The Tennis Thread

[Scott]

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what a disappointing performance from lena. and so handily too. i just think juju is in her head and she just can't purge it.

btw,there was a bit of news last week during IW that sort of went unheard....nicole vaidisova retired from tennis and is marrying radek stepanek in july. i have to be honest,i am not terribly surprised by this news. her focus for the last two years has been so far and away from tennis,i would have expected it would have been sooner.

 

[AnaBGD]

What?!
I'm not surprised that she's retiring. She was nowhere to be found for a long time, I'm surprised by the other part of the news. HIM? Of all people? I know we already had discussion about him, but... oh well, as long as she's happy...

I didn't follow much of the action after the AO, but I am glad that JJ is getting her form back, I watched Indian Wells final and she seemed very strong. Hopefully it will last.
On the other hand Ana is going downhill at fast paste. I don't even think it's a bad period anymore, it seems now that her success was just a good period, unfortunately...

 

[Scott]

^well they had been together for two or three years now. you know i've defended him in the past but i have to admit ever since that relationship began that's when nicole's focus went completely out the window.

i do feel sad for her though nevertheless. she's only 20 years old and had already had so much success while still a teenager and to see the prospects of what was possibly ahead,is rather disappointing. i mean she could have been holding up a major by now as accomplished she had been in the slams already. semi at australia,semi at RG and two QF at wimbledon....all when she was between 16-18 yr. old. maybe she'll do a kim,juju or alicia molik later but as a fan you hate to see somebody that young decide to end it like that.

i agree with you about ana. and yesterday at miami she was beaten by aggie radwanska in straights....somebody who ana had a solid edge over. it just shows where she is and perhaps where she's going if she doesn't find something. she just doesn't seem have that spark about her anymore. she quite often looks a bit lost out there.

 

[yesitsdagny]

Rafa Nadal. Why? Because he's Spanish and I love everything about Spain

 

[Chaky]

Nicole Vaidisova is one of the biggest wastes of potential I've seen in a very long time. I was never particularly a fan but it was clear she had talent and looked a sure pick for a future slam winner.

All reports suggest that recently she has looked very disinterested in her game. But is she seriously going to be happy just being Radek's wife?

 

[Scott]

^i suppose we'll see in the coming couple years

poor sveta. as if it couldn't get worse for her heading into the clay season and defending all her points and the RG title,playing so poorly,now she gets a shoulder injury.

and what happened to azarenka last night? they didn't broadcast it here for the men's match(don't ask me why they chose to air gonzalez/monaco over the women's defending champ here and the reigning US Open champ??)so i didn't get to see it live. but was watching the scoreboard and they stayed pretty close in the first set but azarenka just went away in the second. i actually thought it would be much tighter than that.

 

[moonlightshadow]

Justine Henin and Andy Murray. Love to watch tennis. The matches between Nadal and Federer are the best.

 

[AnaBGD]

Fantastic win for Berdych! It was wonderful match top watch, I almost gave up after the second set, I thought RF will take over and crash him in the third, but Tomas was impressive, especially how he kept his serve throughout the set.

 

[Scott]

i have to say i am very happy for tomas. 8 straight losses and a few in which he had his chances and would blow it. there were some heartbreakers. and i actually thought this one would go the same way but somehow he held his nerve and stayed with him and didn't allow roger to smother him on crucial points.

 

[AnaBGD]

Damn, Caroline! At least she put up a good effort. TBH Justine didn't really seem like herself in that first set.

 

[Scott]

they broadcasted the match in serbia? they didn't even show it here. i'm a little miffed about that because they covered indian wells much more extensively but here it's mostly been the evening/night sessions except when venus played yesterday. WTH tennis channel?

 

[AnaBGD]

It was on Eurosport, as usual. They cover most of the femal tournaments. The male part is covered by regional sports channel which broadcasts all Masters.

I hate it when they show only selected matches. National tv does that, they show only matches in which our players play. That must be annoying for someone who doesn't have cable.

I'm looking forward to Nadal-Tsonga tonight. It should be good.

 

[Scott]

see that's what annoys be about this channel....it's called the tennis channel for a bleeding reason! one of the primary objectives when they started it was that they would show more live tennis activity that other networks don't. i just dunno why they decided not to show so much of SE Open. i mean it's not as if they had broadcast partners like with espn network where they sort of split the coverage like they do during the majors. no one at all. and like i said,it hasn't got nearly the coverage that IW got last week and before...day and night it was on. and the funny thing is,instead of showing actual live matches they show repeats of the greatest tennis destinations. i just don't understand it at all.

 

[Scott]

so,there's this news going on,that andy murray is considering representing spain in the wake of the debacle with davis cup. andy also doesn't have a very good relationship with john lloyd. so far spain's tennis federation has said he would be eligible considering the three years he spent in spain training.

i dunno what to think about this,really. it would put the whole history aspects in doubt but at the same time it could take a heap of pressure off of him as well.

 

[Scott]

i am so happy juju and kim are back. whatever one thinks about justine,you cannot deny the fighter she is. not their best match ever in that the quality from both was high just the fight.

 

[Scott]

glad justine has moved up into the top 24 now.....she will now be seeded at tournaments and slams. no more of those much too early round duals with top players like lena. and kim has moved back into the top 10 after beating venus in miami....and unlike so many that have made the step the last few months,i think kim will supplant herself there and likely move even higher. i think justine will be top 10,if not higher,before the season is over. i actually had no idea she was already ranked so highly already at 33 but obviously getting to the final at australia and really utilising those WC entries has been beneficial.

 

[Chaky]

If Serena keeps ducking out of tournaments I'm sure Clijsters will be #1 before too long.

And Lena must be very pleased to see Justine up to 23. Justine must surely be looking forward to the clay season and her best slam.

 

[Scott]

^you and i are on the same wavelength. btw isn't funny how somebody supposedly injured with a bad knee is out in high stilettos and partying all week? i'm just saying

i agree about justine. in fact if she doesn't win at least one big title on clay i will be shocked. but i think she will though. with the best clay courters either absent with injury(dina & sveta) or suffering from a lack of confidence,could be a return to another dominating season for her.

 

[Chaky]

The only thing I wonder about is, with her focus on winning Wimbledon as the reason for coming out of retirement, will Justine sacrifice some of her energies in the clay season to better prepare for the grass? Wimby is not very long after RG.

 

[Scott]

honestly,i don't think it will be immediate. i mean she and carlos both have stated a few times that it may take some months to get back to her best form so it could be next season before we really see where justine's attention is at. and she still has so much to work on before i feel we can see the possibility of a wimby title in her hands.....primiarily that first serve. when it's on,it's good but it is not consistent enough in my eyes to say she can win wimbledon.

okay,i officially detest the ITF. first they suspend and stand behind the suspension of yanina for this whereabouts thing before it was overturned(and was still mad when it was overturned?) and now wayne odesnik has been caught with this HGH,pleads guilty to having it and he is still being allowed to play. he just won his first round at the claycourt championships. what is wrong with this picture?