

 

[discostu]

I'm pulling for Murray. I'm a sucker for comeback stories.

He's beaten Cameron Norrie, and now into the third round. Faces Karen Kachanov next.

 

[Tuggy]

Bianca beat Mertens in straight sets.

Denis, Felix and Bianca all the on the schedule for tomorrow.

 

[discostu]

Bianca beat Mertens in straight sets.

Denis, Felix and Bianca all the on the schedule for tomorrow.

Bianca was down 4-1 in the second, and managed to pull out the comeback to finish it in 2. That's a welcome development so she doesn't burn herself out with three setters every round. I'll always have my money on her in a third set, but learning to finish matches out early will be what it takes to win consistently and stay healthy enough to get the number one ranking.

 

[Tuggy]

Bianca was down 4-1 in the second, and managed to pull out the comeback to finish it in 2. That's a welcome development so she doesn't burn herself out with three setters every round. I'll always have my money on her in a third set, but learning to finish matches out early will be what it takes to win consistently and stay healthy enough to get the number one ranking.

I didn't see the match, but reading about it and it sounds like her usual 2nd set dip in play. At least this time she was able to avoid the 3rd set. Sounds like her serve was an issue again.

 

[MsMeow]

I didn't see the match, but reading about it and it sounds like her usual 2nd set dip in play. At least this time she was able to avoid the 3rd set. Sounds like her serve was an issue again.

The thing with Bianca is she's very aware and always fighting. She knows that it's better for her to win in straights and that's a good goal for her to have.