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New Balls Please - the tennis thread

13

Comments

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited April 2021
    Wow - well done Mr. Evans!

    eta: is Mr. Djokovic still world no. 1?
  • Yes.
  • Mr Evans has now despatched David Goffin in 3 sets to reach the semi-finals where he'll play Stefanos Tsitsipas.

    As if the surprise exit of Djokovic wasn't enough, Rafael Nadal was sent packing by Andrey Rublev.

    Since returning from surgery, Roger Federer has been using Evans as a hitting partner which may have something to do with the Brit's increasing on-court confidence.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Excellent stuff!
  • Lost in the semi-final 6-2 6-1. I'll watch the highlights to see what went wrong.
  • Say it very quietly but all 4 British men are through the first round of Queen's: that's Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper (who put out the 3 seed in straight sets), Dan Evans and Andy Murray.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Canadian Felix Auger-Alissaime downs Federer in three sets at Halle Open.

    https://www.tsn.ca/felix-auger-aliassime-defeats-roger-federer-halle-open-atp-1.1655536
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    The epic final and semi-final in the French Open proved once again that you have to be a very good tennis player to beat Djokovic when he's in a serious mood. Even Nadal on clay couldn't do it this time. That doesn't make him an admirable human being but one has to respect that he's very good at what he does.
  • News that Rafa Nadal has decided to withdraw from Wimbledon and the Olympics, citing the toll the clay court season has taken on his body.

    At Queen's, Dan Evans has beaten Adrian Mannarino in straight sets.
  • Quarter finals at Queen's badly affected by rain.

    In an all-British tie, 19 year old Jack Draper was beaten by Cameron Norrie. Dan Evans found Matteo Berrettini too big a challenge, losing in two tightly contested sets.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    At 19, I hope Mr. Draper has a long career in front of him yet.
  • And British number 2, Cameron Norrie, has just beaten the second seed, Denis Shapovalov in two tight sets to reach the final at Queen's - only the second British man since WWII to manage that.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Well done him!
  • The Brave Brit lost in the final, though he put up a good show.
  • Who'd have thought it? 19 year old British wild-card Jack Draper has just taken the first set in his match against world no 1 Novak Djokovic, only 238 places higher than him in the rankings.

    If the boy does nothing else, he's cheered up the Centre Court crowd.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    And in other tennis news Serena Williams joins other top tennis players who have shown the intelligence to not play in the Tokyo Olympics.
  • Caissa wrote: »
    And in other tennis news Serena Williams joins other top tennis players who have shown the intelligence to not play in the Tokyo Olympics.

    Well, quite. Does anyone actually care about Olympic tennis? It seems to me that the Grand Slam tournaments have the high status, and the Olympics are very much an afterthought. It must be a harder choice if you're competing in a sport where the Olympics do represent the pinnacle of success, and this might be your one shot.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I haven't really been following it; why are they not going to the Olympics?
  • PendragonPendragon Shipmate
    Ms Williams says that she has several reasons, but she had already said that she wasn't happy about having to leave her daughter behind, as families aren't allowed to accompany any of the Olympic athletes.

    Naomi Osaka and Rafa Nadal have pulled out on health grounds.
  • I did enjoy Andy Murray's comment when asked about what he'd done in the ten-minute break. Good answer to a pretty fatuous question if you ask me.
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    Now that Serena has withdrawn injured from the first round at Wimbledon, she can claim to be not fit enough to go the Olympics. But I strongly suspect that this year at least she would much rather have won Wimbledon than won at the Olympics.

    Meanwhile, once more we have as a counter-exhibit gracious behaviour from Ash Barty and from her opponent Carla Suarez Mavarro (who had a good excuse for losing - she is under treatment for cancer and has been for the past few months).
  • PendragonPendragon Shipmate
    I'm sad to see Serena go like that. She wasn't the only slip related withdrawal yesterday though - Roger Federer got lucky.
  • Solid performances yesterday by Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie mean there are three British men in Round 3 for the first time this century.

    In the women's singles 18 year old Brit Emma Raducanu is also in Round 3, having seen off Marketa Vondrousova, French open finalist in 2019, in straight sets.
  • Well, that two out of 3 men - Evans and Murray - out.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    ... and Norrie makes three.

    Still, well done to Emma Raducanu!
  • Can we acknowledge the tenacity and grace of Miss Ashleigh Barty, a proud Ngarigo woman, in her victory at Wimbledon? Many have commented on the historical linkages. I've been watching Wimbledon finals for over 50 years, including the 1970 Court/King marathon. This one was a display of mulifarious skills, rather than an assertion of power, and a real pleasure to watch.
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    Good to see Ash Barty, one of the nicest (and physically smallest) people on the tennis circuit win the championship at Wimbledon.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Well done indeed, Ms. Barty!
  • TukaiTukai Shipmate
    Once again Djokovic demonstrated that to beat him you need to be a very good tennis player, on top of your game, and able to stay that way for several hours if need be. In other words, he won the men's singles despite losing the first set.
  • WOW! British teen Emma Radacanu has become the first qualifier ever to reach a grand slam final. She brushed aside the number 17 seed 6-1 6-4 to reach the final of the US Open. 👏👏👏
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    It's going to be a quite extraordinary final and I plan to watch. Two teenagers who have got there by beating some pretty decent players. Raducanu's opponents maybe haven't been at quite the same level as Fernandez's, but on the other hand Raducanu has had to win 9 matches in a row and she hasn't dropped a single set.
  • Two Canadians in the women's final. Radacnu was born in Toronto.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    edited September 2021
    Wow. So you get to claim her no matter what her passport says? Romania and China might ask you to get in line.

    By the time she started playing tennis she had been in the UK for several years.
  • Orfeo, that's keen, having seen what the time difference is. Hopefully bedtime won't get in the way of following the match.

    There are a lot of sports people who could claim multiple national allegiances. In this case it's causing multiple mutterings in the media about 1977 again. Unfortunately Raducanu won't have her parents there due to Covid restrictions, but Virginia Wade has been at the matches.

    Apparently she had her plane ticket home booked for the end of the qualifying tournament, so she wasn't expecting to get this far. (She had a wildcard for Wimbledon).
  • And Emma Raducanu has won, without dropping a set. The last person to do that was Serena Williams.

    I am very happy to have a female British Grand Slam winner.
  • orfeoorfeo Suspended
    Heck of a match! I didn't quite get the start (just after 6am) but saw most of it. Really didn't know for a long time which way it was going to go.

    And the medical time-out in the last game. Quite the drama.
  • Pendragon wrote: »
    And Emma Raducanu has won, without dropping a set. The last person to do that was Serena Williams.

    I am very happy to have a female British Grand Slam winner.

    A wonderful achievement
  • Sometimes the womens' final is an anticlimax, with one player overjoyed to just get that far, and consequently overwhelmed.
    But not this time. A very competitive game between two young players not afraid to go for their shots, and with both capable of retrieving what would have been winners against less athletic players.
    And I for one am impressed by the fact that (until Wimbledon this year) Raducanu kept away from international tournaments in order to finish her schooling (A-levels). Hers is clearly not one of those obsessive "tennis dads" who push their "prodigy" to the point of mental breakdown.
  • Great match and an individual born in the same city I was born in won. Congratulations to Radacanu.
  • We'll be waiting a lot longer for a grand slam then.
  • Yup! Medvedev broke his duck and beat Djokovich in straight sets.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Much as I quite like Mr. Djokovic, he is currently The Bloke You Need To Beat, so well done to Mr. Medvedev for being the bloke who did.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    *bump*

    Much as I feel sorry for Rafael Nadal, who must be heartbroken at having to withdraw from Wimbledon, there's a part of me that feels just as sorry for Taylor Fritz, who he beat yesterday. He gave a very decent performance, but now Nick Kyrgios will get a free pass into the final with the advantage over his opponent of having three days' rest, which seems rather unfair.
  • I agree. Surely it would be better if Taylor Fritz got to play the semi-final against Kyrgios?

    Meanwhile, the shock in the women's singles came with Halep losing to Rybakina. I think Ons Jabeur will struggle against Rybakina, not just because of the blustering serve but R's fitness is almost unrivalled on the women's circuit.

    Norrie? I think he'll struggle against Djokovic. 🎾
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I agree. Surely it would be better if Taylor Fritz got to play the semi-final against Kyrgios?

    That's exactly what I thought. After all, if Nadal had decided before the end of their match that he wasn't well enough to play, Fritz would have been declared the winner by default.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Sorry for double-post, but did anyone else enjoy the gents' doubles final as much as I did? Some really excellent rallies and wonderful shots from all the players, one of whom was playing despite having a broken wrist!

    Jolly good show all round. :smiley:
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Well done Mr. Djokovic - good, entertaining match. :)
  • I missed the first set of Djokovic/Kyrgios as I decided to watch to the end of the men's wheelchair final first. Both matches were worth it. :smile: Even though Alfie Hewett lost after having had 2 good chances to win!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    The ladies' doubles final had its moments too. It's a pity that so much more attention (and money) is paid to the singles, as imho doubles is much more fun to watch.

    I think I must have got something in my eye when they showed the farewell tribute to Sue Barker - she's going to be a very hard act to follow. :cry:
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