duh yes - they're ahead lol, not behind!!!
I brain-farted on that bit on the hours difference :)
you're right on the times there then of course
but hopefully matches will be on closer to morning - surely the more important matches will be on later? e.g. play doubles first then singles - at least that would "seem" logical
would seriously be strange if they played the singles first
who knows how these decisions are made and who makes them - down to local organisers, tv markets, Olympic org etc etc and in consideration with what other big events are on those days - once the track and field kicks off most other stuff takes a back seat in terms of importance
some of the tennis players were calling for matches to be on when it's cooler
If they're 8 hours ahead wouldn't 4am our time be 12pm their time, like I've posted above? 😛
Tokyo is 8 hours ahead of Ireland in time currently (as opposed to 16 hours as per calcs above - 12pm to 4am)
So 4am Irish time is 8pm Tokyo time.
Schedule for medal matches is
So not sure if the doubles are played first and the singles could be on later ("from 4am") i.e. more or closer to morning time in Ireland
Mixed doubles draw
No idea how you'd decide who's the favourite for this, or which teams have even played together before. List might change a bit too, deadline is 3am Tuesday morning our time.
Looking ahead, it's extremely disappointing to see all the medal matches are on 12pm Tokyo time, or 4am our time. Like... why? Who does that suit? Still very early in the day for Japan, terrible for Europe, not great for America. And surely the players themselves would want to avoid the heat and humidity? Strange decision.
Good to see someone likes him anyway 😛
Curious to see him say he's spending as much time out of his hotel room as possible. Not intended as criticism or anything, but I'd have thought most would've been trying to reduce their contacts as much as possible. One positive test and you're out of the games, although maybe not as big a deal for a tennis player when the Olympics is a nice bonus/cherry on top as opposed to the pinnacle of the sport.
The man is the Usuain Bolt of tennis!
I guess that actual athletes who compete at a high level can have a real appreciation for the man and his skill, physical fortitude and particularly of course as alluded to in the article -> his mental prowess and how he's still at the top of the game at 34 and kicking ass, furthermore in with a good shot of an amazing achievement this year.
They are probably not fretting why the "next gen" haven't beaten him or why he might need to take a piss in-between sets and are more interested in his insights of how the hell he does it.
Interesting view on Djokovic holding court in the Olympic Village in the Guardian
Tennis may be a minority sport in the greater scheme of things but its interesting to see how other 'real' sports people see its main protagonists
Djokovic past Struff in straight sets, Davidovich next.
Still on course for Djokovic-Zverev and Medvedev-Tsitsipas semis if nobody slips up beforehand.
In other news, my son is taking part in his first 125k event today; very nervous in case there are TV cameras.
He's a ball boy :)
But after her match, Osaka was shepherded through the mixed zone where reporters are stationed as athletes come off the court. After two questions each from the wire services, from English-speaking media and from Japanese media, International Tennis Federation press officials rushed her away.
seems like EXACTLY that was the approach taken!
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/07/25/2021-olympics-naomi-osaka-returns-tennis-dominant-victory/8085474002/
Barty seems like an authentic decent soul in general. Wouldn't have minded seeing her derail the Osaka hype train.
Pity about the lack of consistency.
So is Osaka going to do questions in the mix zone with journalists?
Probably as much focus on that as the tennis given the situation she has managed to create.
I predict a couple of favoured "plant" questions from people who won't ask anything outside the desired narrative range.
Disaster from Barty, some wild misses in those last two games. Maybe a bit of a post Wimbledon hangover?
Murray's pulled out of singles to focus on the doubles. Makes sense I guess, decent chance of medaling whilst he wouldn't have a hope in the singles.
Murray and Salisbury beat the second seeds in the doubles (mahut and herbert)
That was not expected.
Maybe he could have a good chance of getting a medal there
Would be a decent story.
Jaysus,
582 athletes at the the Olympics representing Japan and they pick Osaka to light the flame - bit of a kick in the teeth to the actual Japanese ones I would say.
Renounced her US citizenship in late 2019 to represent Japan at the Olympics.
exactly - not even worth watching.
mere puff pieces.
Agreed. It was striking how they avoided anything controversial though, to the extent that they completely ignored everything that happened in the 2018 US Open final. If you didn't know a lot about tennis you'd have no idea why she was so glum looking holding the trophy aloft.
Here is what Osaka's sister said about the French Open press conference situation - later realised that she let the cat out of the bag and i.e. fooked up and deleted it!
-> Mental health is just blocking out anything that you don't want to hear apparently. Osaka herself claimed later to have had some element of depression in the past yet her own sister says clearly here that you don't need to "have depression or some sort of disorder" to invoke the mental health card.
“Naomi mentioned to me before the tournament that a family member had come up to her and remarked that she’s bad at clay. At every press conference she’s told [she] has a bad record on clay. When she lost in Rome [round one] she was not ok mentally. Her confidence was completely shattered and I think that everyone’s remarks and opinions have gotten to her head and she herself believed that she was bad on clay.
“This isn’t true and she knows that in order to do well and have a shot at winning Roland Garros she will have to believe that she can. That’s the first step any athlete needs to do, believe in themselves. So her solution was to block everything out. No talking to people who is going to put doubt in her mind. She’s protecting her mind hence why it’s called mental health. So many people are picky on this term thinking you need to have depression or have some sort of disorder to be able to use the term mental health.”
Most of those Netflix documentaries are essentially propaganda vehicles for the person involved.
You are rarely going to get anything insightful,gritty, warts and all .
Especially with an active sportsperson as they have to maintain the brand, Brand Osaka in this case, one that is manufactured and artificial.
Piers Morgan wasn't asking her questions in the press conferences at RG
pretty benign tennis journalists were
And Morgan didn't make any comment until she created this whole situation all by herself
she's tunnelled up her own arse as other posters have said and using/abusing serious issues for her own purposes makes it all the more grubby and self-serving
100% of her own making
What an idiot
Jail? I didn't know she'd committed a crime.
Sure, tennis people are critical of her because of the press thing. Some are sympathetic. But the likes of Morgan and others of his ilk don't care a fig about tennis, like how the f... could that level of hostility be justified by a bleedin press conference? It's blatantly obvious what is stoking that enmity.
Anyway...tennis. I think osaka struggles under the weight of pressure and this is sabalenka chance.
Djokovic is too short to back so I'm doing the double to win and conduct his winning speech entirely in Japanese.
Ah come on, that's total bollocks. She's getting criticism for using the increased focus on mental health for her own personal gain and trying to get out of the bits of her job she doesn't like in the process. That and being totally up her own hole.
speaking up for causes has precisely nothing to do with wanting it all her own way as she has clearly set out - muddying the waters as said.
thousands of athletes have shown support for BLM etc - it (or other ones like " 'cos mental health") is not to be used like some get-out-jail-free-card and in fact makes less of such causes if it is.
Right, but you say she's supported by the right on yes men on twitter at the exact time she's actually facing a pile on from right wing ghouls because, let's face it, she had the temerity to be young, black and successful and speak up for causes she believed in.
But anyway, the tennis.....
Maybe we should discuss some actual tennis now?! 😅
A lot the matches unfortunately run throughout the night our time, think Osaka is actually opening proceedings at 3am tonight. Although I read that she was switched to Sunday as she was needed for the opening ceremony? Open to correction on that. I think she'll either win it all or go out early.
Barty should be a big favourite too, will hopefully keep the momentum from Wimbledon and is a threat on all surfaces. I fancy Muguruza to make a bit of a run too, has been very solid this season but unlucky at the slams.
As for the men's, it's the usual can anyone stop Djokovic affair. He's more vulnerable over three sets of course but if he can get to the 5 set final then it should be his for the taking.
I can sympathise with her to an extent, but I've gone totally off her since Roland Garros. Any criticism she's gotten since or because of that is entirely her own fault. She can't have it all her own way.
I'm not sure she cares that much tbh, I think she's almost gotten to a Serena-like level now where's she surrounded by yes men and the 'YAAAS KWEEN' Twitter Mob.
I mean, as originally stated, i can't say 100%. It is something she talks about in that doc, you don't have to believe her. I have no problem accepting she got flack, i couldn't say the extent of it. I don't know.
I also say she's not beyond criticism at all. I said as much following RG, i had questions about how all that was handled.
The main thrust of my initial comment was about proportionality. She's getting criticism from several different angles, maybe not any one side of it severe but it all adds up. And getting piled on again this week, so I have huge sympathy for her. That's all it is.
Very simply you can't just have things all your own way and if decisions are made they are answerable to.
This whole situation is 100% of her own making.
No misreading of your post whatsoever but the main thrust of my response is i couldn't care less about it and whether Djokovic can speak 50 languages and deliver a press conference in Swahili. It's zero of an issue for me.
Whataboutery for you is the exact same principle for me. It's precisely the same thing. Maybe you find fault with every athlete who makes a similar decision for the benefit of their careers, i don't know, but it's easy for people in general to just find certain faults in people they don't like or are hostile towards.
Not that you or anyone can fully glean her motives anyway. You're just making assumptions along with everyone else.
Playing the victim is very "in" in 2021 and Osaka is seeking to milk it all for her own purposes
Whereas in reality she just wants things her own way on her very specific terms
She has a crowd of "wokesters" supporting her in the media at all costs, like the one who wrote that absolutely poor quality "article" especially since she stuck on a George Floyd face mask but that is merely muddying the waters
She is hardly unique at all in supporting that cause - thousands of athletes do and many are taking stands at the Olympics etc re taking the knee etc
"I'll take money for this interview or do this Netflix series or do this Vogue photoshoot but I'm all anxious if someone might ask me a question that I don't like then eh no, that's just not on in my world"
I think Osaka has occasionally answered questions in Japanese, but I imagine they're pretty basic, uncomplicated ones.
Speaking of Osaka, did anyone watch the Netflix documentary? Interesting enough to while away 90 minutes or so, but ultimately a waste of time. We learnt absolutely nothing about her, and it's merely a collection of clips and montages with Osaka mumbling a few lines here and there. Also, the Australian and US Opens are seemingly the only two grand slams in the world and Gauff is apparently Osaka's biggest rival.
What flack is Osaka getting though? Beyond a few snide comments on internet forums I see next to nothing. Sharapova got far, far worse than Osaka has ever gotten, and she had much more of a right to represent Russia than Osaka Japan imo.
You'd never see an article like this written about Osaka, for example.
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