The Tennis Thread

[Scott]

i'm happy for roger getting that win over rafa thus winning the title. it's been a long time coming. and congrats to john on making the final. it's nice to see an american player for change who isn't a complete jerk.

happy for vika too....but i wish kvitova would hurry up and get well and reclaim her place against vika because poor maria just can't seem to get on top of vika.....it's kind of boring watching this time and again.

a congrats is order for marat safin....he will soon be married to model anna druzyaka(not sure the dates exactly).....they are supposedly going to have two separate ceremonies in moscow and nyc. wonder if dina will serve as maid of honour?

 

[Chaky]

I can think of a few people who will be sobbing when Marat is officially off the market.

 

[kournikov]

Has anyone here met any famous tennis players? if so, how did it go?

 

[Scott]

just heard news that the ever-active amelie mauresmo will be working with....ahem.....vika azarenka for the next couple weeks to get her prepared for the clay season. the RG facebook page actually posted a photo of the two already beginning training in monaco working on her movement and anticipation.

 

[Chaky]

Has anyone here met any famous tennis players? if so, how did it go?

I went to the Birmingham WTA tournament a few years ago and met a bunch of players. The great thing about a smaller tournament like that is how informal it is so the players all mix with the spectators. Outside of the main court the four other courts are all in a row and everyone sits on garden chairs on a grass bank to watch the action.

Anyway I don't normally go seeking autographs but I got one from Anna Chakvetadze (she's my fave so I had to!) after her match. I remember I gave her the pen and she said it wasn't working! Got it eventually. And I was a bit tongue-tied.

Spent a lot of the afternoon sat next to Jelena Jankovic. Back then she still seemed to be enjoying herself on court. She was making jokes and chatting to loads of people and she was eating from the crepe stand they have there.

I'd like to go back there one year but it always seems to clash with work or vacations these days.

Also at Wimbledon I literally bumped into Caroline Wozniacki if that counts.

 

[kournikov]

Wow!, I've met, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez, Juan Martin Del Potro, Bryan Brothers, Sam Querrey, John Isner, James Blake, Marcos Baghdatis, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, and Fernando Gonzalez. I was a ball boy at two tournaments, and I got to meet them, and be a ballboy for the most of them.

The nicest ones were Lleyton, Verdasco, and SAFIN!!!, Safin was so cool, chill, and happy. I wasn't too fond of James Blake, he kind of had this cocky attitude about him. This one time, James and Marat were walking to a court to practice (they weren't being followed by fans yet at this point), I got to them, and I asked both Marat and James to sign my hat, Marat took my hat and signed it and smiled at me, then I handed it to James...and he gave me a look, and didn't want to, until Marat asked him so sign my hat!!!!!!!, crazy I know...Lleyton and Marat were the nicest!...James BLAH!

 

[Scott]

to you perhaps,but lleyton has been known to be a bit of an unsavoury character in general. there was that incident against none other than james blake he made some highly derogatory remarks about. he's also used homophobic rhetoric against opponents and officials over the years as well. i'll give him credit for seeming to have grown up these last years and garnering a bit of humility about himself but there was a good portion of his peak years during which he did act like a petulant cad.

btw,we haven't discussed yet...how do you guys feel about j. cap being inducted into the HoF this year? i was actually surprised because i don't ever recall she officially announcing that she had retired. which means mary pierce will likely be eligable in the next couple years herself,if that's the case. but i was pretty happy for her....she's given us some thrilling stuff over the years.....she could be cranky sometimes but for me it will always be her determination that will always keep in such high esteem. not to mention she really became the face of redemption upon her return.

but i feel a bit old seeing this happening because this was the era of tennis i grew up watching....in the next couple years we're likely going to see lindsay,mary pierce and amelie mauresmo all up for nominations.

 

[kournikov]

I really don't think that Hewitt was being racist at the US open, he was just saying that it was the same linesman.

Yeah, Jennifer Capriati might as well be, she hasn't played a single match since the end of 2004, she didn't even formally retire, or say she was going to come back...NOTHING. She was a great player, but who knows what she's up to now.

Yeah, Lindsay, Mary, and Amelie were GREAT players. My generation is Jankovic, Ivanovic, Sharapova, and Williams.

 

[MyNameIs]

Sharapova/Azarenka final once again. I didn't see Maria's match against Kvitova, but she won in straight sets and I've read she played really well. I hope she can now triumph over Vika (about time).

 

[Chaky]

Clutch serving from Sharapova. Kvitova had break points in every single one of Masha's service games in the second set and could only convert on her 11th when she needed to break to get to a tiebreak. For most of the first set too many shots flying long from Petra.

There was some quality hitting from both as well but it's a bit sad to see Petra's 27-match indoor streak ended.

Top 4 women in the semis, top 2 in the final. It's all gone a bit ATP!

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I wouldn't mind seeing Sharapova get a win over Azarenka, to keep things interesting...

 

[Scott]

i have to say,kudos to maria because it was the total opposite of how she played yesterday. i knew she would have to bring it up an extra level to have a chance because kvitova has been walking with some extra pep in her step since the start of fed cup last week. but i agree,chaky,nice to see the top 4 women in the semis and the 1 and 2 in the final. not so many months ago so many were complaining about the lack of consistency and the lack of leader(s) at the top and now everything has suddenly changed. i wouldn't even compare this to the men really because one of those 4 has been struggling of late so imo it's really the big 3. the women have an edge in that respect now in that they do have a solid 4.

you know,back to sharapova,it will be interesting to see what she can bring in tomorrow's final. will she extend the form from today's performance or will she revert back to how she played for much of that match against sammy. also,maria has been absolutely pitiful in all her previous finals,i just wonder if she can turn that misfortune around here against a player who's barely wavered all season. i have to admit,i would be quite surprised if she got over on vika this being on clay and vika by comparison a vastly superior player on this surface.

 

[MyNameIs]

What a match by Maria. So happy for her. I don't dislike Vika, but it would just be cruel for her to win again over Maria, who looked just about unstoppable. Would love to see her win RG to complete her grand slam.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Agree: I am very happy for Maria to get this win!!

Also congratulations to Nadal although I could not help feeling very sad for Ferrer who had set points in both set one and two and could not close the deal. He was very close today.

 

[Scott]

well it's a great win and finally she got one over vika and in a final. as for being dubbed a fave....it remains to be seen. sorry but i have to be realistic here because we went through this whole routine for much of the last year. she being touted after title wins and losing to li na at RG,losing to kvitova at wimby and being upset early by pennetta at the open after gaining the title at cincy. we still have three more weeks of events and the potential for other contenders not to mention other prominent players that somehow seem to bring their best at majors. so,again,it will remain to be seen if she can stay consistent enough. till then,it's a good win and that's all.

 

[constanceMafioso]

i would be quite surprised if she got over on vika this being on clay and vika by comparison a vastly superior player on this surface.

Well actually Victoria is not a great clay-court player. She's much better on hard-courts. I watched the statistics on the WTA tour, she's not even in the top 50 in terms of (%) matches won on clay where as Maria is in the top 10-15 as one the best clay-court players in this era.

This win Maria had over Victoria if anything else IMO was kind of expected and Maria should take wins over Victoria on clay and grass basically Victoria's 2 weakest surfaces. On hard-courts though it's kind of a different story.

Stuttgart was really a great tournament. Lots of great matches and very high-level of tennis. The final though was kind of a turn-off to me because Victoria wasn't really 100% though Maria played a great match from start to finish. I hope the future tournaments of the WTA tour will keep looking like this.

 

[Scott]

^i'm talking specifically about recent history. since azarenka has been playing as well she has since last year's miami,she went into the clay season nabbed a title and got to the final at madrid. so she's got a bit better,in my view.

so what do you guys make of this blue clay court at madrid? i'm not pleased about it myself. not because i'm some uptight traditionalist but it makes me a bit worried for the players. already we've heard nole,milos and rafa complaining that it's slippery and the bounce on it is too low compared with the red clay. so that makes wonder how this might disrupt their rhythm from the previous events and preceding events. also,i don't dislike the colour but having something that random and that vivid in the middle of a solely red clay season,could be distracting to the eye....might mess with their focus a bit. in general,i find that the whole thing just spells out pure gimmick to sell more tickets. and that's fine and dandy to garner people's attention but when it affects the player's directly,that's when i find issue not to mention understanding their grievances.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I agree with you about the Madrid blue Scott. I think it disrupts rhythm they've established at Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Estoril, etc. Then they're back on red for Rome and FO. I think it'd be nicer to keep it consistent. That said, I suppose there are different coloured hard courts as well; the question is, do the different colours play differently - rather than aesthetics, this seems to be the key issue for the players, clearly; and the consensus seems to be that, yes, blue clay plays differently than red. Risks injuries and so forth imo.

 

[Scott]

i think what bewilders me most is that for the last decade most of these tournaments preceding RG have tried so hard to find that right balance so the surfaces are as evenly matched with the major as they could possibly get them. otherwise what's the point of having that kind of preparation? i'm also a little disappointed that the ATP and WTA allowed this without any significant concerns about the potential risks this could place upon players,it already being,perhaps,the toughest part of the season. this is the biggest event on the clay and a masters/premier man. at that....it just seems so silly and frivolous...

 

[Chaky]

From what I understood the courts at Madrid have always been poor quality compared to other big clay tournaments anyway so I'm not sure it's necessarily the blue dye that's causing complaints.

But I'll be interested to see what the verdict is from all the players and viewers once the tournament has run.