2020 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Royale with Cheese · 22-09-2020 1:40pm

I watched some of Nadal - Schwartzman and it looked like there was not much point in having a first serve. Every first serve in was returned like they were already mid rally.

22-09-2020 2:25pm

More records for Djokovic in terms of Total Masters Titles and Total Big Titles

Fed looking short on the masters titles stat

yerwanthere123 · 22-09-2020 4:25pm

Djokovic won't be long overtaking for weeks at #1 either, should be early next year some time?

josip · 22-09-2020 4:26pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Djokovic won't be long overtaking for weeks at #1 either, should be early next year some time?

March, as long as he can retain AO

22-09-2020 4:27pm

Even with his wig-job bedded in now Nadal has really aged the worst.

whiterebel · 22-09-2020 5:14pm

Covid strikes the FO

https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/roland-garros/2020/five-players-out-of-french-open-qualifying-due-to-covid-19_sto7898191/story.shtml?fbclid=IwAR3SHBC0wmIAteh4khUflmIHoQZy3m_nduHflL8TN1wcsuwurKxfSxlAJWk

Girly Gal · 22-09-2020 5:21pm

glasso wrote: »

More records for Djokovic in terms of Total Masters Titles and Total Big Titles

Fed looking short on the masters titles stat

Djokovic and Federer look really arrogant in above photos compared to Nadal.

22-09-2020 5:23pm

Girly Gal wrote: »

Djokovic and Federer look really arrogant in above photos compared to Nadal.

Well they are all complete ballers!

I would say it's more that Nadal looks sheepish in his photo in contrast even if the other two are "portraying confidence".

yerwanthere123 · 29-10-2020 12:17am

In other news, Zverev's ex girlfriend announced today she's 20 weeks pregnant with his child and she has no intention of splitting custody. Another ex, meanwhile, has accused him of domestic violence. Quite the day for him.

He's just after winning consecutive titles in Cologne so some are speculating he didn't even know himself.

lostcat · 30-10-2020 10:04pm

Thiem (defending champion)and Djokovic both dumped out of Vienna in straights. it was a very strong starting field (for a 500), but most of the big guns are gone by the 1/4 finals.

lostcat · 07-11-2020 8:37pm

Nadal beaten by Zverev in the semis of the Paris indoors, as good a chance as Nadal will ever have of winning this masters I'd say...

Hardcourt tournaments are going to get increasingly harder to win for the older chaps..

This means (if there was any lingering doubt) that Djokovic will end 2020 at No 1, thus tying Sampras for 6 year end No 1's and edging past Nadal and Federer who are at 5 each.

Sampras finished number one 6 years in a row, hard to imaging such dominance again any time soon..

lostcat · 12-11-2020 7:26pm

The Groups for next weeks ATP tour finals in London (last year in London, btw) are out:

Group 1:
Djokovic, Zverev, Medvedev, Schwartzman

Group 2:
Nadal, Thiem, Tsitsipas, Rublev

All in good form so should be a decent end to the year.

Djokovic hasn't won this in a few years, Nadal has never won it, Tsitsipas is the defending champion.

yerwanthere123 · 12-11-2020 9:20pm

Would love Schwartzman to win it all, so expect him to go 0-3 in the group stage. Had totally forgot about Tsitsipas winning last year.

13-11-2020 3:32pm

lostcat wrote: »

This means (if there was any lingering doubt) that Djokovic will end 2020 at No 1, thus tying Sampras for 6 year end No 1's and edging past Nadal and Federer who are at 5 each.

Sampras finished number one 6 years in a row, hard to imaging such dominance again any time soon..

Djokovic on track to take the record for most weeks at number 1 from Federer

295 vs 310 currently

I'd say Djokovic will be more motivated this year at the finals

.E_C_K_S. · 13-11-2020 9:10pm

Hi gang,

Other than Amazon prime and europort (through Sky), is there any tennis subscription worth picking up for the next year or so? Looking at an Xmas present for a tennis fan but the majority of games may be covered by the two already listed, I'm not sure! Any information is appreciated.

Thanks!

14-11-2020 1:34am

.E_C_K_S. wrote: »

Hi gang,

Other than Amazon prime and europort (through Sky), is there any tennis subscription worth picking up for the next year or so? Looking at an Xmas present for a tennis fan but the majority of games may be covered by the two already listed, I'm not sure! Any information is appreciated.

Thanks!

yes those two cover it off pretty much for being based in Ireland

whiterebel · 14-11-2020 11:39am

tennis tv covers most ATP events. Also has a huge backlog of matches back to the 90s. Sign up in STG, much better value than €

lostcat · 16-11-2020 4:36pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Would love Schwartzman to win it all.....

A doughty competitor to be sure, but is he anything other than the new Ferrer?

I can see him hanging around in the top 10 for few years and having a solid career, but he doesn't have enough weapons compared to most of the other guys to win many tournaments...

yerwanthere123 · 16-11-2020 4:46pm

lostcat wrote: »

A doughty competitor to be sure, but is he anything other than the new Ferrer?

I can see him hanging around in the top 10 for few years and having a solid career, but he doesn't have enough weapons compared to most of the other guys to win many tournaments...

I'd never have put the two in the same sentence tbh. Surely he's got much bigger weapons than Ferrer had, no?

16-11-2020 6:07pm

Schwartzman would be doing well to finish up with Ferrer's career and cash at the end.

7th all-time in earnings

27 ATP Titles

Schwartzman has 3 titles currently at age 28

yerwanthere123 · 16-11-2020 6:16pm

Ferrer is a player I always admired a lot, if not enjoyed watching all that much. Could've won a couple of slams in a weaker era.

lostcat · 16-11-2020 7:44pm

Well in terms of weapons (serve, return, backhand...), I can't see anything that Schwartzman has which is better than anyone else in the top 20.

I see him as a solid baseline grinder with a good attitude, and he is far less flaky than many of the nex gen guys. However, those guys have more game when they are on it, which is why Schwartzman is going to find it difficult to win much in the way of titles.

Thats possibly why he reminds me of Ferrer, who was often able to get the better of more flashy, flakey players such as Gasquet Berdych, etc. but didnt have the tools to beat the big 4.

Ferrer had a great career, and i'm sure Schwartzman is going to have a very solid one too, but neither is going to get me out of my seat too often.

mzungu · 17-11-2020 4:33pm

Decent match here between Nadal and Thiem.

Thiem takes the first set on a tie-break. Nadal had a 5-2 lead in the breaker and had two set points.

How Nadal responds to this should be interesting.

lostcat · 17-11-2020 4:41pm

mzungu wrote: »

Decent match here between Nadal and Thiem.

Thiem takes the first set on a tie-break. Nadal had a 5-2 lead in the breaker and had two set points.

How Nadal responds to this should be interesting.

Decent match sure enough. I was impressed with Thiem in the TB, Nadal seemed to have swung it in his favour a few times but Thiem came up with a big play each time.

17-11-2020 5:09pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Ferrer is a player I always admired a lot, if not enjoyed watching all that much. Could've won a couple of slams in a weaker era.

Thing is that he never threatened to beat any of the Feds, Djokovics, Nadals or even Murrays and Wawrikas in a grand slam (had a pretty terrible record against them in general even outside slams) and didn't have a very exciting style - like a less powerful Nadal.

Although he was very effective against guys outside that calibre.

lostcat · 17-11-2020 5:42pm

Two very good tie breaks by Thiem to beat Nadal there, Nadal had his chances in both sets but Thiem was very steady when he needed to be.

Nadal will almost certainly have to beat Tsitisipas to go through to the semis at this stage.

17-11-2020 7:08pm

Thiem has beaten Nadal here at London and in Australia this year - both on hard courts - can it be said that he has his number on this surface?

lostcat · 17-11-2020 8:43pm

glasso wrote: »

Thiem has beaten Nadal here at London and in Australia this year - both on hard courts - can it be said that he has his number on this surface?

somewhat premature id say

This has never been a favorite tournament for Nadal, (nor has Australia for that matter). Having said that he has never came into the ATP finals in fresher shape and will be disappointed if he doesn't at least make it out of the group

Thiem was pretty good today, however and it will stand to him the next time he sees Nadal across the net....which could still be on Sunday!

17-11-2020 9:10pm

lostcat wrote: »

somewhat premature id say

This has never been a favorite tournament for Nadal, (nor has Australia for that matter). Having said that he has never came into the ATP finals in fresher shape and will be disappointed if he doesn't at least make it out of the group

Thiem was pretty good today, however and it will stand to him the next time he sees Nadal across the net....which could still be on Sunday!

exactly

both Oz Open and ATP finals both use the same surface (Greenset)

not a big surprise that Thiem has beaten his in both locations - certainly a factor - especially at the elite level

(US Open is different afaik)

lostcat · 18-11-2020 10:42pm

very solid win from Medvedev here, after a few very tight opening games he really pulled away from Djokovic who looked well rattled by the end.

Something seems a bit off with the Djokovic serve lately, he is losing a far few service games which wasn't the case up to the past few months. He would need to sort it during the off season as he isn't going to win many more slams if he runs out of easy service games.

Both Djokovic and Nadal now have to win their last matches to progress as far as I understand it, and neither is a gimme.

Medvedev and Thiem are through to the semis...

19-11-2020 10:19pm

Sinner wins first ATP Title

Youngest title winner since 2008

#real-deal

yerwanthere123 · 19-11-2020 10:26pm

Yeah, him and FAA are probably the most promising of the the next gen, or whatever gen we're on now. Should be first of many titles for him, think he'll finish the year around 37/38? Would've been higher in a full season.

Meanwhile, Sabine Lisicki is out of the game again with a torn ACL. Happened last week in a doubles match at Linz, think this was only her second tournament back after being off the tour for a year. She's been riddled with injuries for a few years now, and at the age of 31 it's difficult to see her making any kind of impactful return at this stage.

whiterebel · 19-11-2020 10:27pm

Nadal volleying very well. Great touch in his games so far.

lostcat · 19-11-2020 11:15pm

whiterebel wrote: »

Nadal volleying very well. Great touch in his games so far.

he's serving like Sampras too...or was..

Going to a third set, very enjoyable match so far

lostcat · 20-11-2020 4:53pm

Djokovic beats Zverev in straights, semis will be:

Naval v Medvedev

Djokovic v Thiem

walshb · 20-11-2020 7:21pm

lostcat wrote: »

Djokovic beats Zverev in straights, semis will be:

Naval v Medvedev

Djokovic v Thiem

Ok, can these youngsters finally stand up here and beat these two old men?!

20-11-2020 9:20pm

walshb wrote: »

Ok, can these youngsters finally stand up here and beat these two old men?!

Thiem 27 vs Djokovic 33

Medvedev 24 vs Nadal 34

Hardly youngsters vs old men, even in Tennis terms really.

Decent few ahead in age of even Nadal in top 100

https://www.tennis-x.com/ranking-stats/atp-oldest.php

yerwanthere123 · 21-11-2020 2:30pm

Rumours abound now that the Australian Open could be postponed to either a March or April start date. Victorian government has already confirmed that players won't be allowed fly to Australia in December, as most had already planned, to fulfil quarantine obligations. Looks like 2021 could be fun!

walshb · 21-11-2020 5:07pm

Thiem blowing match points here!

ballyargus · 21-11-2020 7:07pm

he did very well to find those six points in the tie breaker, the last cross court shot was vicious!

21-11-2020 7:52pm

Djokovic not on top form and probably would still fancy him against Thiem over 5 on hard courts in Australia but credit to him -Djokovic is still a bashtard to beat in knockout tennis on hard courts, even when the opponent has match point.

To come back from 4-0 in the final set tie-break when it looked like it was gone, backing himself with some aggressive tennis was more like champion stuff and Djokovic said as much about him afterwards.

lostcat · 22-11-2020 12:24am

Good day (good tournament) in terms of what's coming, Nadal and Djokovic both beaten twice despite playing fairly well.
Djokovic won't get a better chance to win another one of these and Nadal might not either ( although it's moving to Turin next year, so might be on indoor clay)

Really like this atp format too, good level throughout with no real blowout results

22-11-2020 10:03pm

Medvedev takes it.

ungainly sort of player but effective

Augme · 22-11-2020 10:05pm

Cutting off Thiem during his speech was such poor form.

Girly Gal · 22-11-2020 10:19pm

Augme wrote: »

Cutting off Thiem during his speech was such poor form.

Noticed that, Thiem looked a bit stunned by it

lostcat · 23-11-2020 11:47am

Next season is very nicely set up (assuming it goes ahead on a more or less standard timetable)

- 4 different winners of the 4 biggest competitions this year
- the next gen guys are maturing nicely
- a couple of solid bolters making an appearance from the next generation down (Sinner, Auger-Aliassime)
- apart from Nadal in the FO, I can't see a solid favourite for any of the Slams in 2021
- Draws in general will be deeper and more dangerous for the favourites = more interesting for the viewers
- Will be nice to see a fit Federer back for his farewell tour.

Overall, 2020 was an excellent year for Thiem, with his first Slam, and Medvedev, who looks like he is will be around the top for the forseeable.
Nadal had a good year all things considered, getting to 20.
Djokovic had another year of lost opportunities really, even with getting to 17 Slams and achieving the joint record for year end No 1s. He is running out of road to get to 20+.

I'm glad they got as much of the Tour back as possible post the summer, the availabilty of live sport is very helpful in the current situation.

27-11-2020 1:40am

Djokovic must feel obviously aggrieved I think this year

Was definitely going to go on to win the US open and most probably would have won Wimbledon also.

Girly Gal · 27-11-2020 4:16pm

glasso wrote: »

Djokovic must feel obviously aggrieved I think this year

Was definitely going to go on to win the US open and most probably would have won Wimbledon also.

Nothing definite in sport as Djokovic found out this year, probably the only exception being Nadal winning the FO year after year.

01-12-2020 1:57am

it's not the first time he hit a ball person but the last one was hawt, not some auld Karen-bag and she didn't go "full compo" mode

and do a 3-movement-Oscar-death-drop to the floor

Just brushed it off with a sexy smile and she had encountered a ball right on the head that was actually hit by Djokovic at full pelt

If the reaction was less dramatic at the US Open, rules or no rules, I wonder would he have been disqualified....
,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXvW7f8Q1U0

if you want to see a proper hit, when Shapovalov got the umpire in the face that was sore. He fairly whacked it.

But even he managed to stay relatively composed even though that was an obvious disqualification due to the pure violence of it

https://youtu.be/-JaFJ5A-RYM?t=28

Royale with Cheese · 28-12-2020 1:09pm

Federer won't make Australia even with the delay, looks like that's definitely it for him now. Maybe a farewell tour for the second half of the season is possible but highly unlikely he'll be competitive after so long out at his age.

2020 In Between Grand Slam Thread

Comments