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2019 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,843 ✭✭✭dominatinMC


    Nice debut title win for De Minaur, still only 19.

    He will give Nadal a real rattle in the 3rd round if they both make it there.


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


    He will give Nadal a real rattle in the 3rd round if they both make it there.

    Maybe he'll win a set? :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭Bubblegummers


    Australian Opens predictions for me:
    ATP: Djokovic. WTA:Sabalenka


  • Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭Bubblegummers


    Cmon Muzza- What a game so far. We go 5.


  • Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭Bubblegummers


    Andy can hardly stand here in this final set.


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


    Bubblegummers there's an Australian Open thread here


  • Registered Users Posts: 282 ✭✭Bubblegummers


    Bubblegummers there's an Australian Open thread here

    Sorry mate hahah


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




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



    I actually don't think that was funny...not that it was meant to be funny....

    And quite disrespectful to Lisicki...who was trying to not hurt a living thing.

    I am not some PETA fanatic by the way...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    walshb wrote: »
    I actually don't think that was funny...not that it was meant to be funny....

    And quite disrespectful to Lisicki...who was trying to not hurt a living thing.

    I am not some PETA fanatic by the way...
    She seemed to see the funny side of it.


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


    Johnmb wrote: »
    She seemed to see the funny side of it.

    I know. I don’t know, it just really painted that ballboy in a bad light...

    That’s the vibe I got from it...

    Had that been a small bird, say and he did that? Just saying...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    walshb wrote: »
    I know. I don’t know, it just really painted that ballboy in a bad light...

    That’s the vibe I got from it...

    Had that been a small bird, say and he did that? Just saying...
    He did exactly what any kid would do anywhere in the world. It wasn't a small bird, it was a bug. He wouldn't have done that to a small bird any more than any other kid who has squashed a bug would. It was a funny moment, with an adult trying to do move it without hurting it, and a kid completely innocently doing what he was told in the most ruthlessly efficient way possible :D


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


    Not exactly a kid...a teen more like

    And absolutely no, not all kinds/teens would behave like that..so your assumption there is well off..

    Anyway, not arguing about it. Just came across in a bad light...

    The situation, how it developed. I would have loved to have seen cooperation from the ballboy. Help. Both on the same team..

    Had I been the player trying to move the creature:bug without wanting to hurt it, and some kid/teen ran over and did that, I’d give him a telling off...

    It was kind of disrespectful to the player. That is actually more my point. In other words, the player was really trying to do one thing, and the ballboy came over and completely did the opposite of what the player was wanting. It just looked and felt "not nice."


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    walshb wrote: »
    Not exactly a kid...a teen more like

    And absolutely no, not all kinds/teens would behave like that..so your assumption there is well off..

    Anyway, not arguing about it. Just came across in a bad light...

    The situation, how it developed. I would have loved to have seen cooperation from the ballboy. Help. Both on the same team..

    Had I been the player trying to move the creature:bug without wanting to hurt it, and some kid/teen ran over and did that, I’d give him a telling off...

    It was kind of disrespectful to the player. That is actually more my point. In other words, the player was really trying to do one thing, and the ballboy came over and completely did the opposite of what the player was wanting. It just looked and felt "not nice."
    Looked more like she was afraid of it than she was trying not to hurt it. The fact that she was laughing after it was done would seem to show that she didn't feel disrespected at all by the fact that the kid did his job that way, and cleared the court for play to proceed, as instructed.


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


    Johnmb wrote: »
    Looked more like she was afraid of it than she was trying not to hurt it. The fact that she was laughing after it was done would seem to show that she didn't feel disrespected at all by the fact that the kid did his job that way, and cleared the court for play to proceed, as instructed.

    Grand...

    I just felt "that's not nice," when I saw it. That's the feel I got from it....

    Kid came across that way. Little sh1t!

    I wonder what exactly it was. Looked a big enough bug/insect....


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    walshb wrote: »
    Grand...

    I just felt "that's not nice," when I saw it. That's the feel I got from it....

    Kid came across that way. Little sh1t!

    I wonder what exactly it was. Looked a big enough bug/insect....
    I think we have it pretty lucky here in Ireland, with regards to the size of our insects. Closer you get to the tropics, the bigger those things seem to be! :eek:


  • Registered Users Posts: 507 ✭✭✭shutup


    walshb wrote: »
    I know. I don’t know, it just really painted that ballboy in a bad light...

    That’s the vibe I got from it...

    Had that been a small bird, say and he did that? Just saying...

    Ballboy. How disrespectful of you to refer to a female as a ball boy.


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


    Sam Barry has retired, meaning Ireland's only ranked player is now Sam Bothwell with a ranking of 613. There's not a single Irish woman ranked on the WTA.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,184 ✭✭✭TomSweeney


    Sam Barry has retired, meaning Ireland's only ranked player is now Sam Bothwell with a ranking of 613. There's not a single Irish woman ranked on the WTA.


    Sad reading.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,184 ✭✭✭TomSweeney




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


    Read that this morning. Difficult to feel sympathy for him really, especially when he continued fixing matches even after being caught. It's quite striking though that the guy who first corrupted him is still playing professional tennis, goes to show how the TIU just try to find scapegoats to make an example of rather than trying to fully stamp out the problem.

    Now if only they made an effort to rid the sport of doping :cool:


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,023 ✭✭✭✭Joe_ Public


    Problem I had with that story is it doesn’t make clear why the negotiations between player and TIU broke down. He says he wanted to cooperate fully and get something in return but didn’t happen and there’s no explanation why. Hard to know how much sympathy to have for him on that basis, if any.

    Problem for integrity unit is same one that dogged doping units for years, if your not landing big fish it’s just going to appear like you’re picking off low hanging fruit and the real guilty parties continue to get a free run. Need the feds involved too or criminals behind it never face any threat.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    Read that this morning. Difficult to feel sympathy for him really, especially when he continued fixing matches even after being caught. It's quite striking though that the guy who first corrupted him is still playing professional tennis, goes to show how the TIU just try to find scapegoats to make an example of rather than trying to fully stamp out the problem.

    Now if only they made an effort to rid the sport of doping :cool:
    The two things that pop into my mind on the gambling thing are:
    1. The bookies can either stop taking bets on tennis given how easy it is to fix the matches, or build it into their odds. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them when someone outplays them at their own game.
    2. The prize money for the lower tier professional tournaments needs to be improved as a priority more-so than the top tournaments. If the lower ranked players could earn enough to live through their prize money, there'd be less temptation to take pay-offs to rig matches in the first place.

    As for the doping, I think WADA and the ITF should only focus on PEDs. This business of going after players who take recreational drugs is BS. If a player wants to get high, let them. Their opponents will be delighted at the easy victories! If they are breaking the law by doing so, that is a police matter, not a sporting body's.


  • Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭SophieLockhart


    Johnmb wrote: »
    The two things that pop into my mind on the gambling thing are:
    1. The bookies can either stop taking bets on tennis given how easy it is to fix the matches, or build it into their odds. I don't have a lot of sympathy for them when someone outplays them at their own game.
    2. The prize money for the lower tier professional tournaments needs to be improved as a priority more-so than the top tournaments. If the lower ranked players could earn enough to live through their prize money, there'd be less temptation to take pay-offs to rig matches in the first place.

    As for the doping, I think WADA and the ITF should only focus on PEDs. This business of going after players who take recreational drugs is BS. If a player wants to get high, let them. Their opponents will be delighted at the easy victories! If they are breaking the law by doing so, that is a police matter, not a sporting body's.


    Why should lower ranked players be paid more if not enough ticket-buyers want to watch them? That kind of business model makes no economic sense whatever.


    And your implication that cokeheads should get an energy boost before a 5th set decider is, as you might say yourself, complete BS!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,150 ✭✭✭Johnmb


    Why should lower ranked players be paid more if not enough ticket-buyers want to watch them? That kind of business model makes no economic sense whatever.
    The professional tennis circuit is the business model, not individual tournaments, as far as the WTA, ATP, and ITF are concerned, and they sort out the prize money. The big money-making tournaments can't make money if good players can't progress to them due to lack of funds. It would be relatively easy for the tours to charge slightly higher registration fees to the top tournaments, and use that income to supplement the prize money at the lower levels.
    And your implication that cokeheads should get an energy boost before a 5th set decider is, as you might say yourself, complete BS!
    Re-read what I wrote, there is no such implication there. I never said anything about taking recreational drugs on court, the rules of tennis preclude doing anything illegal during a match, and taking them in private elsewhere won't give you anything during a match other than a major downer...


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


    Osaka splits with Sascha Bajin. Very strange decision after winning 2 majors


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


    Very surprising alright, obviously it was a personal decision rather than being a results based one. I did notice she was a bit blunt in some of her AO press conferences when asked about him but didn't think much more of it at the time.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,023 ✭✭✭✭Joe_ Public


    See Simon Carr in the qualifiers for Dubai this week. He’s currently trailing Mirza Basic (166 ranked) by a set but is a break up in the second. Good experience for him at least.

    Edit: gave him kiss of death. Didn’t win another game after i posted. Still no disgrace in losing 3-6 3-6 to a guy ranked inside top 100 last year.


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,023 ✭✭✭✭Joe_ Public


    Looking forward to Bencic taking on Kvitova in dubai today. Beaten Sabalenka, Halep and Svitolina to reach final which is a very impressive trio of scalps for Bencic, would love to see her finish the job and take a serious step forward as a proper top contender in a very open looking womens era.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 762 ✭✭✭Pistachios & cream


    Looking forward to Bencic taking on Kvitova in dubai today. Beaten Sabalenka, Halep and Svitolina to reach final which is a very impressive trio of scalps for Bencic, would love to see her finish the job and take a serious step forward as a proper top contender in a very open looking womens era.

    Yes, this is a final where I’m happy for either player to win. I’d be glad to see Bencic get back into the mix at the top of the game. She was very unlucky with injuries and worked her way back the hard way, through challengers etc.

    But I’d love for Kvitová to get the no. 1 ranking and winning here would put here very close considering Osaka is defending 1000 points at Indian wells


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