The Tennis Thread

[Not Plain Jane]

Happy for Wawrinka but sad that the injury talk is overshadowing his performance in so many of the match reports.

 

[Scott]

i think we were all disappointed with aga's performance. i just don't know…to me i just don't think she has the mental strength to do it. she's allowed too many opportunities pass her by it reminds me of elena dementieva.

btw,li na will return to no.3 and will be only 15 or 20 points from taking no.2 from azarenka(a little surprised azarenka won't automatically fall since she's losing so many points)…li na has nothing to defend between now and the start of miami so i have a feeling with a good run in the middle east she could certainly achieve it.

 

[Chaky]

I think Na is going to automatically gain points by showing up in Doha while Azarenka is defending champ. So she'll be #2 after that regardless of what happens.

 

[Scott]

it's unfortunate na only gained 500 points from her aussie title as she defended her finalist points from last year. that's the only part of the rankings i just don't like because all you're doing is retaining points you already have. i feel like in majors if you surpass a past result particularly with a final or title,there should be a sort of added incentive for those players.

 

[MyNameIs]

it's unfortunate na only gained 500 points from her aussie title as she defended her finalist points from last year. that's the only part of the rankings i just don't like because all you're doing is retaining points you already have. i feel like in majors if you surpass a past result particularly with a final or title,there should be a sort of added incentive for those players.

Huh. So you're happy she'll possibly gain a lot of points in the next few weeks because she won't be defending much. But you're unhappy that she didn't get much extra because she defended (and surpassed) here great run last year? The incentive IS to defend those points. Technically she didn't just gain 500 points, she gained 2000 (or however many it is). The points from last year's are gone.

Sounds like you want Li Na to have 50,000 points because she's awesome.

 

[Scott]

spare me the dramatics. that's not what i meant. all i'm saying is,there should be precedent if one improves upon results at majors specifically when it comes to winners and finalists. and not just na but everyone as a whole.

and the points are not gone….she simply kept those 1400 points she earned from last year. that's what defending points is all about. thus,she only improved by 500 as a result since champs get 2000 and finalists 1400.

 

[MyNameIs]

I understand how points work. As I know you do. The net effect might be "you keep these and get extra these" but that's not how it actually works. Everyone's points from last AU are wiped out. Only this year's points are counted. She won the tournament, she got 2000. Why should her performance last year have an effect on this year?

But even if you want it your way, she DID improve on her points from last year. If she got anything extra it wouldn't be fair to other champions. You only 2000 points, but YOU get 5000 points because you played well last year.

I'm sorry I didn't mean to get sassy, but it just would not make sense.

 

[Scott]

no problem…i've sort of been simmering on this issue for a while now…i don't have many issues with the ranks as a whole but it just seems a bit of an imbalance in my view in that if you improve on what you defend you really don't gain much out of it as an advantage unless of course you make a final after losing a first round. i mean 500 points is really almost the equivalent of a QF round. it just makes the effort reflective of the ranks look like it was in vain.

 

[MyNameIs]

I know nobody here seem to care about tennis unless it's GS season, but can we talk about how great Dolgopolov has been playing? SF in Buenos Aires, Final in Rio, SF in Indian Wells including a win over Nadal, now beating Wawrinka to reach QF in Miami. That's two wins over Top 3 players in two weeks. Three wins over Top Ten players this season. That's as many as he had in his career entering this year. After the terrible year he had last year, I couldn't have imagined he would start off 2014 playing this well.

 

[Scott]

so horribly heartbroken to hear of the passing of elena baltacha. RIP

 

[Not Plain Jane]

^ Yes, very sad new.

 

[Chaky]

Shocking news. She was so young.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

Wawrinka, Li Na, Dimitrov, and Wozniacki all out in the 1st round! The French Open is definitely starting with a bang.

 

[Scott]

i have to commend andy murray for going against the atypical in hiring momo. despite much negative and mixed reaction,i think mauresmo's calm demeanour,communicative methods and positive disposition could be profoundly useful for andy's game but also his attitude...which let's be honest has been the biggest detriment to his game over the years.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

well well, this nick fellow should take a bow. that was something to see.
very exciting times.
both the women's and the men's feel a bit ... dare i say it ... OPEN!

 

[YoninahAliza]

^While I am a fan of Rafa's (as you well know) I was very impressed with Nick's win. It's always exciting to see an up and coming athlete in any sport take on and win against someone whose made a name for themselves. Apparently, it's the first time since 2005 that a teenager has beat a no 1 at grand slam. Ironically enough the last person to do that was Rafa himself.

And Rafa had things to say about his opponent...

“Always the same. When we see a young player that arrives to the tour and plays a great match or plays a great tournament, people say he will be the next big star. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes arrive, sometimes not. He has things, positive things, to be able to be a good player. But everything is a little bit easier when you are arriving. Everything is new.

“Nothing to lose. Everything is positive. Everybody sees just the good things in you. We’ll see if he’s able to improve and to play at a very high level for a long period of time. I wish him all the best.”
guardian.com

I'm very curious to see what the outcome of this championship will be, it seems like it could end up being anyone's game!

 

[Scott]

gosh i hope petra kvitova doesn't do anything to sabotage what opportunity she's got once again this year. i will say unlike last year's wimby,she does have that look about her again....similarly to the look she had when she won it. she's got safarova who never seems to be able to handle facing petra so she's certainly looking ripe for a final. and simona halep....what else could i possibly say about this phenomenal player that hasn't been said? so impressed with her attitude. down 1-4...whatever....i can still get into this. and never looked back whatsoever. she responds to adversity like such a champ. and just the overall steadiness and mental toughness....bouchard may hold her own tomorrow but i can't see her really breaking simona down at this juncture. she reminds me so much of kim clijsters in style....the movement,the transitioning and the way kim had that ability to change direction. but she's got a bit more of justine henin's court intelligence and toughness that sometimes hurt kim before she retired the first time. i would not be surprised if she won the whole thing really.

 

[MyNameIs]

What an unexciting WTA final. Go Kvitova, I guess. I don't particularly care for her either, but I can't stand Bouchard. She's obviously good, but just so unlikable. If this is the future of women's tennis, I'm in for years of misery. Watch she wins now too.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

i'm stoked about the women's finals - i like bouchard, but then again i am canadian, and she has an all-round game. i like petra, loads, too. so will be happy for either.

the men's is super interesting too. fed's playing vintage tennis. raonic, while a bit boring as so much is serve-generated, has improved and is hungry, grigor is finally showing his mettle. and nole, while not his best, has once again shown his consistency on every surface and at slams. could have another old guard final, a new guard, or a mix. should be good!

 

[Scott]

too bad though about simona halep. although the outcome could have still favoured genie,i think maybe she started thinking too much about the ankle and lost her focus in the second set. still well done to genie bouchard on her first final. it's been in the cards if her form hasn't been an indication all season. impressive to say the least that she's been in three straight semifinals now and of course going into her first final here. also impressive how quickly she's transitioned from juniors in 2012 and the senior tour just last year and all the success she is seeing so soon. that takes a special talent because it happens so very rarely. that being said,i am hoping for a petra repeat....it's been such a tough couple years since she won this thing and she's seized her opportunity again and i would love to see her lift her second major and put herself back up there with azarenka. and also add her name to that short list of current multiple major winners. she's been serving unbelievably well this tournament and like i said before she's showing that presence again.