Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XVI

[kihei]

Leylah with a very nice three set win against Muchova, the sort of result, winning the first set but losing the match, that sometimes doesn't always work out for Fernandez.

With wins by Felix and Bianca, too, Canada is off to a great start at these Olympics.

 

[kihei]

Nadal is a 6-1 underdog against Nole tomorrow. While I'm picking Nole in straight sets, those odds are madness, seemingly way out of whack dreamed up by somebody who never heard of Roland Garros.

Still, Rafa not close to form and Nole is well-rested.

 

[kihei]

3-love Nole who is making Rafa's life miserable with acute angles and drop shots. Early impression is that Nadal's mobility is much more severely compromised than Nole's.

 

[Tuggy]

3-love Nole who is making Rafa's life miserable with acute angles and drop shots. Early impression is that Nadal's mobility is much more severely compromised than Nole's.

Yup legs are gone.

 

[kihei]

6-1 Nole. Kind of difficult to watch. Nadal's movement sucks, his timing sucks and his serving sucks. Hard to see what he has to work with to mount any kind of comeback.

 

[MsMeow]

This match is painful to watch.

 

[Tuggy]

Nadal ain't dead yet...

 

[kihei]

From 4-love to 4-all. I absolutely don't believe this turnaround. Can't possibly have happened. Alternate universe stuff.

 

[Tuggy]

Nadal able to make the 2nd set competitive, but Djokovic gets the break and serves it out.

Is this it for Nadal? We'll see.

 

[kihei]

Nole holds on for the win, 6-4. If this were an exhibition match, I would think that he tried to make it close after winning ten of the first eleven games.

I guess the real reason for the turnaround had more to do with Djokovic's nerve management than anything else and it almost cost him dearly. I doubt he dwells on this match long. He needs to get a lot better if he is going to come close to challenging Carlos.

 

[kihei]

Nadal able to make the 2nd set competitive, but Djokovic gets the break and serves it out.

Is this it for Nadal? We'll see.

Tough one to deal with for Rafa, though, no? I mean, if Rafa can't be competitive on the court where he won 14 GS titles against a foe who is himself showing signs of deterioration, what can the future possibly look like other than futile.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Rafa's lack of serve late in his career, obviously due to the injuries, has absolutely destroyed his game. Valiant effort in the second set but Novak is just too cerebral at his age to lose a match like that.

 

[kihei]

I love Fernandez, but she is such a nerve-wracking player to watch play, the inconsistencies, the streakiness, the iffy decisions, the tunnel-vision, the fact than none of this stuff ever gets better.

 

[kihei]

Kerber wins over Fernanez 4 and 3. Second set service woes aside, Kerber played really solid tennis, the best I have seen her play in a couple of years.

 

[Tuggy]

Felix cruises to an easy win this morning.

 

[kihei]

Way too easy....

Felix over Maxim Marterer, love and 1, another one of those players who one wonders about how they got in the field in the first place. In singles, he is 19-36 since 2018, 2-12 on the year. He doesn't even usually play doubles.

 

[kihei]

In the first major upset at the Olympics, Vekic knocks off Gauff 7-6 (7) 6-2.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Paul's biggest obstacle is gonna be Alcaraz but man does he look really good, would love to see him or Fritz snag a medal in Paris for the Americans

 

[kihei]

Krejcikova over Svitolina in three sets. Barbora had a chance to serve it out but choked, but then Elina had a chance to deuce the set but choked. A little sorry to see Svitolina go as representing the Ukraine obviously means so much to her.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Krejcikova over Svitolina in three sets. Barbora had a chance to serve it out but choked, but then Elina had a chance to deuce the set but choked. A little sorry to see Svitolina go as representing the Ukraine obviously means so much to her.

Some nasty stuff on the women's side in that regard today, Paolini choked her match with serve in the late 3 v Schmiedlova and Sakaari and Kostyuk had a battle of losing service in their match. And then Gauff with the first set choke v Vekic earlier in the day.

Kerber wins over Fernanez 4 and 3. Second set service woes aside, Kerber played really solid tennis, the best I have seen her play in a couple of years.

She's always tremendous at the Olympics for some reason, one last run probably has her amped up

 

[kihei]

Nadal/Alcaraz make the third round with a three set (or extended set or whatever the hell they call that 10 point breaker thingy) over the luckless Griekspoor and Koolhof.

Danielle Collins magical year continues with a trip to the quarterfinals, thanks to a three set win over Osorio. If she is still planning to retire, what a way to go out. Swiatek next, though.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Nadal/Alcaraz make the third round with a three set (or extended set or whatever the hell they call that 10 point breaker thingy) over the luckless Griekspoor and Koolhof.

The "super" tiebreak

 

[kihei]

Navarro loses to Zheng and acts like a spoiled super-rich kid (a rumoured family worth of 3 billion, which trumps ((oh, that word again)) Pegula by some margin), saying that she doesn't respect Zheng as a competitor and telling Zheng that she doesn't know how she has any fans. This after losing 6-7, 7-6, 6-1. Zheng responded gracefully and did not take it too personally.

 

[kihei]

The "super" tiebreak

Thanks

 

[kihei]

Wang loses a well-played, hard-played first set 6-3 to Iga, but, man, she ain't going away. She breaks to even the second set 4-all....can't convert, though--so even more twist and turns....Iga holds over a cramping Wang for the match.

Man, that was some battle--what a delight to watch these two players going at it. Wang was an absolute pit bull out there, and, moving forward, Swiatek will be the better for it.