In between Grand Slams tennis thread

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Doubles in Rio is very achievable for her. Assuming Serena is up for it too. I suppose she could qualify with someone else but at that stage I doubt her or Serena will be playing a full singles schedule. A few doubles tournaments here and there and they'll qualify no problem.
Although it does depend on how women's tennis progresses in the US over the next 4 years. Stephens, McHale, Lapchenko, King, Vandeweghe, Falconi and Hampton are all in the top 100 at the moment. If they keep progressing and are the ones playing Fed Cup maybe Venus won't meet the requirements that way, plus haven't they increased the number of Fed Cup appearances you have to make to qualify? That said I assume the Williams' are the kind of players you don't say no to, if they want to play they play.

grohlisagod

Match between two classy veterans from Toronto on Sky, Haas V Nalbandian. Haas 4-2 up in the first.

cgpg5

Murray pulls out in Toronto but just a precaution. Rafa pulls out again. This time Cincinnatti masters. Will he be fit for US open? Hard to see

RosyLily

Rafa still has time until the US Open. We mightn't see him at any warm-up events but I reckon he'll be at Flushing on 27 August. It'd be a shame if he missed.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Azarenka and Sharapova are both out of Montreal. Aga could be world #1 if she wins there this week. Fingers crossed she doesn't. Don't need a return to the "number one but never won a slam" nonsense that we had when Woz was #1.

Tsonga has pulled out of Cinci now too, apparently he walked into a fire hydrant in Toronto and split his knee open? Couple of other Spanish players out of Cinci too.

I assume they're all just tired and are looking for any excuse.

RosyLily

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters. Earlier, JW had an accident in Toronto requiring him to get 6 stitches in his right knee. Some sources saying it's a traffic accident, others saying he walked into a fire hydrant.

Regardless, Tsonga = out.

cgpg5

Rafa sounds pessimistic enough on twitter. Not a very reliable source I know but it'll be tight whether he makes it I'd say

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

RosyLily wrote: »

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters. Earlier, JW had an accident in Toronto requiring him to get 6 stitches in his right knee. Some sources saying it's a traffic accident, others saying he walked into a fire hydrant.

Regardless, Tsonga = out.

His own FB/twitter seem to have confirmed the fire hydrant.

KINGVictor

RosyLily wrote: »

Rafa still has time until the US Open. We mightn't see him at any warm-up events but I reckon he'll be at Flushing on 27 August. It'd be a shame if he missed.

I dont share your optimism unfortunately, I doubt he will make the US Open. I am a Rafa fan but I have to question how he gets this injuries after bad loses. I hope I am wrong and he can make it.

grohlisagod

Gasquet V Djokovic final on now. Two of my favourite players.

the_djoker

Djokovic wins the Toronto Masters, amazing the way it was so low key this year, co-inciding with the Olympics ending.

Hard to believe it is a masters !!

Strange the way Federer stays no. 1 , maybe he didn't take part last year so had nothing to defend ...

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

the_djoker wrote: »

Djokovic wins the Toronto Masters, amazing the way it was so low key this year, co-inciding with the Olympics ending.

Hard to believe it is a masters !!

Strange the way Federer stays no. 1 , maybe he didn't take part last year so had nothing to defend ...

I can't remember if Federer was there last year or not but Djokovic won it last year so he didn't really gain any points this week. Also he lost a lot of points in the last few months whereas Federer has picked up a lot more. It's still quite tight there though, there's less than 100 points between them.
Djokovic has a lot of points to defend between Cinci and US Open but after that he barely played last year, so the pressure will be on Federer to finish the year strong. I'd say Djokovic will be Year End #1 again.

RosyLily

Petra Kvitova won her first title of 2012 after defeating Li Na in the Rogers Cup. The Czech won in 3 sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Pretty good match. Took a while for it to get going and it was fairly topsy-turvy.

Cincinnati is in full swing. Wildcards Brian Baker & Camila Giorgi had great wins yesterday! Baker defeated 15th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 7-6, whereas Giorgi defeated compatriot and 14th seed Francesca Schiavone 6-1 6-3. Davydenko had a good win also; beat Dolgopolov in less than an hour- 6-1 6-1.

Today, there is a few noteworthy matches in Cincy. Venus Williams plays Maria Kirilenko first on Centre Court (about 4pm GMT). Serena will take to the court later tonight against Danilidou and many people will probably have her down as the favourite for the title. Tomic/Baker could be a good match; Tomic has dropped way down since 2011 and the American has been having a great summer so far. Also playing are Berdych, Raonic, Gasquet, Haas, Bartoli, Fish, Stosur & Roddick.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Rafa is officially out of the US Open. Not recovered enough to play apparently. Says he's sad about it, but seemed quite happy swanning about on a boat the other day

Not a big Rafa fan myself, so not that bothered, know a lot of people will be though.

cgpg5

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Rafa is officially out of the US Open. Not recovered enough to play apparently. Says he's sad about it, but seemed quite happy swanning about on a boat the other day

Not a big Rafa fan myself, so not that bothered, know a lot of people will be though.

Was always looking likely especially judging by recent comments about memories of 08 (although I think he meant 09 ) when he had to miss wimbledon. Not a Rafa fan either so not bothered. Disappointing for himself though. Is it all paving the way for a Murray win, meaning the big 4 would've all won a slam in 2012? :pac:

Both Nole and Roger will now be praying to avoid Murray in the semi. With Rafa gone (with due respect) it is a cheap enough route for one of them to the final.

cgpg5

This will (similar to the olympics) also ensure a far easier quarter of the draw if you will. The 4th seed will be most likely Ferrer meaning most players will be hoping to be drawn in this to avoid the big 3 and have a decent chance of possibly making a semis.

Tox56

cgpg5 wrote: »

Was always looking likely especially judging by recent comments about memories of 08 (although I think he meant 09 ) when he had to miss wimbledon. Not a Rafa fan either so not bothered. Disappointing for himself though. Is it all paving the way for a Murray win, meaning the big 4 would've all won a slam in 2012? :pac:

Both Nole and Roger will now be praying to avoid Murray in the semi. With Rafa gone (with due respect) it is a cheap enough route for one of them to the final.

I don't really think so, all it means is he will probably have to play Djokovic and Federer instead of Nadal and Federer (or Nadal and Djokovic).

If anything, I think he would have prefered to play Nadal, especially a not fully-fit Nadal.

Then again, he did beat both of them only a few weeks ago, so you never know.

cgpg5

Tox56 wrote: »

I don't really think so, all it means is he will probably have to play Djokovic and Federer instead of Nadal and Federer (or Nadal and Djokovic).

If anything, I think he would have prefered to play Nadal, especially a not fully-fit Nadal.

Then again, he did beat both of them only a few weeks ago, so you never know.

I was joking in that Nadal pulling out would have an effect. Just saying it'll be extraordinary if each won a major each. He couldn't meet him till final anyways.

Murray is second favourite with the bookies though, he's playing the tennis of his life and I actually fancy him to win here.

Edit- Oh and he wouldn't prefer Nadal imo. Not a fear. He'll be a dangerous animal on a mission after being the subject of one of the greatest upsets ever at Wdon

grohlisagod

Del Potro is the wildcard in New York. Loves the place and is slowly getting back to his best. Should have beaten Federer in Paris, and could easily have again at the Olympics as well as beating Djokovic.

Shame Nadal misses out but he's better off making sure he's 100% before coming back. Should be an excellent tournament. Djokovic justifiably favourite, he looked good last week and is a demon on hard courts.

cgpg5

grohlisagod wrote: »

Del Potro is the wildcard in New York. Loves the place and is slowly getting back to his best. Should have beaten Federer in Paris, and could easily have again at the Olympics as well as beating Djokovic.

Shame Nadal misses out but he's better off making sure he's 100% before coming back. Should be an excellent tournament. Djokovic justifiably favourite, he looked good last week and is a demon on hard courts.

Meh Delpo is good but he's not a patch on the top three here. Saying that if he can avoid their quarters, he should be in with a good shout of making a semi. He has a 25% chance :P Wouldn't read anything into his victory against Djok it is the worst I've seen Novak play and grand it was for a bronze medal but when gold was out of Novak's sights he didn't seem to give his 100% anymore.

There is quite a gulf between the top three and the rest but I'd love Tsonga to get into the other quarter and make a semi.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

cgpg5 wrote: »

Murray is second favourite with the bookies though, he's playing the tennis of his life and I actually fancy him to win here.

I think it's kind of ridiculous to have Murray as 2nd favourite. He played really well in the Australian Open in January, then had a terrible 5 months, played well at Wimbledon but fell at the last fence. He was like a man possessed at the Olympics, but the best of 3 format helped him immensely. By that I mean he didn't have enough time to lose his concentration and choke like he often does in Slams. Yes, the final was best of 5 and he managed to keep it together long enough to win, but I still think it's silly to be basing his US Open odds on one tournament.
I could be wrong, he could very well do it. He said after RG that he just wasn't fit enough and needed to work on that, he clearly did because his play at Wimbledon and Olympics was much better and maybe he'll have the confidence now to keep going, but I still think having him as 2nd favourite is a bit much.

cgpg5

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I think it's kind of ridiculous to have Murray as 2nd favourite. He played really well in the Australian Open in January, then had a terrible 5 months, played well at Wimbledon but fell at the last fence. He was like a man possessed at the Olympics, but the best of 3 format helped him immensely. By that I mean he didn't have enough time to lose his concentration and choke like he often does in Slams. Yes, the final was best of 5 and he managed to keep it together long enough to win, but I still think it's silly to be basing his US Open odds on one tournament.
I could be wrong, he could very well do it. He said after RG that he just wasn't fit enough and needed to work on that, he clearly did because his play at Wimbledon and Olympics was much better and maybe he'll have the confidence now to keep going, but I still think having him as 2nd favourite is a bit much.

Riduculous is a big stretch. He is the third best player in it. It's not as if they've put Tsonga as second. Fed is not far off his odds either tbf. Saying that when the draw is made if Fed avoids Murray in the semis he will be no doubt made second favourite. Which gets me on to the next point. The seeding in tennis is daft imo and no doubt some will disagree. Fed is number one yet he could get Murray in the semi while the number 2 gets an easier clash potentially. Fed is then at no real advantage being seeded higher than Djok. He could also get (expected) number 5 Tsonga in the quarters while someone like Ferrer could get Tipsarevic (number 8). Should be always 1v8 2v7 and so on.

And also maybe I'm being biased as a Murray fan but that 2 set comment is harsh. He demolished all his opponents bar baghdatis but he was cruising by the time he won. He was all over Djok too and would've conceded a set max. I couldn't see him conceding another set in it even if it was best of 5. He didn't concede 2 sets at all on the way to the final at WImbledon. We wait and see though, we wait and see...

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

cgpg5 wrote: »

And also maybe I'm being biased as a Murray fan but that 2 set comment is harsh. He demolished all his opponents bar baghdatis but he was cruising by the time he won. He was all over Djok too and would've conceded a set max. I couldn't see him conceding another set in it even if it was best of 5. He didn't concede 2 sets at all on the way to the final at WImbledon. We wait and see though, we wait and see...

I don't think it's harsh. Look at him at Wimbledon. Won the 1st set, then couldn't keep it together to get 2 more. In the Aus Open he could have beaten Djokovic, probably should have. But couldn't keep his concentration and focus to close out the 3rd set he needed. I know he nearly always gets to QF or SF in Slams but a lot of his 5 set matches he wins in 4 or 5. He takes too much out of himself in the earlier rounds and then when he has to go 5 against Djokovic or Nadal in the later rounds he's not able.

Like I said though, he admitted himself after RG that he wasn't as fit as he should be, and there was an obvious improvement between then and Wimbledon and then the Olympics. If he can play with the intensity and concentration he did during the Olympics I could very well see him doing well at the US Open, especially if he gets in the half of the draw where Nadal should have been. I just think that a lot of media will hype him up more than they should because of his Olympic performance. The Olympics make people do weird and wonderful things, there's no guarantee they'll be repeated.

I agree the seedings don't really work, but they're almost irrelevant in the men's game anyway. It's always at least 3 of the top4 in the SF, if not all of them. Occasionally, there's an upset, one of them pulls out, and the likes of Ferrer or Tsonga make it to the SF, but it's rare they get to the final. I don't think it matters how they're seeded, bar them meeting each other in R2 they're all going to get to the SF's anyway.

the_djoker

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I'm starting to really believe that Murray can win a slam .... be great for the game ... get a new slam winner in the mix !

the_djoker

heres an interesting fact, in the 8 slams of 2002-2003 8 different players won them !! :O

imagine that nowadays ... would be fantastic !!

cgpg5

the_djoker wrote: »

heres an interesting fact, in the 8 slams of 2002-2003 8 different players won them !! :O

imagine that nowadays ... would be fantastic !!

Tennis was a far worse standard. After Pete, before Fed! Go on who are they I'm bored. Without google as an assist I'll go Hewitt, Fed (both Wimbledon) Roddick (US 03), Rafter, Sampras, Agassi, getting lost now... Nalbandian??? and go on can't get the last Phillipoussis but I know I'm wrong. Clearly leaving out someone obvious

the_djoker

I'm a tennis nerd ... without Google I can confidently give 7

Aus 02 - Johansen (? not sure)
FO 02 - Costa
Wimy 02 - Hewitt
US 02 Sampras
Aus 03 Agassi
FO 03 Ferrero
Wim 03 Fed
US 03 Roddick

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Here's another Slam fact for you guys. 2005 Australian Open final between Hewitt and Safin was the last Slam final not to feature at least one of the current top 4.

RosyLily

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Here's another Slam fact for you guys. 2005 Australian Open final between Hewitt and Safin was the last Slam final not to feature at least one of the current top 4.

Cool!

The 2005 Australian Open semi-finalists were the top 4 seeds then- Roddick, Federer, Hewitt & Safin.

cgpg5

the_djoker wrote: »

I'm a tennis nerd ... without Google I can confidently give 7

Aus 02 - Johansen (? not sure)
FO 02 - Costa
Wimy 02 - Hewitt
US 02 Sampras
Aus 03 Agassi
FO 03 Ferrero
Wim 03 Fed
US 03 Roddick

Never heard of first 2 so I'm alright! But kicking myself over Ferrero. Going into Wimby 03 thought he was a dead cert. Some young lad came and won it his first name was Roger I think :P

Ah stop was a far poorer standard back then. Philippousis and Nalbandian in consecutive WImbledon finals like. And Tim in consecutive semis.

Was on Million Pound Drop recently which was the last to happen: Brit winning W'don, Frenchman winning RG, US winning US, Aussie winning Aus. Knew well it was US in 03 but shocked that an Aussie hasn't won the Australian Open since 1976!!! That's Rafter, Heiwtt and Cash that never won it