Tennis: Wimbledon 2024

[gary69]

Alcaraz won last year already.

2023 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Indeed he did, and so he was already last year.

 

[John Price]

easy 3 set win

Carlos iron sheik class

 

[Hossa]

One of the most dominant performances I've ever seen in a final.

 

[VMBM]

One of the most dominant performances I've ever seen in a final.

If you didn't watch Steffi Graf vs Natalia Zvereva in the French Open final in 1988, you haven't seen real domination.

 

[TCTC]

It's interesting that after decades of watching the battle of the styles, power vs. agility vs. finesse, we're now seeing a player at the top who combines it all.
Alcaraz has a bit of Federer's elegance, a bit of Djokovic's athleticism, and a bit of Nadal's raw power. He'll be tough to beat for anyone when he plays like today.

 

[GQS]

One thing about men's tennis is that there usually seems to be a top player or a small group of top players that ends up winning a bunch of grandslams among them and you develop rivalries between players. In recent times that hasn't ever been the case with the women's side where since Serena retired there hasn't been much consistency among even the top female players where they emerge to become dominate and go on a win a string of grandslams.

Seems like the best male players are more consistent and predictable and you know you'll usually see them at the end of tournaments battling each other for the title while with female players you never know what will happen from grandslam to grandslam. On the one hand its nice to see tennis greats dominate and win slams and have great battles against each other, on the other hand its also interesting to see the unpredictability on the women's side where every slam you're likely to get a new winner.

 

[Novak Djokovic]

Carlos was amazing, as expected. Well deserved, and hard not to root for him in the future either. Such a likeable person!

 

[VMBM]

In recent times that hasn't ever been the case with the women's side where since Serena retired there hasn't been much consistency among even the top female players where they emerge to become dominate and go on a win a string of grandslams.

Serena wasn't really consistent/dominating during the last 4—5 years before her retirement, though.

on the women's side where every slam you're likely to get a new winner.

I think Swiatek has looked like a fairly safe bet at Roland Garros and possibly for many years to come. Not quite on a Nadal level, but anyway. Everywhere else, it's wide open.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah wasn't close at all in the end. Djokovic's days as a top player are numbered.

Nonsense. Top 3, at worst. I think he might even be top 2 when he's not injured or terribly out of form.

Still easily good enough to win another few slams.

 

[kihei]

Nonsense. Top 3, at worst. I think he might even be top 2 when he's not injured or terribly out of form.

Still easily good enough to win another few slams.

Agree with the top sentence; disagree with the bottom one.

He might have one more GS in him, possibly Australia, but the road is only going to get harder for him as time progresses.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I know Alcaraz played well, but Djokovic was nowhere near his best. It was a miracle he got anywhere close to the final. A testament to his greatness.

But when you face another top player when he's on his game and you are four weeks back from knee surgery, no real chance. Maybe he could've beat like a 4th or 5th seed in the final. Wasn't going to happen against an on form Alcaraz.

 

[kihei]

One of the most dominant performances I've ever seen in a final.

For me, this match today stands at #2 at Wimbledon behind McEnroe's utter destruction of Connors in 1984, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Carlos is a wonder to watch play.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

McEnroe's beatdown of Connors at Wimbledon in 1984 wast

Agree with the top sentence; disagree with the bottom one.

He might have one more GS in him, possibly Australia, but the road is only going to get harder for him as time progresses.

You could obviously be right.

I just think that this year has been a weird year, and he's not really playing well. I'm willing to cut him a break. Part of that weird year could be that his level has dropped off and he won't be able to get it back due to age. It could also just be a rough stretch. We'll see. I would be very encouraged by this tournament if I was him. To get to the Final suggests if he can just stay healthy, get more matches under his belt, and start playing a little better (maybe win a hard court title before the US Open), that he can be a real contender at the US Open.

And then there's obviously future years. We'll see how many years he can remain competitive, but I feel at least right now he's one of the big contenders going into the big tournaments. As much as someone like Alcaraz probably is better and Sinner might also be, chalk doesn't always happen. I think he'll get a number more good chances.

 

[MsMeow]

What a dominating performance by Carlos! He had so many close calls and ling matches this week but saved the best for last.

 

[Fire Sweeney]

For me, this match today stands at #2 at Wimbledon behind McEnroe's utter destruction of Connors in 1984, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Carlos is a wonder to watch play.

That's the moment that made it clear that Connors was finished as a top guy. Same will happen with Djokovic from now on.

 

[Oilhawks]

Incredible Champion resolve from Alcaraz not that I expected any different from him. He truly is a worthy successor to The Big 3. One can only hope that some challengers pop up because he's head and shoulders above everybody at this point. Sinner needs to improve his conditioning.

Wouldn't be shocked if he surpasses The Big Three for the bolded alone. Imagine the volume any of those three would have won if they didn't have to face each other in their primes. Age has been catching up with Djokovic since last year, I don't see him winning another before he retires at this point.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

Agree with the top sentence; disagree with the bottom one.

He might have one more GS in him, possibly Australia, but the road is only going to get harder for him as time progresses.

I think the issue with him in Australia and NY is guys like Sinner, Meddy and maybe if Zverev on their top of their games could best him on hard court on a given day. Then Carlos clearly has the clay/Wimbledon on lock.

 

[sfvega]

It's interesting that after decades of watching the battle of the styles, power vs. agility vs. finesse, we're now seeing a player at the top who combines it all.
Alcaraz has a bit of Federer's elegance, a bit of Djokovic's athleticism, and a bit of Nadal's raw power. He'll be tough to beat for anyone when he plays like today.

Absolutely. And Novak played really great tennis in the 3rd set. Alcaraz shotmaking is just unreal. I remember being in awe sometimes of balls Djokovic and Nadal were able to get to. Carlos gets to great, difficult shots and with crazy power. He just sprays his forehand from anywhere on the court, any position. Wild talent. For years we wondered who will take the mantle past The Big 3, and it really looks like it will be Alcaraz.

 

[GQS]

Serena wasn't really consistent/dominating during the last 4—5 years before her retirement, though.

Serena's last grandslam win was in 2017 when she was 35 and then the next two years she went back to back making it to Wimbledon and US Open finals consecutively although she lost all 4 of those finals. So even nearing the end of her career and battling some injuries she was still able to be decently competitive after being so good for 16+ years.

I think Swiatek has looked like a fairly safe bet at Roland Garros and possibly for many years to come. Not quite on a Nadal level, but anyway. Everywhere else, it's wide open.

Swiatek so far has only been good at the French and strangely not as good in every other slam where outside of her one US Open win, she's had a series of early round exits. Lets hope she gets better and can go further in other slams in the future.

For other female players they're just all around pretty inconsistent. When they win a slam and look really good you think they might be the next strong player that might become Serena like in being able to win a number of slams and going deep in tournaments, but for one reason or another they don't and have up and down results.

 

[Hossa]

For me, this match today stands at #2 at Wimbledon behind McEnroe's utter destruction of Connors in 1984, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. Carlos is a wonder to watch play.

Although I'm too young to have seen it, that match has come up in discussions like this before. The context matters as well. Federer smoked Cilic in 2017, but that was a far weaker opponent who wasn't moving well. That's why I'd imagine the Connors/McEnroe match-up is a more apt comparable as a one-sided match that was also a seminal moment in a way.

 

[VMBM]

That's the moment that made it clear that Connors was finished as a top guy. Same will happen with Djokovic from now on.

Interestingly, though, John McEnroe never won another GS title either after his big year in 1984.

 

[kihei]

Interestingly, though, John McEnroe never won another GS title either after his big year in 1984.

Really good point. Nobody back then would have guessed that would happen, certainly not me. One of those inexplicable things in sport.

 

[VMBM]

Really good point. Nobody back then would have guessed that would happen, certainly not me. One of those inexplicable things in sport.

I'd say the competition got tougher in the mid/late-1980s than it had been during those few years after Björn Borg* retired. There was the emergence of great serve-and-volley kind of players like Becker and Edberg* who made it really tough to win especially at Wimbledon, plus you had e.g. Lendl (not much younger though) and Wilander*, who were really versatile. Maybe McEnroe declined at the same time too, but I don't really know; he was only 24—25 in 1984.

* Remember a time when Sweden was a true tennis super power (on the men's side)? I do, and as a Finn I was jealous as hell. What happened?

 

[kihei]

Zzzz

* Remember a time when Sweden was a true tennis super power (on the men's side)? I do, and as a Finn I was jealous as hell. What happened?

I remember in the mid-80s at some point when Sweden had five players in the Top Ten: Edberg, Wilander, Jarryd, Lundquist, and Nystrom. Heady stuff.

What happened? The Bjorn Borg effect wore off? And Edberg and Wilander didn't have sufficient charisma to replace his magnetism and influence? Just guesswork on my part.

 

[kihei]

I hate doubles, but what a story.

Two absolute nobodies, 35-year-old Finn Hari Heliovaara who is completely unranked in singles and in his nearly 20 year career has a lifetime record in singles of 9-14, and his even more unlikely partner 28-year-old Brit Henry Patten who is not only completely unranked in singles but has never played even one singles match on the main ATP tour, defeated Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (11-9).

It was even a sizable upset by doubles lax standards as in that competition the players are ranked #12 and #17 respectively.

In a good news story, Sue-wei Hsieh, a delightful player to watch who reached as high as #23 in singles in 2013, won her seventh Grand Slam doubles title on Sunday to go along with her two previous GS mixed double titles (In 2014, she was ranked as high as #1 in doubles). Her ultra-finesse game looks so risky and vulnerable, and yet she is now a nine time Grand Slam champion and still winning GS titles at 38-years-old.