2019 In Between Grand Slam Thread

yerwanthere123 · 10-11-2019 1:12am

Big, big hype about 18 year old Italian Jannick Sinner who just won this ATP NextGen tournament thingy. Has already been given wildcards for Montpellier, Marseille and Rotterdam next year.

josip · 12-11-2019 5:50pm

Very stoic from Nadal in London

""The physical issue was not an excuse at all," he said. "The only excuse is I was not good enough tonight."

For anyone who's wondering:

Five scenarios that can push Djokovic past Nadal for the year-end No. 1 ranking:

1. Djokovic reaches final with two round-robin wins, and Nadal gets zero round-robin wins.
2. Djokovic reaches final with three round-robin wins, and Nadal gets a maximum of one round-robin win.
3. Djokovic wins title with one round-robin win, and Nadal gets a maximum of two round-robin wins.
4. Djokovic wins title with two round-robin wins, and Nadal doesn’t reach final or Nadal reaches final with only one round-robin win.
5. Djokovic wins title with three round-robin wins, and Nadal doesn’t reach final or Nadal reaches final with a maximum of two round-robin wins.

Royale with Cheese · 12-11-2019 6:01pm

Well Nadal has already lost, so Djokovic guaranteed No.1 if he wins every match now.

mzungu · 12-11-2019 11:19pm

Zverev played pretty damn well to be fair.

lostcat · 13-11-2019 12:02am

Wow hell of a match between Them and Djokovic, Thiem managing to hit just enough lines to come out on top. Too much power in the end.

jr86 · 13-11-2019 12:03am

What a week so far for Thiem, after some disappointing visits here in the past.

Maybe 2020 will be the year he will make a slam breakthrough. He now has a tremendous recent record Vs both Djokovic and Federer, and it was probably fatigue that mainly prevented him giving Nadal a serious rattle in the FO final this year

dominatinMC · 13-11-2019 11:50am

Delighted for Thiem, easily my favourite of the "Next-Gen", although at 26 he is probably in-between generations! Regardless, his game is a joy to watch when in full flow, so much power off both wings, and that one-handed BH is reminiscent of Stan in his prime. Would love to see him win a slam in 2020, the irony being that he probably has a better chance at the AO or USO than at the FO - such is the dominance of Nadal at that and Thiem's general improvement on hard.

Royale with Cheese · 13-11-2019 6:00pm

That is some choke from Medvedev.

Pighead · 13-11-2019 6:04pm

Nadal didn't even have to play that well to pull it back. Medvedev very annoying with all those sarcastic thumbs up and applause every time he lost a point.

Hector Savage · 13-11-2019 6:18pm

Wow what a total and utter joke this sport has become, Medvedev - another nothing talentless player - that must be the worst choke in the mens game in the last decade.

Nadal to easily win the tournment, and the 4 slams next year - literally 100% guaranteed of winning AO,FO,USO ... 85% Wimbledon...

Joke

Just wait till these 3 retire (~15 years time for Nadal anyway...) No one will watch the sport.

Pighead · 13-11-2019 6:33pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

Wow what a total and utter joke this sport has become, Medvedev - another nothing talentless player - that must be the worst choke in the mens game in the last decade.

Nadal to easily win the tournment, and the 4 slams next year - literally 100% guaranteed of winning AO,FO,USO ... 85% Wimbledon...

Joke

Just wait till these 3 retire (~15 years time for Nadal anyway...) No one will watch the sport.

You obviously don't watch the sport now! Ridiculous post. Medvedev is far from talentless. And you would get huge odds on Nadal winning all four slams next year.

yerwanthere123 · 13-11-2019 7:31pm

Two days, two retirements! Dominika Cibulkova yesterday and Tomas Berdych today.

Actually very surprised about Cibulkova. I'll miss her, she was always fun to watch and a permanent banana skin in almost any grand slam draw. In a way it shouldn't be a huge surprise, she is 30 and was never the same after winning Singapore. Hope she has a great retirement.

I'm sad to see Berdych go too. Another one of the many unfortunate enough to be stuck in the strongest ever era of tennis, would definitely have won 2-3 slams in a less strong one. My favourite memory of his will be silencing the ever-classless US Open crowd and dumping Federer out in the 2012 QF's :cool:

dominatinMC · 13-11-2019 7:39pm

Crazy match between Nadal and Medvedev! By any measure, Medvedev should have won that. Nadal was clearly operating sub-par, but the man has a will to win like no other. I'm not quite sure what happened to Medvedev, choking isn't something I would have associated with him previously (especially after the USO Final this year) but he definitely had some kind of meltdown. Still think there are slams in him, and soon

mzungu · 13-11-2019 11:24pm

Medvedev is still a young man. He believed he had Nadal beaten and took his foot off the gas. Not so much a choke, more naivety than anything else. He has had a great year but he will want to forget that match in a hurry.

Outstanding from Thiem against Djokovic. He played some great tennis, but they both did to be fair.

walshb · 13-11-2019 11:29pm

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Well Nadal has already lost, so Djokovic guaranteed No.1 if he wins every match now.

Nadal number 1 if he makes final..

Nole/Fed tomorrow...only one to progress..

Hector Savage · 14-11-2019 10:15am

mzungu wrote: »

Medvedev is still a young man. He believed he has Nadal beaten and took his foot off the gas. Not so much a choke, more naivety than anything else. He has had a great year but he will want to forget that match in a hurry.

Outstanding from Thiem against Djokovic. He played some great tennis, but they both did to be fair.

Lets see, the last 2 (maybe 3?) WTF have been won by "emerging new talents"
They then proceeded to do nothing at grand slam level.

This will continue.

None of these lads will ever win slams.

Hector Savage · 14-11-2019 4:29pm

Thiem is getting bet by Berretini - the fact that I’ve literally never heard of Berretini until this week and he is in the WTF says it all about the state of tennis

Pighead · 14-11-2019 4:51pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

Thiem is getting bet by Berretini - the fact that I’ve literally never heard of Berretini until this week and he is in the WTF says it all about the state of tennis

Thiem already guaranteed top spot so obviously wasn't too bothered about today's match.

dominatinMC · 14-11-2019 4:58pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

Thiem is getting bet by Berretini - the fact that I’ve literally never heard of Berretini until this week and he is in the WTF says it all about the state of tennis

No offence, but the fact that you haven't heard of Berretini probably says more about your interest/knowledge of the game than the state of tennis.

And yes, Thiem lost to Berretini but, as another poster alluded to, he had already secured top spot. He obviously treated the match as a tune-up/practice for the bigger event on Saturday. It would have been foolish to go all-out in a dead rubber.

Hector Savage · 14-11-2019 6:53pm

dominatinMC wrote: »

No offence, but the fact that you haven't heard of Berretini probably says more about your interest/knowledge of the game than the state of tennis.

And yes, Thiem lost to Berretini but, as another poster alluded to, he had already secured top spot. He obviously treated the match as a tune-up/practice for the bigger event on Saturday. It would have been foolish to go all-out in a dead rubber.

or more about my fading interest over the years, this time 10/15 years ago there is no way there would be a top 100 (never mind top 8) player I'd never heard off ....

And I play at a decent level, USTA 4.5/5.0 .... but lately I just enjoy playing, my enjoyment of watching has plummeted.
Even when Nadal f*cks off, these new guys ... boring

dominatinMC · 14-11-2019 7:06pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

or more about my fading interest over the years, this time 10/15 years ago there is no way there would be a top 100 (never mind top 8) player I'd never heard off ....

And I play at a decent level, USTA 4.5/5.0 .... but lately I just enjoy playing, my enjoyment of watching has plummeted.
Even when Nadal f*cks off, these new guys ... boring

Ah fair enough. I can see my interest waning once the Big3 retire, the new kids on the block don't really capture the imagination the way Fedal, in particular, do.

Hector Savage · 14-11-2019 9:04pm

HAving said that about Nadal, I can understand why people love him ... don't think there is many neutrals on him, its either love him or hate him ..

walshb · 14-11-2019 9:18pm

dominatinMC wrote: »

Ah fair enough. I can see my interest waning once the Big3 retire, the new kids on the block don't really capture the imagination the way Fedal, in particular, do.

So true. Not a single name that intrigues. Apart from the big three, who knows anyone else?

Anyone know if tv is showing this Fed match?

Pighead · 14-11-2019 9:25pm

walshb wrote: »

So true. Not a single name that intrigues. Apart from the big three, who knows anyone else?

Anyone know if tv is showing this Fed match?

Do you have any of the Bein sports channels? If so it's on Bein 9. Amazon Prime have it too but I guess not many people have that.

walshb · 14-11-2019 9:30pm

Pighead wrote: »

Do you have any of the Bein sports channels? If so it's on Bein 9. Amazon Prime have it too but I guess not many people have that.

Screw that...

I’ll “watch” it on Paddy Power..

Pighead · 14-11-2019 9:49pm

Wow. That was a masterclass from Fed. Complete dominance. Will be hard for Novak to turn this around but I know better to write him off completely. Roger playing so aggressively.

lostcat · 14-11-2019 9:56pm

Djokovic looking bit out of sorts and Federer looking much better than he has this week, not exactly gripping so far though...

EagererBeaver · 14-11-2019 10:50pm

Nice open tournament

dominatinMC · 14-11-2019 10:58pm

What a performance from Fed, full of agressive first-strike tennis! He was due that win over Djoker, after he snatched that Wimbledon win from Fed earlier this year.

lostcat · 14-11-2019 11:09pm

dominatinMC wrote: »

What a performance from Fed, full of agressive first-strike tennis! He was due that win over Djoker, after he snatched that Wimbledon win from Fed earlier this year.

Federer was very good, but Djokovic for whatever reason didn't look overly engaged, totally different attitude to when he played Thiem.

Still a wins a win and I can see Federer beating anyone else in the draw at this stage. His problem, as it has been for the past while, will be trying to put two more high level performances back to back to win the tournament.

mzungu · 15-11-2019 12:17am

Fed played well. He appeared well up for it. One hopes he keeps that form over the next few days.

jr86 · 15-11-2019 10:19am

If Fed can still beat Djokovic at 38, he ain’t going anywhere any time soon

He’ll probably still be a top 10 player when he turns 40

And he may not be the only one. Nadal, a player with notorious injury problems, is at the top of his own game approaching his mid 30s, guys with stocky builds like Wawrinka can still beat Djokovic in a major well into his 30s also.

Does tennis lend itself more to longevity? Given players don’t have to cover long distances in a single run at any time given the size of the court, the game is so drawn out meaning ample sitting down and recovery time in-game, the non-contact nature of the sport etc. In theory you can breeze through a service game in less than a minute without even a rally taking place, and then have another sit down.

Maybe it isn’t surprising at all that age isn’t the factor it is in a contact sport?

Hector Savage · 15-11-2019 10:24am

Fair play to Federer, he won't win this tournament but fair play, he won't be retiring anytime soon , and why not when he can compete this well.

I would put Fed and Djokovic in the same basket - one more slam maybe left in them ...

Nadal has minimum 3/4 French opens and 2 of the rest left.

Game over

Pighead · 15-11-2019 10:30am

Hector Savage wrote: »

Fair play to Federer, he won't win this tournament but fair play, he won't be retiring anytime soon , and why not when he can compete this well.

I would put Fed and Djokovic in the same basket - one more slam maybe left in them ...

Nadal has minimum 3/4 French opens and 2 of the rest left.

Game over

But I thought you said all the new guts coming through are rubbish? Surely if they are so bad either Fed or Djokovic can still win multiple slams over the next couple of years? Fed favourite to win this tournament now.

Joe_ Public · 15-11-2019 11:09am

jr86 wrote: »

If Fed can still beat Djokovic at 38, he ain’t going anywhere any time soon

He’ll probably still be a top 10 player when he turns 40

And he may not be the only one. Nadal, a player with notorious injury problems, is at the top of his own game approaching his mid 30s, guys with stocky builds like Wawrinka can still beat Djokovic in a major well into his 30s also.

Does tennis lend itself more to longevity? Given players don’t have to cover long distances in a single run at any time given the size of the court, the game is so drawn out meaning ample sitting down and recovery time in-game, the non-contact nature of the sport etc. In theory you can breeze through a service game in less than a minute without even a rally taking place, and then have another sit down.

Maybe it isn’t surprising at all that age isn’t the factor it is in a contact sport?

When you think of federer and then williams on the female side, kim clijsters announcing another comeback, then certainly its hard to deny there isnt more longevity now than before. Greater fitness levels maybe, awareness, medical procedures etc. Probably several factors involved.

On the other hand federer may just be a freak when it comes to his physical soundness or just very lucky. Or even both. Look at murray, nishikori, nadal, del potro, lots of others who have had serious injury problems. The strain on joints seems the main issue - hips, knees, ankles, elbows.

Season management seems key to me. The wta finals last week were basically decided by the players who were still physically standing by the end. Its a long and gruelling season and barty had managed hers very well. I think burn out is as big an issue as injury tbh.

Hector Savage · 15-11-2019 2:22pm

Pighead wrote: »

But I thought you said all the new guts coming through are rubbish? Surely if they are so bad either Fed or Djokovic can still win multiple slams over the next couple of years? Fed favourite to win this tournament now.

They are, Nadal will clean up here...

walshb · 15-11-2019 3:37pm

jr86 wrote: »

If Fed can still beat Djokovic at 38, he ain’t going anywhere any time soon

He’ll probably still be a top 10 player when he turns 40

And he may not be the only one. Nadal, a player with notorious injury problems, is at the top of his own game approaching his mid 30s, guys with stocky builds like Wawrinka can still beat Djokovic in a major well into his 30s also.

Does tennis lend itself more to longevity? Given players don’t have to cover long distances in a single run at any time given the size of the court, the game is so drawn out meaning ample sitting down and recovery time in-game, the non-contact nature of the sport etc. In theory you can breeze through a service game in less than a minute without even a rally taking place, and then have another sit down.

Maybe it isn’t surprising at all that age isn’t the factor it is in a contact sport?

You are spot on. Age is important, but not as much in tennis...

Sure, you slow down and aren't as fast to cover distances etc, but it's a real slow slow decline. A man in his early to mid 30s, is still a young and strong man....

Get to 40 and over, and the decline increases....and, of course, injuries happen a lot in the sport; so if you can stay injury free, you can still be very competitive into your 30s and late 30s.

Plenty rests in tennis, and lulls in the action. Cardio fitness is important, but these lads don't need to be like middle distance runners or boxers, or even soccer players...

That's why all this PEDs nonsense talk in tennis baffles me, as if what these lads are doing is beyond belief...It's nowhere near beyond belief..

They are simply young enough men playing tennis day in and day out

The whole "how can so and so play for 5 and 6 hours." Well, for starters, he is not playing for 5 or 6 hours, and not near that time....

jr86 · 15-11-2019 3:47pm

walshb wrote: »

You are spot on. Age is important, but not as much in tennis...

Sure, you slow down and aren't as fast to cover distances etc, but it's a real slow slow decline. A man in his early to mid 30s, is still a young and strong man....

Get to 40 and over, and the decline increases....and, of course, injuries happen a lot in the sport; so if you can stay injury free, you can still be very competitive into your 30s and late 30s.

Plenty rests in tennis, and lulls in the action. Cardio fitness is important, but these lads don't need to be like middle distance runners or boxers, or even soccer players...

Absolutely

Even soccer has plenty of contact in it. Physical contact is the toughest part of any sport - being able to take/give a hit, get back up and keep going twice as hard.

While tennis is a different type of fitness - being able to get timing right after hours of play, having to maintain consistency on serve and so on, and constantly needing to get into the right positions - the lack of a physical element definitely lends itself to players playing longer imo

Pighead · 15-11-2019 10:38pm

Hector Savage wrote: »

They are, Nadal will clean up here...

Shockingly your prediction was wrong. Nadal out.

mzungu · 15-11-2019 10:43pm

Great match between Nadal and Tsitsipas earlier. Despite his efforts, we will not be seeing him in the semis.

Zverev beats Medvedev, maybe not a shock considering Medvedev was already out.

Semi-final line up of Zverev vs Dominic Thiem and Tsitsipas vs Federer should be good.

whiterebel · 15-11-2019 11:12pm

3 single handed backhanders in the last 4. First time since 1998, apparently. So much for it dying out

AllForIt · 16-11-2019 5:09am

walshb wrote: »

You are spot on. Age is important, but not as much in tennis...

Sure, you slow down and aren't as fast to cover distances etc, but it's a real slow slow decline. A man in his early to mid 30s, is still a young and strong man....

Get to 40 and over, and the decline increases....and, of course, injuries happen a lot in the sport; so if you can stay injury free, you can still be very competitive into your 30s and late 30s.

Plenty rests in tennis, and lulls in the action. Cardio fitness is important, but these lads don't need to be like middle distance runners or boxers, or even soccer players...

That's why all this PEDs nonsense talk in tennis baffles me, as if what these lads are doing is beyond belief...It's nowhere near beyond belief..

They are simply young enough men playing tennis day in and day out

The whole "how can so and so play for 5 and 6 hours." Well, for starters, he is not playing for 5 or 6 hours, and not near that time....

You've obviously never played tennis because what you said there is completely inaccurate from start to finish.

walshb · 16-11-2019 10:30am

AllForIt wrote: »

You've obviously never played tennis because what you said there is completely inaccurate from start to finish.

You’ll need to break that down, so. Your one liner won’t cut it..

Point out exactly the inaccuracies of what I have said....

I stand by it all. Nothing at all inaccurate.

walshb · 16-11-2019 10:33am

Roger’s match is live on BBC 2 at 14:00.

walshb · 16-11-2019 4:27pm

Fed just lost set 1 6-3

walshb · 16-11-2019 5:18pm

Fed gone.Very flat today!

velo.2010 · 16-11-2019 9:50pm

I think the dam is about to burst with this new crop of young talented players - if it already hasn't!

We expected it with the likes of Raonic, Dimitrov and Tomic a few years ago, but the other five players here look the business. And not forgetting Shapovalov and a couple of others just outside the top ten who show promise.

jr86 · 16-11-2019 10:10pm

velo.2010 wrote: »

I think the dam is about to burst with this new crop of young talented players - if it already hasn't!

We expected it with the likes of Raonic, Dimitrov and Tomic a few years ago, but the other five players here look the business. And not forgetting Shapovalov and a couple of others just outside the top ten who show promise.

2020 has to be the year we get a new slam winner

Djokovic is far more inconsistent these days, I can't see Federer ever winning a non Wimbledon major again and probably never Wimbledon again either, and Nadal seems to always have an injury cloud hanging over him

mzungu · 16-11-2019 11:44pm

velo.2010 wrote: »

I think the dam is about to burst with this new crop of young talented players - if it already hasn't!

Aye, I do have a feeling that 2020 will see a new name on a GS trophy.

mzungu · 16-11-2019 11:49pm

jr86 wrote: »

2020 has to be the year we get a new slam winner

Djokovic is far more inconsistent these days, I can't see Federer ever winning a non Wimbledon major again and probably never Wimbledon again either, and Nadal seems to always have an injury cloud hanging over him

Djokovic will still be dangerous for another few years, but his form has gone up and down the past year. Unreal performances followed by mediocre (by his high standards). Nadal still has the FO if he keeps himself free of injury and you wouldn't bet against him bagging one or two of the others while he is at it. As for Fed, I hope I am wrong, but that championship point at Wimbledon may prove to be the nearest he will get.

2019 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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