2021 In Between Grand Slam Thread

05-11-2021 11:33pm

3 Top 4 Seeds and 4 Top 8 Seeds in the semis.

Love to see it.

06-11-2021 3:30pm

"That's how many fooks I give"

Medvedev pictured last night just after beating the French crowd (and Gaston)

A new celebration never seen before from him

Speculation that it's some sort of Russian "screw you" involving an elephant joke with the pockets being the ears and the trunk well ... you know.

Said that it was an "in-joke" when asked but refused to elaborate!

06-11-2021 4:33pm

Wow, a real nail-biter of a match between Djokovic and Hurkacz but Djokovic did it - amazing that he can still do it and by playing so few tournaments

Serious pressure in the tie-break and Hurkacz was a beast at the net and serving big and pushed Djokovic all the way but you just can't bet against Djokovic coming through these high-level encounters when it's a close match

1 match point, job done

He now breaks the record that he shared with Sampras - will now have 7 years as year-end world number 1

That's why that match was so big

Sampras had it all his own way with 6 years in a row whereas Djokovic had to face much greater competition to do this

Could be a harder record to beat than 20 slams even

(also has most wins as ATP No.1 now too - another Fed record gone)

06-11-2021 6:32pm

"Meddy" dispatches Zverev with aplomb

Will Djokovic be able to give him a match tomorrow?

Could go either way - Djokovic might just be relieved to get the year-end record and not be as up for it - hard to tell?

Mightn't be able to match "The Octopus" even if he is up for it.

He should have a lot more in the legs than in the US Open final in any case.

TomSweeney · 07-11-2021 3:28pm

And thats that .. well done Medvedev ..

Sad, playing just enough to get you by works via Fritz,Fucsovics, Hurcasz etc ... might have even worked v Zverev.

But not against this beast Medvedev.

There goes AO defense too ... that's assuming they even allow him enter the country ...

07-11-2021 3:35pm

Great match so far - break and break back, it's on serve

Medvedev is such a unique player - he has a completely unorthodox style

He looks so awkward, his shots look so awkward but a great player - has a very similar style to Djokovic in terms of will wait patiently in a rally

Huge reach from anywhere

Big serve

Medvedev favourite here for sure as I said before the match

Hopefully the quality continues in it to the end.

07-11-2021 4:00pm

Medved takes the set

Tough to see Djokovic winning now without something special and I'm sure he is the zone even to do it having got the 7 Year-End No.1 record - Medved is as good a consistent and effective defender as Djokovic and has a bigger serve and that reach

As the commentators said - Nadal hasn't won 1 set against Djokovic on a hard court in 19 sets, Medved has won 4 in a row against him

07-11-2021 4:24pm

Djokovic breaks.

Can he follow it up.

Some quality really. From both players.

It's a bit sad that a quite a few people don't understand the quality of Djokovic's play.

His pure technique, movement, reading of the game, shot selection and defence ability to make the opponent play that "one more ball" when 99% of others would have already lost the rally is astounding.

07-11-2021 4:48pm

WHAT A GAME to take that second set

Djokovic hit a couple of outs but the sheer quality and courage of those multiple volley winners from Djokovic in that game were as good as anything someone like Federer has ever done at the net.

Medvedev is able to Djokovic the Djokovic - still have Medved favourite here in the third but superb tennis.

Having the balls and ability to try to come up with a solution to him and take that second set though was amazing stuff.

No other player would have taken that set from Medved there.

07-11-2021 5:14pm

Medved is the Russian but Djokovic is the one who played the master-class chess there to get the break in the third to go 3-2 on his serve.

Using the slice to jinx Medved's rhythm after hitting the winners earlier in the game

Way to go still.

But Djokovic has broken him again.

Medved has cracked.

But it was Djokovic who broke him.

It's looking like a done deal.

One of Djokovic's great performances really.

Problem-solved on the fly like a boss maestro

Was really under the cosh from Medvedev and somehow did it

The sheer quality of it - what a match point even

Huge amount of winners in the match from both sides

WTA doesn't bear comparison - not even the same sport

Brilliant brilliant match

Most masters titles - another record.

The legend just gets bigger and bigger and the GOAT argument more and more redundant

Privileged to have these 2 guys at the top with a great rivalry producing top top-level tennis like that

07-11-2021 5:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118131498#Comment_118131498

Well fook me silly,

That has aged like a half-finished bottle of Buckfast left out in the sun for a week and a half with the top off.

Chapeau!

yerwanthere123 · 07-11-2021 5:43pm

My thoughts on Djokovic aside, I'd have preferred Medvedev to win anyway to keep the h2h tight and the rivalry interesting. Of course they could well have a rematch in Turin that Medvedev could win, but I don't want Djokovic to go too far ahead in the h2h before a likely rematch of next year's Australian Open final in January.

MisterAnarchy · 07-11-2021 6:09pm

Turned it on for a few minutes but turned it straight off.

The camera is way too low in Paris, the court looks square and tiny, it ruins the spectacle.

07-11-2021 6:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118132222#Comment_118132222

What?

Sacrilege.

Highest quality tennis match of the year.

yerwanthere123 · 07-11-2021 6:45pm

I know we're whipping ourselves into our usual frenzy when Djokovic wins, but highest quality match of the year? Come on 😂

07-11-2021 7:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118132430#Comment_118132430

it was.

highest quality tennis played in a match this year.

note the word quality.

the quality of the shot-making both baseline and net, serving, high amount of winners vs unforced errors, the overall variety of tennis, the tenacity of both attack and defence.

the tactics and shot selection on display, the change in tactics to turn the match.

it's not really even close.

two opponents at their best (except at the very end when Medved dropped a bit for for the second break and Djokovic let one back but doesn't impact the match judgement)

what are you actually going to suggest over it?

some push-fest where it was a close match or something?

it's quality being the key-word as said.

07-11-2021 8:21pm

Djokovic officially the most successful tennis player ever.

20 Grand-Slams (including double career grand slam)

37 Masters (including every masters title won at least twice)

7 YE No.1 and +345 weeks No.1

(And of course the winning Head-To-Head records)

TomSweeney · 07-11-2021 8:30pm

I love being wrong !! :)

07-11-2021 8:42pm

What Medved was saying about the crowd.

He's a great character to have in the game who importantly is also a great player also.

I mean he demolished Zverev who is playing the best tennis of his life yesterday and he was very high quality again today. He was Djokovic-ing Djokovic and thought that it was going to be his but...

They were a gross crowd when French players were playing

Glad that the doubles French pair were beaten today in the final - the crowd didn't deserve a win.

Have great support for your hometown player makes for an atmosphere but constant cheering netted serves for the non-hometown player and double-faults is just not on.

Slashermcguirk · 07-11-2021 11:44pm

Great match today, Djokovic is such a phenomenal player. Medvedev is so solid and has been playing lights out but the way Novak adjusted his strategy and attacked the net was amazing. he is such an intelligent player.

Medvedev will be the next world number one but I really hope Djokovic ends up moving ahead on total slams. In my opinion he is the greatest player in the open era, his stats are outrageous and the way he has developed his game to be so effective on every surface.

I still find it hard to imagine tennis without the big 3 but there is no doubt there are some really good players knocking on the door. Medvedev is the real deal and with tsitsipas, Zverev and others there too it’s interesting times. I wonder will thiem come back strong, I always considered him the next big threat until his injuries.

08-11-2021 12:48am

https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1457375046024925185

...

08-11-2021 1:59pm

Interesting article

Djokovic's detractors would be often knocking him for not volleying enough, mocking him as a baseline slugger

He focuses on winning - Medvedev is the player that could beat Djokovic at Djokovic's traditional game so Djokovic had to dramatically adapt - sign of a great who can do that and the actual quality of the volleying was very high-level.

Medvedev hits low and flat particularly on the forehand making volleying on a lot of shots very difficult as you have to volley from down low making it very difficult to get it over the net AND then low again to not leave an easy return shot for the opponent (like in the photo on the article) - the volleying in the Djokovic service game to level at 1 set all was top quality and he took on a couple of low very difficult ones facing break point which if failed could well have meant the match for Medvedev

Well a great rivalry set up for the next year or maybe two at least anyways - brings a lot to the game

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/brain-game-djokovic-medvedev-paris-2021

lostcat · 08-11-2021 2:13pm

Fitting for Djokovic to close the deal and win the title after completing his year end milestone the day before. I think the Medvedev / Djokovic rivalry will be in good shape during 2022, whatever about the H2H numbers Djokovic has to play at a very high level to beat Medvedev.

I can't get over the mechanics of Medvedevs technique, he looks like bambi on ice trying to squat a fly most of the time. He's putting the ball where he wants so its undoubtably effective, but the more tired he gets, surely it has to be more prone to breaking down than, say a Djokovic/Federer who has flawless form?

08-11-2021 2:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118136084#Comment_118136084

He's the Octopus!

Check the volley at 1:15

I like him for the fact that he's so authentic and not afraid to be himself and he's an intelligent guy - he's good friends with Djokovic actually and that's what Djokovic has given as the reason for liking him also. There are a few fakes out there in tennis just focusing on always trying to say the right thing but as a result end up saying nothing of any interest.

There's a lot of mutual respect there as well a rivalry that's great for tennis on the court.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrooMt1cLAk

08-11-2021 8:44pm

I'm not always in agreement with Annabelle croft but at least she can recognise the highest quality matches of tennis when they are in front of her.

https://imgur.com/zUghTxu

lostcat · 08-11-2021 11:12pm

well, glasso, you are generally in fact diametrically opposed to anything she says...but hey.

On a broader theme, Thiem back in training in earnest is good news for the tour. Talk of Federer playing Australia is also interesting but i'd be amazed, surely he will do everything to ensure he is fit for a couple of rounds in Wimbledon so will give Aus a miss, then again if a few of the top 10 won't be there he might actually fancy his chances?

Nadal saying he hopes to play Abu Dabi in December, he will probably take the trip down under also.

08-11-2021 11:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118138798#Comment_118138798

I did acknowledge that I'm not always in agreement - mainly when her and Whitaker get their beads of pearls out and start clutching them furiously lol, projecting some made-up emotions for excuses usually for a few consecutive first or second round exits as if they were inside some players head who they've most likely never spoken a word to in their life but hey highest quality tennis is highest quality tennis and that's on the screen in front of her and she sees it

josip · 08-11-2021 11:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118138147#Comment_118138147

Did Djokovic get a hybrid Serbian-Russian top just for the final or is that a mainstream Lacoste colour scheme?

09-11-2021 12:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118138954#Comment_118138954

no idea.

has the Lacoste logo but Djokovic probably gets the colours he wants if he wants them.

lostcat · 09-11-2021 12:08am

I assumed it was a play on the french flag to be honest

josip · 09-11-2021 12:18am

Sorry, should have checked first, mainstream Lacoste top.

https://www.lacoste.com/ie/lacoste/men/clothing/polo-shirts/short-sleeves/men%E2%80%99s-lacoste-sport-x-novak-djokovic-breathable-stretch-regular-fit-polo-shirt/DH6959-00.html?color=WQF

yerwanthere123 · 09-11-2021 12:50am

2019 Indian Wells points have finally dropped off the WTA rankings, which means Venus Williams has dropped to... 314.

I know she insists that she continues to play for love of the game, but surely this changes when she's nowhere near the cutoff points for pretty much every WTA tournament going? Granted she's not going to be short of wildcards going forward, but at 41 and ranked outside of the top 300 you'd really have to question when she's going to call it a day.

Slashermcguirk · 09-11-2021 10:39am

I was just looking at the WTA top 10 rankings, a truly woeful era for women's tennis. You look at the names in that top 10 and you look back at the names over the past 30 years like Graf, Navoratilova, Seles, Hingis, Williams x 2, Henin, Capriati, Clijsters etc.

The current top 10 is Barty, Sabalenka, Krejcikova, pliskova, muguruza, sakkari, jabeur, kontaveit, swiatek, badosa

You couldnt pay me to watch that top 10 or womens tennis these days. I used to love watching womens tennis in the 90s and 2000s

yerwanthere123 · 09-11-2021 12:21pm

Yeah, it's not exactly a golden era that's for sure. I've felt very disillusioned with the WTA the past couple of years, just difficult to get excited about a lot of the current crop.

It's going to lose whatever star power it currently has left when Serena retires. Pill popping aside, Sharapova was also a big loss for the WTA. Even if she was never really a factor post-ban she was still a huge name.

Of course Osaka could probably be a dominant #1 if she wanted it enough but seems quite happy to just turn up for the tournaments she's good at and to hell with the rest.

Barty, despite owning her #1 ranking this year, excites me about as much as a wet weekend in Leitrim. She's got a nice well rounded game with a couple of grand slams to her name... but just can't warm to her.

09-11-2021 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118139911#Comment_118139911

I'd said recently that since Henin retired in 2008 there has been no proper rivalry in the WTA

Standards slip when you don't have a rivalry at the top with at least 2 high-quality players for the others to aspire to in terms of a standard where winning a slam means taking it from a champion and where one top player can't just rack up wins with no proper opposition

It drags up the whole tour and shows the new tour entrants the level that they have to go to.

Sharapova had a terrible head-2-head type record with Serena - it was a massacre not a rivalry (20-2 for Williams)

Now it's a shambles of inconsistency and not really caring about maintaining a level where winning a slam on the WTA is something that can be done where the player mightn't even have to face one top-ten seed (even taking into account how little that word may mean on that tour) to win a slam like Raducanu did

the dust has settled on that nice little story of the two teenagers

Look at how hard Murray had to work to finally win a slam on the ATP after final losses - he had to raise his level to win against champions

there is no champion mentality on the WTA tour - they have to hope that at least one actual champion emerges to drag it out of mediocrity but seems like all they get are Grand Slam winners, not champions

but that's more in hope than anything else

Djokovic on the ATP tour knows that having Medvedev there keeps him motivated and having to raise his game again - what he did there on Sunday only adds to his legend

Having Medvedev around will keep the hunger alive in Djokovic longer until he eventually fades and also drives up the standard of the others like the future top players such as Alcaraz

09-11-2021 8:42pm

Raducanu beaten in the first round by a 4th year Chinese tour pro who has never beaten anyone inside the Top 50 before and who has never been past the first round in any slam....

Bizarrely Raducanu has also come under fire from, of all people, Eddie Jones the English rugby coach in the last few days.

yerwanthere123 · 09-11-2021 9:11pm

Would've liked Raducanu to get a bit of momentum going before the season ends but so be it. She's still so inexperienced at general WTA level and with her world being flipped on its head inside the last two months I'm not shocked she's losing in the first round of Linz. These results are pretty consistent with what she's been doing for most of the year... bar the big one in New York.

I trust she'll really knuckle down in the off season and work hard on starting 2022 well. I just hope above all else she's got a good team around her and is well insulated from the oddballs in the media, twitter and, well, on here, who'll gleefully tear her down after every loss.

whiterebel · 09-11-2021 9:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143239#Comment_118143239

I found it so strange that she got rid of the coach who got her to the US Open immediately after. Weird decision.

yerwanthere123 · 09-11-2021 9:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143325#Comment_118143325

Lost in the whole 'Raducanu dumps her coach' commentary was the fact that that whole arrangement was only supposed to be a stop gap which wasn't supposed to extend beyond the Summer. I believe her coach didn't want to continue with the arrangement because he has a very young child (or two, can't fully remember) and didn't want to commit to the travelling.

09-11-2021 10:26pm

Nothing against Raducanu and she seems a nice girl as I've said before.

Would be happy to see her do well but her game is a bit limited I think from what I've seen and bizarrely (or maybe not at all cos ... WTA) even though she has won a slam we don't really know if she's potentially that good as didn't have to beat much to do it.

More than a few others in the last few years who had "harder" paths to winning WTA slams have disappeared off the map. You honestly just can't read much into winning a slam there really for the last number of years even though it's supposed to be the pinnacle in terms of events because there is such poor consistency of level of play from players. That's the absolute stark reality of it.

Right now she's more in the Sofia Kenin et al side of the ledger than anywhere else. And I could have said Ostapenko.

Losing to these multiple nobodies who have been on the tour for a few years or more without any results is not really a sign of quality. That's self evident.

whiterebel · 09-11-2021 10:30pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143410#Comment_118143410

Makes sense, hadn't heard that.

yerwanthere123 · 09-11-2021 11:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143586#Comment_118143586

Confirmed tonight she's working with Torben Beltz going forward, who's just parted ways with Kerber for the second time (!). With a proper pre season behind her and more actual WTA-level experience, it'll be interesting to see where she'll go.

10-11-2021 4:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118107776#Comment_118107776

...

https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRCV00AFM0

10-11-2021 6:17pm

Alcaraz channelling his inner Djokovic

Seems to have quickly moved on from that "nationalistic" frog crowd last week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8KL7fRQvfI

yerwanthere123 · 10-11-2021 8:46pm

Good win for Murray in Stockholm, beats Sinner 7-6 6-3. That must be his highest ranked win in a while.

Or maybe not that long ago after all, he beat Hurkacz in Vienna.

10-11-2021 9:39pm

Murray really should have a good chance now of breaking his big 2021 two-match streak - well he will have to match it first!

He got a great draw facing Sinner if you were in the know as I will now explain!

Sinner was only at Stockholm in the hope that he would still be in the running for the ATP Finals which was his big aim and that a result of getting points there could count to give him a chance but that "race" is run so....

He is also going to Turin as first alternate and with Tsitsipas having an injury doubt hanging over him after pulling out last week so I'm only about 4% surprised that Sinner "goes" out early in Stockholm to head over to Turin to chill and for light practice with the other big guns in the hope that he gets in as a player for the ATP finals in his home country which start on Sunday

Hell where he's from is not from all far from Turin - it would almost be a home-city thing - huge.

In other news, Xinyu couldn't Wang-le even a set out of veteran wta plodder Riske in the follow-up to beating ER and is out on her ear in the singles in Linz

yerwanthere123 · 10-11-2021 11:05pm

Right. Scratch off Murray's result then so 🙄

Had a brief look at the WTA finals match earlier, sad to see it being played on such a small court with about 100 people in attendance, kind of like a throwback to the Doha days. Although obviously not too surprising given the field, and the fact that it was 2pm on a Wednesday afternoon.

Kontaveit is the form player so I'm guessing it's between her and Sabalenka for the title. Would've given Krejcikova a chance also but I read she's carrying some injury or other.

10-11-2021 11:37pm

Well of course Murray will take it and he has a good chance now for himself to get a few badly-needed ATP points (only a 250 event) to boost up his own prospects for next year.

And actually as he had already played a match yesterday against a qualifier he only has to win his next match now to have his best run all year in a tournament by hitting 3 wins

He has to show some consistency in stringing matches together if he's going to consider himself a proper contender

His next match is vs ATP 52 Tommy Paul so he really should be beating him most of the time...

As it was only 2 sets against Sinner the usual crash-and-burn after a tough match should not apply for the next round.

I wonder will Tsistsipas make it back for the finals?

Maybe Sinner had some inside info on that - who knows?

Sinner didn't look too crestfallen at the end of the match vs Murray :)

11-11-2021 4:53pm

Well there is a penalty for Sinner losing to Murray after all.

Because of the Current Year Points ("Race to Turin") only counting for the Year-End Number 1 spot (should really count for all now) as the Covid Points Scheme is still in operation for other placings, even though Sinner is a good bit ahead of FAA in current year, FAA will now go into the Top 10 at the expense of Sinner because he (FAA) won his match yesterday in Stockholm, due to this counting of old results (more than 52 weeks old) on the weighed basis formula thingy that you have to read up on if you want.

Sinner would now have to hope that Tsitsipas is out of the ATP Finals, that he gets in as the first alternate and also win at least 1 group match.

FAA of course, sort of famously at this stage, has not won an ATP Title yet.

8 finals, 8 "Runner-ups"

Sinner has 5 titles (including 4 this year)

yerwanthere123 · 11-11-2021 5:09pm

Can't wait for the rankings to go back to normal.

Stat from Twitter; Alcaraz becomes the youngest player to earn 30 wins in a season since Nadal back in 2004. Really hope Alcaraz is the real real, we've had too many false dawns over the years.

I see Pliskova beat Muguruza last night, improving her winning h2h to 9-2. I suppose it must purely be mental at this stage, cause I really don't know what it is exactly about Pliskova's game that would particularly trouble Muguruza.

2021 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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