2021 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Girly Gal

Under normal circumstances Djokovic wouldn't lose to PCB, also wouldn't collapse as he did against Zverev, so there obviously was something wrong, exhaustion or an injury or a combination of both, so no surprise he pulled out of the mixed doubles. Why he played in the mixed doubles in the first place is a mystery, especially when he was going for something unique in the golden slam. The frustration he showed yesterday by throwing away the racket and breaking another might indicate that whatever injury he has might be worse than anyone thinks and could hinder his pursuit of the calendar slam. His on court behaviour yesterday really was unacceptable, but, all players do this from time to time.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117689026#Comment_117689026

could have gotten confused like obviously did with Djokovic's "pressure is a privilege" comment in answer to the question put to Djokovic about the possibility of a golden slam and the pressure on him.

Girly Gal

Zverev wins the Gold, he's already won the ATP finals and made a slam final, so next step is to win a slam.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117690482#Comment_117690482

Zverev is real handful when he can keep it together, and he was really solid all week. He seems to have too much time to balls it up in a BO5 setting, maybe that will come with time.

On the Djokovic stuff, not sure when was the last time he lost two matches in a row (a previous Olympics maybe ?) it will knock some of the stuffing out of him but really, its better from his point of view to have his 'blowout' at this than in the US open. I do feel bad for his doubles partner.

He put a lot of stock in trying to win a gold for Serbia, but, really, I would surmise that most Serbs are more than happy with his accomplishments with or without an Olympic medal.

Nadal meanwhile is sitting in Washington sharpening his blade.....

yerwanthere123

Oh, the men's final wasn't best of 5. Didn't hear about that being abolished.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117691339#Comment_117691339

I suppose it makes sense given the lack of rest time between matches.

Have to say that tennis at the Olympics leaves me somewhat unmoved, and I would prefer if is wasn't there (likewise golf, soccer, and basically any sport which has its pinnacles firmly located elsewhere).

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117689527#Comment_117689527

To try and answer the "why did Djokovic play in the mixed doubles?" question which pops up fairly often.

It's accepted over here that he genuinely wanted to try to win an(other) Olympic medal for Serbia.

While success in the doubles wouldn't have added much to his 2021 achievement list, it was going to increase the risk to his own singles title in Japan.

Serbs appreciated that risk he was prepared to take.

Serbia, like Ireland, usually get a fairly modest medal haul from the Olympics and every medal counts.

Also, Schmiedlova won the Belgrade Ladies Open in the end.

Girly Gal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117691509#Comment_117691509

I take your point about winning another medal, but, even the Serbian tennis coach was surprised he entered the mixed doubles. It's not as if he plays doubles much so even getting a medal there was an outside shot, Barty and Peers would have been expected to win the bronze medal match as both are much more experienced doubles players. All it did was jeopardize his own singles hopes. A very strange decision, which ultimately cost him.

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117691596#Comment_117691596

Mixed feelings on Novak regarding the olympics. I think his withdrawal was so unfair on his partner who a bronze medal would have been a career highlight.

I do have sympathy for the Biles drama which was just mischief makers looking for rage clicks and retweets and sadly will follow him for the rest of his career despite been bullshit.

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1421811132696834048

Hector Savage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117697865#Comment_117697865

But it is strange the way Biles is seen as a hero for getting into a strop and quitting on her team - why ?

Williams gets the same at Wimbledon, to hear the commentators owwing and ahhing and fawning over Williams as she fell in her 1st round match at Wimbledon.

She simply shouldn't have been playing at Wimbledon - she was unfit and frankly overweight.

Then you see the BBC gleefull headline "ANGRY DJOKOVIC LEAVES TOKYO WITH NO MEDAL" - can you imagine the same over Biles ?

"BILES GETS INTO A STROP AND QUITS TEAM"

outrage, journalists careers over.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117697865#Comment_117697865

he'd played 7 tennis matches in the 7 days in stifling humidity and heat (very nasty combo)

one female tennis player was carted off the court with heatstroke

they moved the times of the matches after that but it was still very oppressive

he was obviously exhausted and with some injuries by the end of the Zverev match

and even more so by the end of the singles bronze play-off

he'd played that match earlier that day that lasted just short of 3 hours in those conditions

the guy is going for the history of the calendar slam and the injuries already incurred could impact his effort at New York

why should he go out and risk further injury after a tough match earlier in the day?

the comments of the posters here like yerwanthere123 who freely post to wanting Djokovic to lose every time he goes out and don't want to see him do the calendar slam that he should go out again the same day injured and exhausted would be typical of the type to admonish Djokovic here

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117698925#Comment_117698925

indeed.

it's pathetic really.

Biles was a great past Olympian but why not quit before going to Japan give a spot on the US team to someone who actually wanted to be there to compete

Making the headlines for quitting events at the games instead of before is baffling but symptomatic of the modern victim culture which should be seen as distinct from the important issue of mental health

The fact that each event was overshadowed by whether or not Biles was going to quit out on it (and her team in the team events) and made bigger headlines that who won it is sad

Djokovic is physically exhausted due to the high humidity and heat of the outdoor conditions at the tennis and has been out there for 3 hours nearly that day already (and 7 matches in the last week which is not normal to do even in benign conditions) but should not quit - should go out there and risk more injury and exhaustion. certainly more likely to aggravate an injury when already totally drained.

yes it's a bit unfortunate for the partner but he at least gave her the experience of playing together there for the previous matches

And don't tell me that people don't see the context of a bronze mixed double match considering that the mixed doubles at the slams is just a sideshow with paltry prize-money that the vast majority of even tennis fans don't bother watching and mightn't even know who won, never mind who got to a semi-final (bronze medal equivalent)

He simply wasn't in shape to continue

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117697865#Comment_117697865

Undoubtedly it was disappointing for her, but I think I must be missing something because I don't get the 'unfairness' angle a few people have posted.

Both Djokovic and Stojanovic were at the Olympics to compete in the singles. If Djokovic hadn't suggested taking part in the mixed doubles, Nina would not even have been in that position of possibly winning a medal. There was nobody else from Serbia at the Olympics that she could have paired with.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117698925#Comment_117698925

The Mainstream media have an agenda.

They are keen to push the fallacies of White Privilege and Toxic Masculinity.

Virtue signalling and identity politics on steroids.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117699841#Comment_117699841

He claims he was injured, obviously those watching can make up their own minds. If he can play a three set singles match then I'm sure he could play a two set mixed doubles match too. Maybe he really was injured, but I simply don't believe him. I think it was more wounded pride than anything else, and if he'd won the singles match then he'd have played mixed doubles. Basically, he was a sore loser.

And so what if I don't want to see him do the calendar slam? We're not all obligated to fellate him at every given opportunity 🙄

yerwanthere123

Snopes have even published an article on the misreporting of his Biles comments. He's truly gone mainstream!

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/djokovic-simone-biles-pressure-privilege/

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117701557#Comment_117701557

you've just proved the point.

in the case of Djokovic you're a hater so completely unreliable in terms of any commentary on him even more than any supporter on the converse

nobody is going to be coming to you for commentary if he was injured or not!

even to the most casual observer Djokovic was not near his usual level in terms of pretty much every stat vs Carreno Busta who's only previous "result" vs Djokovic was when the flushing meadows Karen gag-dropped for a DQ and was handily beaten in any other encounter

and even a hater could see that he was exhausted 🤣

His play has been consistent enough to win 3 slams on the trot so if there is a big drop in level it's because he's not right.

really tho should have said that he was pulling out for his mental health and all would have been fine in the world!

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117701980#Comment_117701980

I'm a "hater"... riiight. Between all this talk of "fedtards", "karens", "goatovic" and now "haters" I feel like I'm talking to a 13 year old men's tennis forum user. I mean I know Boards isn't exactly a high brow site or anything, but can we maybe try and keep the dialogue slightly above reddit or something?

I'm not sure anyone would be coming to you on any kind of objective commentary on Djokovic's 'injury' either. Given the many emotional essays you've written about him on here and personal attacks on anyone who dares say a bad word about him, I'm not entirely sure you're in a position to comment on reliability. Seriously, it's almost a year after he was defaulted from the US Open and you're still holding a grudge against the lineswoman for the crime of.... getting hit in the throat with a ball? This is puerile stuff.

I don't want to be engaging in arguments on here, life's too short for this kind of shite, but when you're naming me in posts and picking fights I'm obviously going to respond. You're a member on here since 2005 so must surely be well North of your teens at this stage, time to grow up a little bit. We don't all have to fawn at the altar of Djokovic.

it's a term in the English vernacular now

hater

/ˈheɪtə/

1. a person who greatly dislikes a specified person or thing.

you want him to lose every time he plays and express your dislike for him constantly - if that is not the definition of the term what exactly is?

seems a very reasonable attribution to me.

don't be puerile about it 🤣

lostcat

Can someone please take charge of this thread, the level of discourse has somewhat diminished.

Personally I blame the new site layout which is clearly driving people over the edge.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117703180#Comment_117703180

It's never moderated anymore, but that was the case long before the new layout 😔

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117703180#Comment_117703180

Personally I blame Djokovic for levelling up GS titles with Nadal and Roger and surpassing Roger for weeks at No. 1.

How dare he.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117707329#Comment_117707329

I'm not sure what the reams of posts/rants about Osaka or 'girls are chancers' have to do with that.

As for Djokovic, one can greatly admire his tennis endeavors (as I do) without necessarily buying into the rest of the stuff, some of which is not the behaviour or opinion one would like to see from a world no 1 or, frankly, an intelligent 34 year old. 'Complexity of character' is all very well but it only provides so much road.

This forum used to be a fairly well reasoned, mannered affair, I would prefer if it would reflect more of the tennis and less of the twitter crap, there are plentry of other outlets on the web for Djokovic /culture / gender wars.

yerwanthere123

Federer out of both Toronto and Cincinnati. Bodes well for the US Open 😬 Mad that his loss to Dimitrov in 2019 might have been the last time he played in New York.

lostcat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117712271#Comment_117712271

He was (I assume) hoping to go out on a high with a solid run in Wimbledon or maybe the US Open, but he's so far off the pace. It's very hard to see him being able to generate a sustained run of matches going forward, which he badly needs to be any way sharp for the bigger tournaments.

Its a sad way for a career to 'peter out', especially a career like Federers. Not everyone can go out like Sampras I guess.

Royale with Cheese

He spent over a year out with a knee injury aged 39, only to come back and basically have it flare up again within a month. I can't see him coming back from this, it would take til next season to be in any way competitive again and he'll be even older again by that point.

josip

Even before Federer returned, most/all of us were thinking it was very ambitious/optimistic at his age and given the nature of the operation.

Getting to the quarter finals of Wimbledon and the fourth round of the FO wasn't that bad a return given his lack of match practice.

I think if he can make the 2nd week of the US Open he should be happy with that and call it a day.

lostcat

Nadal drops out of the top 3 for the first time in 4 years, Tsitsipas enters the top 3 for the first time...Federer turns 40....

someone should write a folk song maybe...

Sinner becomes youngest ever ATP 500 winner (since category was created in 2009) by taking the Citi Open

It seemed like he had gone off the boil a bit (even though he got to the Miami final earlier in the year)

Still has no real record to speak of in terms of beating current Top 10 players - will have to show that next.

And it was not exactly a stacked field at this event

He's up to number 15 himself now

yerwanthere123

Oh wow, Federer needs more knee surgery and is out of the US Open. I think that's pretty much the death knell for his career tbh.