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French Open 2021

  • 27-05-2021 9:19am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 7,467 ✭✭✭


    A few days away from the second Slam of the year. I guess for the men's Nadal has to be favourite. Is there anyone that beat him here? As for the ladies for me its wide open with 3 or 4 players that can win. I see Osaka has said she is not doing any press at the French Open for her mental health. I don't see her winning it.


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Comments

  • Registered Users, Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,255 Mod ✭✭✭✭yerwanthere123


    Nadal, Djokovic and Federer all in the same half. Federer-Djokovic a potential QF match.

    Notable women's R1 matches:
    Kenin-Ostapenko
    Azarenka-Kuznetsova
    Jabeur-Putintseva
    Suarez Navarro-Stephens

    Kenin-Ostapenko.. at least one of them will make the second round :D Will be rooting for Suarez-Navarro pretty hard against Sloane.


  • Registered Users, Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,255 Mod ✭✭✭✭yerwanthere123


    As for Osaka boycotting press, give me a fucking break. Can be loosely translated as "I have no expectations of getting very far here, I've been doing zero work to improve my clay game, please don't ask me any tough questions". Hope she's sanctioned pretty heavily for it, but given she made over €50 million+ off court last year, it's not fines that will teach her a lesson.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,467 ✭✭✭Floppybits


    How is Nadal seeded 3 at this tournament?


  • Registered Users, Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,255 Mod ✭✭✭✭yerwanthere123


    Floppybits wrote: »
    How is Nadal seeded 3 at this tournament?

    They simply followed the rankings, which is ludicrous. Wasting a #2 seed on Medvedev only serves to hurt their tournament, so no idea why the didn't change it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,467 ✭✭✭Floppybits


    As for Osaka boycotting press, give me a fucking break. Can be loosely translated as "I have no expectations of getting very far here, I've been doing zero work to improve my clay game, please don't ask me any tough questions". Hope she's sanctioned pretty heavily for it, but given she made over €50 million+ off court last year, it's not fines that will teach her a lesson.

    Osaka is becoming a real pain with this nonsense and using mental health as a excuse is just pitiful. Would have more respect if she said I am not doing press conferences after my matches and left it at that. Sure a fine is pittance to her. I also think all this press conferences after matches are load of kack. The players are all so trained in how to handle the questions it is the same response over and over again.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,467 ✭✭✭Floppybits


    Nadal, Djokovic and Federer all in the same half of the draw. Fed would play Djokovic in the quarters and Nadal in the Semi. Can't see him getting that far though, I'd say he would be happy to 3 to 4 matches in here and then he can concentrate on the grass.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,730 ✭✭✭sxt


    Nadal draw gets very tough from third round onwards . Sonego third round (semi finalist, loss narrowly to djkovic in Rome two weeks ago. 4th round Sinner (next gen superstar in the making.. ). Shock early exit for Rafa?

    Where's Hector with his predictions


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,573 ✭✭✭✭josip


    sxt wrote: »
    ...
    Where's Hector with his predictions


    Probably taking his time to evaluate the draw and all the potential match ups before arriving at his well considered prediction.


  • Registered Users Posts: 695 ✭✭✭lostcat


    Showtime for Nadal, this is going to be his best (maybe even last) chance to finally get his nose in front of Federer in the Slam count. Can't see much on his side of the draw, but I guess Sinner did give him a bit of a match last year. Djokovic should make the semi also but there are a few decent clay courters on his side.

    The other half of the draw is a next gen bloodbath, Nadal will be happy enough to only have to face the last one standing.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,979 ✭✭✭Slashermcguirk


    Farcical that Medvedev is seeded 2, he is useless on clay. He even said himself he doesnt like the surface. I really think past performance in French open over past few years should be taken into account when confirming seeds.

    Could be a Federer vs Djokovic QF although no guarantees both will get that far


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,467 ✭✭✭Floppybits


    Farcical that Medvedev is seeded 2, he is useless on clay. He even said himself he doesnt like the surface. I really think past performance in French open over past few years should be taken into account when confirming seeds.

    Could be a Federer vs Djokovic QF although no guarantees both will get that far

    I think Federer will be very happy if he gets through the first week and gets in game time and practice.

    Djokovic its hard to know which one will turn up but I am hoping its the one that really wants to be the man that dethrones Nadal at his favorite tournament on his favorite court.


  • Registered Users Posts: 695 ✭✭✭lostcat


    .... I really think past performance in French open over past few years should be taken into account when confirming seeds.

    Could be a Federer vs Djokovic QF although no guarantees both will get that far

    they do this for Wimbledon, using some kind of grass-fed formula (or used to, I think they have now dropped it) it might make sense for grass, seeing as it is only played on for two weeks a year.
    There are enough high level clay court tournaments that the usual rankings are more relevant. I'm not sure it really matters on a long term basis.
    In this case it has given Nadal a handy enough draw, most of the consistently good players over the past few months ended up on the other side.

    I assume Sampras was no 1 or 2 seed for the French plenty of times, he never made the final and a good clay courter won the tournament each time.

    I can't see Federer getting into a quarter (or even wanting to get into one) here.


  • Registered Users Posts: 695 ✭✭✭lostcat


    Floppybits wrote: »
    Djokovic its hard to know which one will turn up but I am hoping its the one that really wants to be the man that dethrones Nadal at his favorite tournament on his favorite court.

    I'm not sure Djokovic believes he can beat Nadal here, getting a right thumping last year despite coming into the final in very good form. There will be a lot of legacy riding on that semi if they both get there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,199 ✭✭✭ForestFire


    Floppybits wrote: »
    Osaka is becoming a real pain with this nonsense and using mental health as a excuse is just pitiful. Would have more respect if she said I am not doing press conferences after my matches and left it at that. Sure a fine is pittance to her. I also think all this press conferences after matches are load of kack. The players are all so trained in how to handle the questions it is the same response over and over again.

    Just wondering if I can avoid my customer calls next week so too, due to my mental health you know...??

    And I'm being serious, I often have nightly stress, for some meetings, when things are not going great and the pressure is on....

    If she thinks, she or her fellow athletes have stress to answer a few questions about a sporting game, win or lose (Probably still wins 1000s even when losing)...she should try going onto some business calls, with the demands and pressures of projects.

    And we are talking, not losing a tiny portion of your own highly paid salary, but potentially your employers money, that could amount up to a single persons yearly wage.

    (Unless its a government construction job, where its millions lost!!!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 320 ✭✭klr87


    As for Osaka boycotting press, give me a fucking break. Can be loosely translated as "I have no expectations of getting very far here, I've been doing zero work to improve my clay game, please don't ask me any tough questions". Hope she's sanctioned pretty heavily for it, but given she made over €50 million+ off court last year, it's not fines that will teach her a lesson.
    Osaka will be 24 in October, and there's no sign of her getting any better on clay - or grass for that matter. Sharapova (love her or hate her) showed what determination and sheer bloody-mindedness can do. She had a good record at Roland Garros from the outset, despite being the proverbial "cow on ice". But she wasn't content with that. She won her first Rome title at 24, and her first French Open a year later. And while she started out younger than Osaka, she lost a lot of time to injuries in her early 20s.


  • Registered Users Posts: 320 ✭✭klr87


    Nadal, Djokovic and Federer all in the same half. Federer-Djokovic a potential QF match.

    Notable women's R1 matches:
    Kenin-Ostapenko
    Azarenka-Kuznetsova
    Jabeur-Putintseva
    Suarez Navarro-Stephens

    Kenin-Ostapenko.. at least one of them will make the second round :D Will be rooting for Suarez-Navarro pretty hard against Sloane.
    Hopefully Ostapenko. She beat Kerber in Rome in one of the best matches of the season, but then lost the QF against Pliskova, despite having 3 match points, all on the Pliskova serve IIRC. It would have been better for the tournament if she had won that match, and maybe even for Pliskova, given what happened in the final.

    If Azarenka-Kuznetsova goes the distance, then Azarenka will be odds-on to take an MTO, or even retire. Kuznetsova has played in some of the all-time slug-fests, particularly at the French and Australian.

    I can't see Carla doing much after what she's been through with cancer. The French Open, Wimbledon and the USO are essentially her "farewell tour". But you never know: Sloane blew a seemingly unassailable second set lead against Wang Qiang in Parma last week, and lost in straight sets.

    There are some other very interesting women's first round matches, like Gauff-Krunic, and Bencic-Podoroska. Bencic has had some very tough 1st round draws in slams, and this is yet another. Podoroska looks completely at home on clay, having been a semi-finalist here last year. She choked a bit against Serena Williams in Rome, but got it done 7-6 7-5.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,741 ✭✭✭Girly Gal


    Thiem looks on the way out here, aren't Nadal and Djokovic on the opposite side of the draw, would have been a great opportunity for him to make the final again


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,306 Mod ✭✭✭✭mzungu


    Not a good day at the office for Them. From two sets up he should be easily finishing these matches out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 39,366 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    Naomi osaka has been fined 15 thousand dollars for refusing to do any press interviews. Sure that’s pocket change to her.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,424 ✭✭✭✭MisterAnarchy


    Itssoeasy wrote: »
    Naomi osaka has been fined 15 thousand dollars for refusing to do any press interviews. Sure that’s pocket change to her.

    She is a very unlikely person.
    A real diva from her melodramatic histrionics last year for BLM to this latest publicity stunt.
    Hopefully she gets booted out of the tournament for her disengenuous behaviour.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 54,495 ✭✭✭✭walshb


    She is a very unlikely person.
    A real diva from her melodramatic histrionics last year for BLM to this latest publicity stunt.
    Hopefully she gets booted out of the tournament for her disengenuous behaviour.

    Ah, but her mental health. Her mental health.


  • Registered Users Posts: 14,424 ✭✭✭✭MisterAnarchy


    walshb wrote: »
    Ah, but her mental health. Her mental health.

    A move out of the same playbook as Megan Markle.
    Cue the outrage on Twitter, oh she is only being fined because she is a woman or she is black, they wouldn't fine a white man like Federer or Nadal if he did likewise.


  • Registered Users, Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 7,255 Mod ✭✭✭✭yerwanthere123


    Osaka wasn't just fined, things escalated quite significantly today

    https://twitter.com/mattracquet/status/1399016723253239813

    Good to see they're taking a hard line with her, this nonsense needs stamping out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,025 ✭✭✭BQQ


    Zverev very slow out of the blocks, but looks like he's gonna survive now
    2 breaks up in the last


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 14,780 Mod ✭✭✭✭whiterebel


    BQQ wrote: »
    Zverev very slow out of the blocks, but looks like he's gonna survive now
    2 breaks up in the last

    Unplayable in the last set. Magnificent tennis.


  • Registered Users Posts: 320 ✭✭klr87


    Osaka wasn't just fined, things escalated quite significantly today

    https://twitter.com/mattracquet/status/1399016723253239813

    Good to see they're taking a hard line with her, this nonsense needs stamping out.
    The corporations who pay her eye-watering amounts of money to wear, use and endorse their products would be seriously put out if she got herself banned from a slam. Their contracts with her presumably cover such things, Behind the scenes, they will probably now "encourage" her to see the error of her ways. Or else, she really could be facing serious financial consequences.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 2,449 Mod ✭✭✭✭Rob2D


    klr87 wrote: »
    The corporations who pay her eye-watering amounts of money to wear, use and endorse their products would be seriously put out if she got herself banned from a slam. Their contracts with her presumably cover such things, Behind the scenes, they will probably now "encourage" her to see the error of her ways. Or else, she really could be facing serious financial consequences.

    This. The girl is clueless and all this acting up could well come back to haunt her. She doesn't seem to grasp that she's basically an employee in a travelling show at the end of the day. And she's biting the hand that feeds her. Another child who grew up in social media who thinks she can just tweet her issues away. How long before she turns on one of her sponsors? The Japanese especially will drop her in a heartbeat if she becomes too 'troublesome'. In Japan you do what you're told and tow the line. The more she acts like this, the harder a sell she becomes.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,741 ✭✭✭Girly Gal


    Rob2D wrote: »
    This. The girl is clueless and all this acting up could well come back to haunt her. She doesn't seem to grasp that she's basically an employee in a travelling show at the end of the day. And she's biting the hand that feeds her. Another child who grew up in social media who thinks she can just tweet her issues away. How long before she turns on one of her sponsors? The Japanese especially will drop her in a heartbeat if she becomes too 'troublesome'. In Japan you do what you're told and tow the line. The more she acts like this, the harder a sell she becomes.

    Normally I'd agree with you and it is how it should go, but, all bets are off now once the mental health card is played, and if not already raised, the race and sexism cards could well appear too. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 39,366 ✭✭✭✭Itssoeasy


    Girly Gal wrote: »
    Normally I'd agree with you and it is how it should go, but, all bets are off now once the mental health card is played, and if not already raised, the race and sexism cards could well appear too. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

    So the fine that was handed out is racist or sexist now ? If she doesn’t want to talk to the media, then she should just say she doesn’t want to. It’s horrible how mental health is used as a reason these days for every thing. It does a disservice to people who have actual real mental health problems.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,006 ✭✭✭Augme


    So Osaka has taken the decision herself to withdraw from the french open. Fair play to her.


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