The Tennis Thread

[ckgirlbr]

Same here. I wanted Federer to win as well, but Murray didn't even let him try, he really deserved to win! Overall watching all the matches were exciting, I'm definitely going to miss waking up in the morning just to see them!
I also liked Federer's reaction in the final, losing is never easy, but he was happy with his medal, he even said he didn't lose the gold, but won the silver medal. A real champion.

 

[Scott]

andy's and girlfriend,kim sears' border terriers

*dailymail.co.uk

 

[Scott]

pretty good (monday) final this evening in montreal between kvitova and li na. much like their previous three meetings,it went the distance,and apart from a walk-about from kvitova in the second set,first and third sets stayed pretty tight. unfortunate at the end but perhaps indicative of kvitova's consistency this season compared with li's and she definitely looked the hungrier of the two this time. so i'm pleased for kvitova. it's been a generally solid season for petra with two major semis,a QF at wimbledon(unfortunate drawing serena so early there) but no tour titles after her 5 in total last year. i'm sure after her experience last year,it has been slightly unsatisfactory compared with the other top 5 women currently.

anyway,this will put these two in a nice space for the open. and li na will be back into the top 10 this week as kvitova will return to the top 5.

some news on the li na front were announced this week,btw. next week she will begin a "trial" tenure with justine henin's former coach carlos rodriguez lasting for the remaining season,officially.

also some big question marks going into the open with azarenka sustaining a knee injury at the olympics. she pulled out of her QF match in montreal against paszek and subsequently withdrew from cincy. she said it's bad enough that she needs the rest but uncertain about her fitness going into the open. and sharapova pulled out of cincy next week with a virus but not sure how greatly that will affect her in a couple weeks.

 

[anaa lpz]

I was surprised when I realized Montreal is Kvitova first title of the year, but it was also the first time this year she won against top 10 players

and, now that Nadal won't be playing the USO, unless a miracle happens, does Andy have a chance to become nº3??

 

[Scott]

well in her defense,that stat is a little deceptive. she did play maria sharapova three of those 5 times this year,including those two times when sharapova went on a tear on the clay. li na in sydney and of course serena at wimbledon,who she played extremely well against,which we can't say about vika and masha.

also,kvitova has been struggling early a lot in tour events too. she also dealt with a virus during the middle east leg and spring HC season in the states and also i learned not too long ago she'd been dealing with a recurring abdominal muscle tear. like i said,despite all that,she's done remarkably well even still. i'm sure somebody like stosur would gladly trade in her struggling sophomore season for kvitova's.

 

[anaa lpz]

yes, I know...but I still think is quite strange because she's a great player.
that virus affect her a lot, which it's a shame...I hope this title gives her a bit more confidence.

 

[anaa lpz]

and it's official that Rafa won't play at the USO

 

[Scott]

i hope so too. and it could be the very thing that could re-energize kvitova's season. look at that lull she went through till she won the linz title prior to the YE championships.....and of course we all know what happened at the latter event. the only problem this week in cincinatti is that she's in serena's half of the draw which means yet another semifinal face-off. and i hope her struggle with asthma in this part of the country will be better.

well i think that was inevitable with rafa. he pulled out of every last tournament since wimbledon,including this week. it definitely must be worse than it was the last time he went through the knee issues. i've never known rafa to be sidelined for this length of time.

 

[anaa lpz]

Rafa says he won't play until he feels he's completely recovered, which makes me think he won't be playing until next year.

 

[MyNameIs]

Hmm, are you guys aware that the US Open is underway?

Epic match today between Lopez and Monaco. Both men were fighting hard till the end, but what a comeback from Lopez. I was rooting for him so glad he was able to pull it off.

On the other hand though, Dolgopolov is about to lose in straight sets to... Jesse Levine. WTF? There is no more frustrating player than Dolgopolov. Absolutely unbearable when he's not 'on'. I really expected more from him this year after that good start in Australia.

 

[MyNameIs]

On the other hand though, Dolgopolov is about to lose in straight sets to... Jesse Levine. WTF? There is no more frustrating player than Dolgopolov. Absolutely unbearable when he's not 'on'. I really expected more from him this year after that good start in Australia.

So when I posted this, Dolgopolov was down 2 sets to love and trailing 4 games to love in the third set. Since then, he won the next 18 out of 21 games, lol. Won the match 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2. You just never know with him. Both fun and incredibly maddening.

 

[Scott]

wozniacki out in yet another first round but more surprisingly at the major she's been more successful at. she seemed too distracted by her knee even though from my vantage it didn't appear to really hinder her....and that coupled with her already lacking confidence....a recipe for a falter.

was really surprised though to see lisicki and goerges out on day 1. mona barthel surprisingly went out yesterday to jovanovski who's certainly capable but hasn't been in-form for a while. petkovic in her second match on return,was defeated but neverthless,so great to see her back. there were a lot of positives in that second set and her fitness looked great so at this point no reason why petko can't get herself back.....just needs to play as much as she can in this latter part of the season. unfortunately because of the loss of her QF points here from last year,her ranking will drop further.

how about stosur in the first round against martic? granted martic wasn't match tough being out since wimbledon with injury but just gauging from stosur's whole demeanour on court was great to see. she did have a chance to get a golden set but hit a double fault.

we haven't even talked that much about the summer season yet though. kvitova won the open series and won two titles in her usually worst part of the season,which is great to see after some disappointments this season. i just hope playing that extra week before in new haven won't lead to fatigue because she had a little trouble in her first round in that first set. and li na is looking good too. too bad that top half of the draw is so loaded. but they're saying serena's half is a bit easy....perhaps,but i wouldn't underestimate makarova who she's projected to meet in the r16 and who beat her in australia....shvedova will be a dangerous opponent who she had a marathon against at wimbledon and if kerber gets past venus that one will be tough as well.

 

[Chaky]

Wow! Laura Robson retired Kim Clijsters!

Best match of the women's draw so far that I've seen. Quality and drama throughout. Unfortunately given the scheduling Ashe only seemed to be half full. Laura plays Li Na next so it doesn't get any easier for her. I wonder if she repeat her good performance or will she suffer a letdown?

 

[Chaky]

wozniacki out in yet another first round but more surprisingly at the major she's been more successful at.

was really surprised though to see lisicki and goerges out on day 1.

we haven't even talked that much about the summer season yet though. kvitova won the open series and won two titles in her usually worst part of the season,which is great to see after some disappointments this season.

Pretty awful loss for Wozniacki really. I didn't see that one so I don't know how injured she was but she's really on the slide.

Terrible tournament for the Germans as well. Barthel shouldn't have lost her match as I think she was well in front at one point. Who knows what's going on in Lisicki and Goerges's heads? Best thing for me was seeing Petkovic back. She's one of the best personalities on the WTA and I think it would be to their benefit if she was to do well again.

Kvitova I'm not sure about. Yeah she's won a couple of titles this summer but she seems very up and down in her matches. I wonder if someone more consistent might take her out later on.

 

[Scott]

what a splendid performance from laura robson. it's too bad it was against kim in her farewell event but kim was not match tough at all. but you know,with her match against sharapova at the olympics,seems laura has really improved on her maturity and the mental aspects of her game and she's finally getting that top level success. it's incredible to me that she's still only 18. i keep forgetting that as she's been touted for so long.

i know li na is breathing a little easier though not having to face kim who beat her the last couple times they played.

as for kvitova,you know she has a winnable draw till she potentially faces sharapova in the QF. bartoli she throttled a couple weeks ago in montreal but bartoli has not been in great shape for a while. it really depends on kvitova. but i agree with you on her consistency. yesterday against cornet i was really disappointed with her overall performance. that's a match she really should have dominated from start to finish. i think she allowed that to be too competitive with her errors. and the vast majority of her returns were off.

 

[Scott]

so andy roddick announced yesterday that he was retiring from the game after the open. i can't say that i am terribly surprised by the announcement as i've felt this could possibly be his last as he's been on the decline for so long.

i've never been much of a fan really and i've never been one for his unsavoury behaviour on the court nor his one-dimensional game-style. however,for all the touted could have beens and the disappointments in the majors,i always feel like andy maximized the most of his opportunities and his career in general. i mean,he came round at a point sandwiched between three very dominant eras of tennis....the tail-end of the sampras & agassi era and on the cusp of roger federer's sheer dominance....and now of course what has culminated into the big three at the majors.

 

[Chaky]

I thought Hewitt might beat him to it.

Was never a massive fan of Andy for the same reasons you suggest, Scott. But I had a new-found respect for him after that epic 2009 Wimbledon final against Federer that ended 16-14 in the fifth. Roddick was somewhat unlucky to hit his peak at the same time as Federer - I imagine he would have been a multiple slam winner by now if not for that.

 

[Scott]

and agassi,who's been one of andy's mentors since andy became a pro,said today that roddick just simply became a victim of the era of tennis he played. and i think that just about sums it up. i think andy would have won many too....had roger not evolved into the player he's become,i can imagine that roddick would have ended up at least dominating for two or three years,especially at the open and wimbledon.

strange day of tennis though. although i am absolutely thrilled for laura robson i was absolutely befuddled by li na's performance. in fact this whole week i haven't been totally enthralled with her matches....she's looked a little uneasy most of the week and especially so in her last round against dellacqua and of course today in her defeat. i mean,coming in on form and with confidence after getting through to her first final since sydney and finally breaking through with her first title since RG,i thought she would have had the upper hand in the end. but for laura robson,how great is she playing suddenly? seems the olympics and her performance against sharapova there and the silver medal with andy in mixed,has become a bit of a springboard for her. great to see. and she backs up her first significant win over kim with her first win over a top player. not to mention her first deep run at a major. that's impressive. who knows,if she keeps up the level we could maybe see another kvitova on the rise?

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Laura Robson has been a revelation - two slam champs ousted back-to-back. I love her game and her composure; definitely a fan!

Roddick played well tonight, but I couldn't get over what a poor effort Tomic put in.

 

[Scott]

^agreed wholeheartedly about tomic! i actually found myself wondering,was this what all this fuss about? his game seems rather tame....kind of like a wozniacki pusher-style,for men,imo. and moving backwards on returns?? you won't ever progress with that mentality.