The Gays and Tennis Part 40 - Double Cover Boy Edition

I never found Nadal atractive but he looks amazing in that pic

On Madrid,

out: Berdych

in: Davidovich

Will Genie ever return? Her instagram has become increasingly desperate - nothing but pouty faces and bikini shots.

OP, I do care about the women just as much as men

That said, it's important you included Djokovic in the cover. Given his support of Gimelblob, he really needs to answer some questions next week. I hope the press isn't too chicken shit to ask.

Djokovic must be panicking now! We know he cares DEEPLY about his image. All the boobs out in the world won't make up for this scandal right now.

I'm impressed with Murray and Wawrinka during this time.

Have Federer and Nadal said anything?

Madrid qualie draws out

Women's main out-it's LOADED except unfortunately the Williams sisters aren't there. There are so many tough sections but somehow Svitolina ended up in the easiest one

So happy that new DL fave Garin took out .A. Zverev. Have to check that later

Impressed with Davidovich Fokina. He's really given Monfils a match

Alejandro won the second set, i'm very happy he is finally getting good results, he seems funny/crazy

[quote] Given his support of Gimelblob, he really needs to answer some questions next week. I hope the press isn't too chicken shit to ask.

Completely agree.

And Alejandro Davidovich defeated Gael Monfil 67 75 64.

I think he is now top 130. Very good week for Alejandro (i think he was the player with the lower ranking on the whole draw)

impressive from ADF

Monfils is a great sportsman. Not only is he super entertaining but he's very friendly to his opponents when he loses (unless they did something to be a total asshole). He gave ADF A hug at the net

[quote] All the boobs out in the world won't make up for this scandal right now.

Haha.

Boobs out on the town...

Sorry, stinky link at R11

The link worked for me.

Who’s the guy on the left at R11?

Gerard Piqué R13

R11, so basically that’s the triumvirate right there that put paid to the Davis Cup format we all love. God, what a trio of sad turds and cunts that is.

Thanks, R14.

FAA retweeted Stan. He seems to be the most intelligent of the NextGen.

wow rafa looks hot in OP's pic.

link worked for me too. Gerald is married to shakira. He plays for Barca FC

Davidovich

[quote] Davidovich

What about him?

Unlike Shapo he doesn't seem too fascinated by his russian heritage

Hot Pablo is back

Felix and Stan in Madrid...

he can him

he can have him

Nice intro OP!

R25 I thought DV is Dani Vallverdu 😂

Is Dani still coaching Dimitrov?

No, I was talking about that slutty Donna Vekic who probably has moved to another guy

That OP pic of Rafa is so photoshopped.

wow I didn't realize both Zverev and Garin saved match points. Garin could have wrapped this up in straight sets but Zverev broke back and took the second set. Then he should have won the third but Garin came back. Impressive from Garin. He keeps playing this way and he'll be a threat to make the QF at RG

check these highlights for those who didn't see

Titsy v the Elf today at Estoril. Then stacked Pablo v. ADF.

Cutie pies Garin and Berrettini in action in Munich.

First round Madrid: FAA - Shapo. I think on clay Felix is better

And the winner will play against Nadal in second round

Flopos restores Fed to the Big Three.

Garin makes the final

Garin is beautiful with a big package! Didn’t know Chileans were that big, thought he Colombians and Brazilians had the big ones

Titsy and the Elf split sets, going 3

Titsy tops the Elf, into final!

Maria Sakkari wins her first WTA title in Rabat. She came from a set and 4-2 down to win ten of the last eleven games against Johanna Kunta (final score: 2-6, 6-4, 6-1).

Tsitsipas just beat the elf (6-4 in the third) so we could have both Greek players winning titles at the end of this week.

Too bad. I was Elf team not Titsy team.

it's about time Sakkkari won a title.

In Prague, Jil Teichmann also wins her first title.

Madrid results:

Sasnovich upsets Kontaveit

Kuznetsova upsets Sabalenka

Barty crushes Gavrilova

Azarenka def. Kasatkina

Ostapenko crushes Pavlyuchenkova

Sevastova def. Flipkens

I figured with A. Zverev's form, Federer would likely jump to the Top 3. If Nadal keeps losing before the finals in the clay tournaments leading up to the French, he could be vulnerable. If someone is playing well against him that day at the French, with Nadal's aura of invincibility recently diminished, that person could believe they can win. Belief makes such a huge difference. I'd love to see that. Anything but another Nadal French Open victory.

Yes, but one thing is defeat him at the best of three sets and other different defeat him on Roland Garros at the best of five.

I would love a new champion on Roland Garros, i don't want Rafa, i don't want Nole and i don't want Roger

I want a newbie or Rafa to win. Fuck Novak and Roger, smug arrogant sods.

Rafa's got plenty of arrogance, given his threats to Carlos Ramos and Carlos Bernardes that he'd make sure that they never work another one of his matches again.

No matter how improbable, it'd be great instead to see a dark horse take the championship on a dream run: FAA, Garin, Berrettini, Monfils, Nishikori, Tsitsipas, Djere...

I think it's too soon for Felix (but i can see him going far in the US Open).

The best bet outside of the big 3 is clearly Thiem, he always reach the final stages in Roland Garros and i think this year he is ready to win. I can see Tsitsipas going far on the draw too

Wawrinka Djokovic

Wawrinka Djokovic

Berrettini is demolishing RBA

Gonna be Garin - Berrettini final, gurls!

Yum.

I don't understand why they played the semis on the same day of the final. It was raining or something? because i didn't watch the match being cancelled yesterday, just scheduled for today

I'm glad to see Gasquet back. He's the hottest French player along with Pouille.

^ Tu es aveugle!

Cuevas is so sexy

Titsy!

Titsy on the dirt!

It's so stupid that they all feel it necessary to fall on their back after every tournament win. It's cliched.

It's pretty crazy Sakkari already had to play her R1 match in Madrid after winning the title in Rabat yesterday. She lost to DL (and local) fave CSN

Garin didn’t fall on his back when he won Munich. I’d gladly see him on his back with his ankles at his ears.

I LOVE the rapid rise of Garin now! His first 2 titles in less than 2 months and got a top 3 win this week. The boys are lucky he's not in the Madrid draw but I hope he's entered into Rome. He should get a WC at this point if he didn't make the main draw entry list deadline of a few weeks ago. I think the cutoff 6 weeks out?

He's gonna be fucking the draw up at RG and I can't wait

Madrid:

Osaka straight sets. Cibulkova

Schmiedlova upsets Mertens who seems to be in a slump right now

Bencic straight sets Van Uytvanck

Pliskova barely survives Yastremska.

Halep whips Gasparyan

Too bad Sakkari didn't have more time to rest. Not fair really

Kuzmova upsets Goerges

Parmentier upsets Svitolina lmfao no one in the top 50 should lose to Pauline

Stephens def. Hercog

Vekic def. Q. Wang

Martic upsets Muguruza

Kerber def. Tsurenko

Mladenovic whips Strycova

Cirstea upsets Keys omfg what a joke at this point. Cirstea was good for maybe 2 years 10 years ago. Keys is now back to sucking after her Charleston win

Madrid men:

Struff upsets Kyrgios

Woz retires down 0-3.

Rafa has an upset tummy according to reports.

The first games of the Shapo-FAA were terribly bad, but you can clearly see why Felix is going to be a top player and Shapo could end wating his talent.

Even both are playing pretty bad with tons of unforced errors, Felix has a game plan while Shapo seems to play only for the hot shots

Shapovalov does not have a game suited for clay at this stage in his career. He's better on hard courts for sure

Sloppy sloppy sloppy 🎾

He's defending semi-final points from last year, so he's probably feeling the pressure. And why did he fire his coach after reaching the semis in Miami?

Flopos. Slopos.

You simply can't play that way on clay and expect to win, it's not that Felix is doing that much (in fact he is not playing well either).

I can understand that in other surfaces that kind of game is more suitable, but even with that you can't defeat a top player who is doing well playing that way either unless you have a very inspired day

The match is a big dissapointing till now there are junior matches with a lot more quality that this

[quote]He should get a WC at this point if he didn't make the main draw entry list deadline of a few weeks ago. I think the cutoff 6 weeks out?

I read Garin's taking some rest and will play Geneva before RG

Is really is bs that both Konta and Sarkkari both had to play today after playing a final yesterday.

Awful match, i don't know if Felix deserved to win, but Shapo deserved to lose for sure

the Madrid tournament caters to the Spanish players obviously but also the Romanian players (notice the random WCs) because of owner Ion Tiriac. They don't even try to hide it

remember this is Feliciano Lopez' first time as tournament director. Let's see how he does

Konta had the late match so even though it's unfair to her at least she got a short break to rest. Sakkari basically stepped off the plane, had a quick meal and warm up, and played her match against Carla Suarez Navarro. I wouldn't be surprised if the Madrid organisers purposely did it this way to aid CSN (who was on quite a losing streak before the match and is defending huge points here).

Ugly match between Shapovalov and FAA.

Young Grigor does the splits!

Very good decision by Christians

No Rome for Garín will rest for 2 weeks then play Geneva before RG. Says he feels tired and needs to recover after 3 weeks playing in a row. Going back to Chile.

He is not taxing his body like Sasha and Domi. He knows he is a human, not a machine who can play week in week out. No point in playing Rome ane getting evicted in 1 round in Rome and Paris

And BTW what is wrong with Garbage Murguruza? She lost again.

Stefanos. "Can you find a house for me here in Portugal? With two living rooms and three bathrooms. Next to Cristiano Ronaldo!".

More Tomorrow in Madrid:

Kuznetsova vs Bencic

Stephens vs Azarenka

kvitova vs Mladenovic

Ostapenko vs Berten

Sascha Bajin just said Mladenovic can win the French Open, so I am hoping Kvitova gives her an extra brutal beatdown today.

It feels like Sloane and Azarenka are always playing each other! And the matches are always so messy.

Garbage Muguruza is defending SF points at RG. She usually plays better there but with her current form she could be set for a huge tumble down the rankings.

Bertens–Ostapenko 6-4 6-3. I watched a few scraps of the match, and I think that not only is Ostapenko a nutcase, but she’s also surrounded by idiots. Is there nobody who can teach her to use some alternative tactic when just hitting the shit out of the ball isn’t working? The tennis in this match was almost as unwatchable as the tennis in Carreno Busta v Opelka.

Why did our Miss OP get F&Fd? Must be some malfeasance elsewhere ☹️

Looks like it is work of Nadal and Nole s fan

I’m the OP, but then I have my settings at asbestos eyeballs.

R81: Generally Garbiñe feels inspired at GS, but last year proved that you can't play awful tennis and suddenly improve jsut for the GS. Halep crushed her at semifinals. Garbiñe needs to realize that she need to be more inteligent on court and gain regularity, if not she is bound to end roaming around top 20 and nothing more than that

R76: The match was hideous. Nobody would believe those two are two of the most talented youngster if they didn't watched both before. At least Felix doesn't give the rival extra points just for the sake of making a hot shot

Del Potro/Nishikori are playing double together this week

other results:

Stephens def. Azarenka in 3

Kvitova def. Mladenovic

Fritz upsets Dimitrov 2 tiebreaks

Cilic saves match point to defeat Klizan and wins in 3rd set tiebreak 7-0

Khachanov stops losing streak, defeats Munar in 3 sets

Tiafoe def. Basilashvili in 3

Someone is trying very hard to save Nadal; from DL OP jinx. He is his minions have FFed this thread enough time so that OP Pic will be nvisible. It is hilarious how much they believe in DL jinx

In fact Cilic saved 4 match points

DL fave Collins in winning the second set 4-1 (after losing the first 6-1)

I think someone is purposely FFing the threads with 'part 2, part 3, part 4' etc in the title. Even The View thread is in the red.

Barty eventually defeats Collins 61, 16, 61. Three breadsticks!

The match between Kvitova and Mladonna was a huge mess. 25 languages was so bad that Sascha Bajin could be heard exasperatedly saying 'oh my god' into his mic as he left the court after the coaching session. Defending champ was looking in awful form. With Halep's draw opening up (injured Svitolina defeated in the first round so clear path to semis), I am guessing the final will between her and Bertens, unless Petra can raise her level dramatically.

[quote] Barty eventually defeats Collins 61, 16, 61. Three breadsticks!

Are we sick of Collins winning yet?

Monfils defeated Seppi very easily

"Mladonna" haha good one

Can someone refresh me as to what "WW" and "FF" stand for on each post? How do you "like" someone's post?

R95, “WW” stands for “Wit and Wisdom” and is the equivalent of “like”. “FF” means “Flames and Freaks” and is the equivalent of “downvote”.

I was at the last three rounds of the Puerto Vallarta Challenger over the weekend. Some nice eye candy and fun matches.

If you get a chance to watch Sebastian Ofner (who won singles over John-Patrick Smith) in hot/humid weather, make sure to set your dvr. He sweat through his white shorts within the first few games, and they clung to his black, red and for the final, white briefs underneath and it did not leave much to the imagination.

Mirza Bašić showed some great bulge/bounce and Matt Reid (who won doubles with John-Patrick Smith) also treated the crowd to the white under white combo for the final. Some great ass and bulge shots.

^ a true tennis fan!

[quote] If you get a chance to watch Sebastian Ofner (who won singles over John-Patrick Smith) in hot/humid weather, make sure to set your dvr. He sweat through his white shorts within the first few games, and they clung to his black, red and for the final, white briefs underneath and it did not leave much to the imagination.

Is that a requirement for Austrian players?

Yes.

Garbine needs to fire her abusive coach.

Who is her coach, R101?

Serena at the Met now

R102 Sam Sumyk. There were reports that every time she double-faults at a tourney he calls her a whore in another language on top of all this BS

Thanks, R106.

What’s the Gala theme this year, omelettes?

Serena wants to be Beyonce.

The Elf 🧝‍♀️ has lost his magic!

Kuznetsova said that Garbiñe was very friendly when she started on the circuit but after being coached by Sumyk she is totally isolated from the rest.

But i don't buy that he is abusive, she screamed and belittle him too many times to be true

Cornet said she was a bitch.....

Ferru is not dead yet!

Drama queen Kerber withdraws from Madrid. Petra Martic advances without having to play her.

Funniest part is that they're actually putting a Kyrgios/Tomic doubles match on CC to replace her... lol.

Well well well, Ferru beats RBA in three sets to set up another match against Flopos Zverev. He took a medical time out so hopefully nothing major, would like to see him accomplish it again.

R112: Cornet is not an angel herself. Wta is full of bitchiness (and atp is not a playground either)

Most interesting results so far today:

Pella def. Medvedev that was going to be a tough one as they're both playing well

25 year old, #109 Hugo Dellien upsets Simon in a 3rd set tiebreak

Hurkacz def. De Minaur in 2. De Minaur is not good on clay at this moment in his career

Kozlova upsets Pliskova in 3

De Miñaur played on clay his whole life (he played for Spain till he was 14 when the spanish federation had the brilliant idea of not supporting him when their parents had financial troubles), his bad play has more to be with him being injured for a while and not in good form than with him not being good on clay

De Minaur's style of play is completely conducive to injury though. When he's peaking he's fun to watch, but the fact that he has to run a marathon in every match, diving and sliding for out-of-reach balls on hard courts in rallies that go for 100 hits... add to that his shonky technique behind the serve, and he's one of those players who you feel will always be out injured.

Other results:

Garcia def. Cirstea 6-1 in the third (plays Kvitova next).

Sai Sai Zheng def. Alize Cornet in three (plays Sloane next).

Pouille def. Porna in straights (plays in-form Hurkacz next).

Nice guy Johnny Millman def. Moustache Johnson in two tiebreak sets (still waiting on next opponent).

Gasquet - why the L O N G face? Hhahahaha.

Grigor dumps Dani V.

Coric is awful this year except for 1 or 2 tournaments yikes

Grigor needed to dump Dani V last year

Who will Dani whore to now? He doesn't stay single for very long.

Dani V looks rough. And I don't think you can call Grigor young anymore especially after he need to get hair transplants.

Nice win for Roger.

Opelka retired. Nothing against the guy but i hate his game

It is indeed unwatchable, r126.

[quote]Grigor dumps Dani V.

I wonder if he's still working with Agassi?

Grigor simply doesn't have it.

Yes he is talented but he is not made for being a top player

Dani is running for a seat on the ATP. Gurl's gotta getta paycheck!

I wonder if Matteo Berrettini would be available?

I saw on Opelka's way out that he had been drinking a can of red bull on his bench during changeovers, and cringed. I swear if this middle-school meathead with an IQ of 50 didn't have his height for the serve, he'd be nowhere.

Opelka is a poor man's Isner...and that ain't saying much.

I think he'll be better than Isner, who was horrible until his mid-20s.

Many French players drink Coca-Cola during changeovers., R132

Du vin, pour moi.

yeah Opelka already has a winning h2h against Isner now. Not a fan but he will likely be a better player

Stan v Pella is really interesting. Also will be interesting to see how much resistance Felix gives Rafa.

I think Suzanne Lenglen used to drink brandy when she played.

Tsitsipas' Reddit AMA didn't go very well.

R139 why not?

Every other question was about the incident with Medvedev and/or his hair. It had to be so heavily moderated before he could see it he ended up answering only a handful of questions. The moderator has suggested TennisTV won't do another AMA, it was such a disaster.

My god, r142, she looks atrocious in that photo. Were they consciously going for evil Russian matrioska, or is that just default Dopah now she’s transitioning out of competitive tennis (because of her poor heart, of course)?

[quote] Every other question was about the incident with Medvedev

What happened with Medvedev?

R144 A while back Tsitsipas called him "that bullshit Russian" on court. Medvedev lost it and they nearly came to blows. Isn't Tsitsipas half-Russian himself?

R143 lol

R145 yes his mother is Russian

I wouldn't object if Laslo Djere asked to sit on my face.

R147, he has the grace of Suzanne Lenglen.

R137: UNless Felix really rises his game he has absolutely no chance.

Of course this time he has nothing to lose so maybe he could show his full potential instead the pale version of the match against Shapo.

Of course with his problem with the serve when he is on a important game, Nadal (who is one of the best in the return to serve) it's not the best rival, but i think he could learn a lot from playing against someone who is so good on defense (and has offensive weapons).

Unless it's a blood bath (and i don't think that'll be the case) it'll be a positive experience for him

Felix went down 6-3, 6-3 to Nadal. I had hoped he might give Nadal a tougher time than that.

Djere 🥰 got past DelPo

R150: I couldn't watch the match, but the level he showed against Shapo is not enough to defeat any top player

Serena is in Rome ahead of next week's tournament

Fixed link

La Monf strikes again...

Now that FAA and Coric have departed the draw, Djere and Hurkacz get my votes as best remaining candidates for R147's scenario.

Nole!

Trole!

Gleb!

Titsy!

Monfils is amazing but as you see he has his arm with tape on it. Hitting that shot from behind like that will only put stress there.

Boobs out!

Puig!

Canadian 'drama queen' Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from Rome but is still expected to play Roland Garros

biggest surprise of the day so far is Chardy whipping Schwartzman 6-1 6-2

Wawrinka comfrotable win over Pella

Tiafoe with a good win over Kohlschreiber in 3 sets. Tiafoe has 1 of the best asses on tour. I think it's better than Nadal and Thiem's

Osaka continues to improve on clay with another beatdown of Sasnovich

Halep double bagels Kuzmova

Bencic destroys Kozlova

Stephens def. Zheng in 3

Bertens whips Sevastova

Barty def. Putintseva in 3

Martic def. Vekic in 3 as Donna retired in third set

Tsitsipas played a serious match and won against Mannarino

Tsitsipas' ass is slowly getting a little bigger and rounder... first started noticing this improvement in his game in Estoril! Still nothing on the magnificent Tiafoe ass. I don't know how him and Serena didn't break that bench playing mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup...

Great match tonight between Caroline Garcia and Petra Kvitova. The Czech won 6-3 6-3 but they were both playing such a high level. She's going to take some beating. Next round is a rematch of last year's final, she will play Bertens (who was also in scary form today). If they keep performing this well, I really hope one of these two take the French Open.

Will be interesting to see what Andreescu can do at RG after her time off. Also, there are going to be so many dangerous clay floaters unseeded in the draw there... Kanepi, Vondrousova, Rabat champion Sakkari, Istanbul champion Martic, Lugano champion Hercog, Prague champion Tiechmann.... even Kuznetsova and Venus will be unseeded, and though she's not at her best on clay she's always a dangerous round one opponent (as Kvitova found out in Indian Wells). I'm expecting upsets and tough draws.

And that was David Ferrer last match

Excited for Thiem - Fognini match tomorrow!

The last ovation for Ferrer was quite moving.

Yeah Ferrer's last hurrah was lovely.

Tomorrow La Monf v. Fed, Tiafoe-Nadal, just about every one of tomorrow's full range of round of 16 matches looks to be good popcorn other than the likely Djick-Chardy blowout.

Tiafoe team

For the oldsters among us, which was your favorite Virginia Slims tournament and why?

Virginia Slims of Moline.

She's in on the joke now, right?

Ferru with Christian Garin

How’s Dani’s job hunting going?

R166 Petra Martic is up to a career-high 28 in the live ranking and she only has 2nd round points to defend in Rome, so looks likely to be seeded in RG, actually. By the way - she doesn't command much attention on here or elsewhere in tennis social media, but my impression is that she might be in a relationship with her (female) coach.

R175 She really is the worst. I'm convinced Bajin is only coaching her to get closer to Domi's booty.

R178 She does yell at her like they're a married couple sometimes during the OCC, haha. I got the impression Sandra was gay but until you mentioned it I hadn't thought about Martic in that way. Lots of players are dating their coach though so it wouldn't be a surprise.

Most of the matches look good tonight, both WTA and ATP. Most looking forward to Fogna/Thiem and the rematch of last year's final between Bertens/Kvitova, which was one of the best WTA matches in recent memory.

Mladonna is definitely in on it now.

Not a fan of Zverev but this was a lovely touch for Ferru

Did I hear that Vitamin C gradutaion song ("friends forever") playing through the stadium at the end there?

That’s a great find R176. I dig Ferru’s locks.

Lovely Laslo is out 😢

Last time I checked scores, Deere led Cilic 6-4, 3-1. See that he lost 6-4, 3-6, 2-6... lost 11 of 13 games. Against a slumping Cilic. Not good.

Deere = Djere

Djere jinxed himself by wearing black shorts. which should be banned by the ATP.

6-0 Roger over monfils first set.

And La Monf now a set and a break over Gramps, 0-6, 6-4, 3-0...

And now Roger wins 7-6 in the third!

After saving 2 MPs on top of that. Quelle truffe La Monf !

Suce-moi la bite.

Flopos is such a shit, yelling at a ball kid "where's my fucking" bottle of water or whatever drink, then demanding that she run and get him one.

of course Monfils is still a choker even if his form is some of the best of his career this year. I mean wtf. Players STILL choking against Gramps.

Djokovic through

Wawrinka a tough 2 setter over Nishikori

Thiem a tough 2 setter over Fognini

Bencic upsets Osaka in 3. 2nd win over her this year

Halep 2 tough sets over Barty

Stephens comfortable win over Martic

Tsitsipas comfortable win over Verdasco

Even if he loses this match, I declare my love for Hurkacz.

One thing is for sure, none of the big three are playing on a great level. Rivals should not be afraid because they are clearly beatable (at the best of five sets could be different of course)

Tsitsipas and Thiem still alive in both singles and doubles. Hats off.

LaMonf choking a 3-0 lead, and then 2 match points against Federer is emblematic of everything wrong with Generation Useless. The amount of times these players have been in strong positions over the big 3 and playing great tennis only to suddenly bend over willingly for their spanking.... it's embarrassing.

Also shouldn't Svitolina be in Rome practising? She's the two-time defending champion and even with her big YEC title, if she doesn't pick up some wins soon she'll be out of the top 10 for the first time in ages (I know, I know, she's been injured).

Petra Martic got screwed by bad umpiring in that Sloane match and was never the same afterward. Everyone is focused on Halep/Kvitova/Bertens, but lazy Sloth Stephens may just vulture through her cakewalk draw to the title.

Hopefully Thiem can make it two in a row over Gramps tomorrow.

Roger needs to improve a lot if he wants to defeat Thiem

Shopbottom posting on Instagram in celebration of Russian Victory Day.

Is Flopos Zverev or Tsitsipas?

A. Zverev although Flopos does “sound” Greek.

Popsicle is currently training at the Tipsarevic Tennis Academy prior to his, as he calls it, “comeback”.

Same here, R196, so sad to see him get edged by obnoxious AZ. Looks like the final 8 are going to be the usual dull suspects. Zzzzzz

Next Gen continues to roll over for Nadal. Tiafoe goes down one set 6-3. Will it be 6-3, 6-3 like Felix? These guys are such pussies.

R201: Maybe sounds greek but Tispy is not flopping at all. It'll be interesting, Stefanos is playing better than Alexander and they seem to not like each other

R200: There's a lot of players of russian heritage that are playing for other countries, but not all are that interested in Russia, I know Nicola Kuhn speaks russian (he send a message for mother's day in russian for his mother), but Alejandro Davidovich didn't seemed interested at all, i don't know if it's a bit overcompensating (both parents are foreign) but he put some effort in show how spanish he feels (even his game is not typical spanish at all)

Zzzzzz. Zverev

Zverev was told off today cos one of the line-judges was Russian and understood what his father was shouting.

James Keothavong is a very good umpire.

so because the OP is now crossed out, the coverboy shot is gone and the jinx isn't working.

Well, frankly not Nadal neither Nole played against anyone who could defeat them. The jinx is powerful but a good rival is needed

The continuing Russian brain drain is really evident in tennis. Russia now has no one in the top 20 in the WTA rankings and their number 2 is semi-retired and speaks English better than Russian.

It seems like Shapo is the one that feels the strongest connection to Russia.

Russian male players were always head cases, even the better ones like Kafelnikov and Safin.

Titsy!

well Tiafoe got 1 more game than FAA

No dope, no hope. Russia is falling out of most sports actually (except for gymnastics and figure skating) and I wonder how much it has to do with state-sponsored doping taking a hit and athletes and doctors scrambling to find legal alternatives.

To be fair, a lot of the girls with either Russian heritage or who were even born in Russia play for different countries now. Sevastova and Ostapenko (Latvija), Sabalenka and Sasnovich (Belarus), Gavrilova (Australia), Putin's daugher (Kazakhstan), I believe Yastremska (Ukraine), obviously ATP players like Flopos and his brother.

It doesn't seem like there are a lot of young Russians coming through either. Kasatkina is having arguably the worst season of anyone in the top 50, maybe top 75. In fact Vera Zvonareva is soon going to be one of the top 5 ranked Russian players, exactly a decade after her actual peak.

Zverev and Tsitsipas are going to be pissed! Their match tomorrow is the only one not on the main court tomorrow. It will only be moved if the first 3 are over quickly enough that it won't interfere with the night matches

For which nation does Sharapova’s diseased heart play?

I really don't like Flopos Zverev. But it seems that it's Tsitsipas that rubs everyone, especially fellow #NextGen players, the wrong way.

Everybody hates Stef.

I don’t.

lol I think Tsitsipas is just 1 of those aloof people in his own world. He really doesn't bother anyone. I don't get why some of his peers dislike him. I wonder if Zverev is jealous that someone else is getting attention now

unless there's some behind-the-scenes drama we just don't know about

Hubert blew his chance against Flopos. He was leading 6-4,4-3, a break up 30/30 just two service game away from victory.

He had not lost one service game throughout the match then, on the verge of victory lost two straight service games and lost the set 6-4

Classic ATP choke

I could understand this against big three but against Flopss who himself is struggling with his form and confidence?

They’re all jealous of his fabulous flowing blond tresses and his wins.

Someone needs to smack AZhole upside his smug, smirky, snarky, snarly face. I hope ST kicks his scrawny ass.

The more I know ST and AZ the more I hate both of them.

They've both had massive platforms to make themselves liked but they just come across as cunts.

ST may be a drama queen and he does get into a snit now and then, but he's much less of an asshole than AZ.

AZhole Zverev

A(hole) Zverev: "Its great to come back here and show everyone I'm one of the best in the world!"

It's true that Stef isn't very popular at all, Naomi's message to him ('why do you have no friends on the tour') indicates that it's quite well known, too. Kyrgios even mocked him on twitter in the past. He does come across a bit douchey at times with his tacky philosophical quotes, closeness to his family, and dorky YouTuber persona. But it was also pretty clear when Stef had his run in Australia that a lot of the other young players are jealous of him and his success, and wondering why they can't have these runs, too.

Rafa was completely disliked by others when he first came on the scene and didn't talk to anyone but Tio Toni. Sharapova and the Williamses too (the sisters especially were absolutely *despised* by the other girls lol, even the Americans like Davenport, Rubin, and Capriati). I think when you have a lot of success at a young age, are close with your family rather than other players, and have other interests than tennis (fashion, youtube, photography, etc.), it comes across as antisocial. And unless your name is Federer or Li Na, everybody hates a winner. Despite the old adage.

that's true but Nadal and the Williams sisters have become a lot more popular over the years among their fellow players. Sharapova is still pretty much hated. So I guess it's a case by case thing.

I don't see anything awful from Tsitsipas that warrants so much hate

Last match of the day:

Kiki Bertens routines defending champ Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-3 (who beat her here in the final last year and two weeks ago in Stuttgart). Sets up a SF against Sloth Stephens. Who knows when Scone is going to peak, but at the moment Kiki's serve is looking very dangerous on clay. I think we may see a Bertens/Halep final.

R230 To be fair, most of Venus and Serena's (and even Nadal's) contemporaries have long since retired - I mean they were playing in the Graf / Seles days lol. So their current fellow players weren't even there to hate them when they showed up on the scene and started winning everything with their overconfident (perhaps rightly so) father in tow. Instead they have grown up admiring them on TV for the past two decades.

Sharapova is a different case as she feeds off her bitchy ice maiden persona. She never talked to anyone else on the tour except for her father and her pharmacist. And it shows.

Tsitsi is still abnormally hated by his peers and I think by spectators too (perhaps the high profile defeat of Roger has something to do with it). Again, I just have to wonder how much of it is envy, and audiences not liking how quickly he broke through. I still see less support from him (on twitter etc.) than for Zverev, Shopbottom, Khachanov, Medvedev, etc. Even Kyle Edmund seems to have more support. All of these guys have displayed far worse behaviour on AND off the court. Maybe he's worse behind the scenes or something but other than that it feels like something is missing.

R216: Maybe Sascha, but Stefanos never got the royal treatment yet so he probably is used to be snubbed

Tsitsipas is acting like he has a big ego, but that's exactly what Alexander does (and even some with less reasons), Tsitsipas seems inteligent while most players seem dumb as rocks, being inteligent, liking books and arts generally doesn't make you popular on sports enviroments.

Of course Tsitsipas is not the only one with that profile, Humbert or Auger Aliassime seem to be that way too, but Humbert has a low profile and Felix is totally new (and you generally are liked when you start your career, when you start to kick some faves asses probably it'll be different)

[quote] while most players seem dumb as rocks

Exhibit A: Shopbottom

Agree-- Tsitsipas is like Djokovic was in that sense: intelligent. So was Becker, Courier. Men's tennis has always had one or two philosopher kings, and ST is the new one. People hate that stuff, but it does exist.

ST seems less cunning and manipulative than Djokovic, brighter than Becker, and more charming than Courier, though. He and FAA seem to be the highest intellects among NextGen.

I thought if you used the "asbestos eyeballs" setting you wouldn't have posts greyed out, like OP, but I guess that's not how that works. Also didn't realize that links/images disappear once the post is greyed out.

Does OP even know he's been greeted out, or does his post look normal to him? Whadja do, OP?

yes, R237, I think that's right. Agree.

I hope Bratrev beats Bitchipas, peaks in Madrid and Rome, then gets over-confident for RG and flops there.

The QFs in Madrid are looking great.

Djokovic v Cilic, Federer v Thiem, ST v AZ and Wawrinka v Nadal.

R241, uUnfortunately, looks good only on paper Now that there is no DL curse Nole will whip Cilic ass while Nadal will do same to Stan

ST vs AZ may go to three sets but I highly doubt about the quality of the match. I think it will lot error-ridden match with full of cunt fest

Only Theim can give good fight/defeat Roger

Nole gets a walkover because Cilic has withdrawn due to food poisoning

That photo, with the caption, is hysterical. It looks like he's still grimacing on the toilet after eating at Verdasco's Madrid restaurant.

Oh Marin.

Well that’s cunty, Marin. You took out lovely Laslo to give the walkover to Boobs Out.

If it's food poisoning, it's not like Cilic had it yesterday against Djere. What annoys me is when someone gets injured in their match, can barely move, but sticks out the win just to pull out that evening or the next day. I mean, I get it - more points, more prize money, etc. - but it still annoys me.

You’re right of course R246. I’m just bitter that my future husband isn’t playing today.

[quote]I’m just bitter that my future husband isn’t playing today

you'll have to fight Tamara for him

Bitch best watch her back!

R248 She is obviously just bearding for him

Lil' Diego has a new 'do (maybe Pella's short hair inspired him)

Laslo even thanked her because she was a big support during his recent tought times.

R246: Sometimes they keep playing on hopes they will be better next day and can play.

Thiem - Federer and Zverev - Tsitsipas are very interesting

Wish someone would have mentioned earlier that all the ball boys are hot men. All tournaments should be like Madrid and use models!!

Unfortunately the male models are ball boys for the women and the female models are ball boys for the men. Feliciano Lopez has aged dramatically! I guess his great body really covers for him making him much more sexy when he is playing (especially his great ass) compared to when he is in his street clothes.

The ball boys (men) in Rabat were gorgeous. Here's a random one I took a photo of (on my blurry screen) in the final, but all week they were muscled and bulging.

The Federer-Thiem match is not really that good. It's going to a 3rd set as Thiem just won the tiebreak. Federer had multiple chances to close this out, but almost every time he made an error. Only his serving is keeping in this now. Thiem is either hitting a winner/unreturnable shot or making an error. It's just kind of sloppy all around.

Thiem team! Nice break.

Thiem team!

Thiem looks better with his hair longer.

Sweet Domi pulls it off.

Domi is so shaved-- do we have any hairy Domi photos?

Fed's downfall is complete. Twilight years.

Federer played way better than yesterday.

Domi didn't play well at all, but it was enough to win

R262 everybody knows fed is in his twilight years but if he’s having a downfall I’m not seeing it.

You can't peak at 37, but his golden years are way better than most players peaks

3 games in Flopos and Titsy are already being cunty.

Who is being cunty? (i suppose both)

From Twitter: Zverev got a time violation, says he was waiting for Stefanos. Asks for Stefanos to confirm his version. Stefanos ignores him. Replay shows that Tsitsipas took his time but Sascha turned back in the middle of the process. That's why he got the time violation. Stefanos trying to ignore all the drama.

The Rome draws are out, if Serena and Venus win their 1st rounds they'll have to play each other

Zen Tsitsipas

Men's draw:

Tsitsipas won the first set

I want a Serena-Sloane rematch in Rome! They haven't played in so long

can't wait for Zverev-Tsitsipas handshake no matter what the final score is and who wins lol it's clear they don't care for each other

I hate-watch that match. I hate both players. Think their shit don't stink.

Tsitsipas is flirting with disaster

Ladies final will be Halep vs. Bertens

Stephens had a lot of chances today but failed to convert the majority of break points. It's clear Bertens likes to control the center of the court. I don't understand why Sloane didn't move her more and with more short angles. The times Sloane pulled her out wide and then hit down the line on the other side, Bertens was helpless. She's not a great mover.

Kyrgios rooting for Z vs Ts

The handshake was not that bad

i'm surprised. Zverev even patted him on the stomach.

R278 I'm in the semifinals, I don't know where she is.

Good riddance, Flopos!

Between doubling with Tomic and supporting AZ, Nick sure knows how to pick em.

To be fair Zverev improved a lot this week, but Madrid is quite special between the clay tournaments so it'll be Rome the one that determine his chances on Roland Garros.

Tsitsipas is really improving, a year ago he was barely top 40 (and totally brand new to top 50)

Isn't Kyrgios the one who said Tsitsipas is weird?

[quote]I hope Bratrev beats Bitchipas, peaks in Madrid and Rome, then gets over-confident for RG and flops there.

Didn't quite happen this week, but always satisfying to see Twatrev lose anyway. I suspect this win took a lot of mental energy from Tsitsipas so it'll be interesting to see how much he has left for tomorrow in the semi.

So are you saying, R284, that only Rome signifies AZ's chances and that all of his other flops on clay this year are insignificant?

R287: No, what i said is that he improves this week, but Rome conditions are more similar to Roland Garros than Madrid, so to see if that improvement has a chance to translate in a good result on RG Rome performance will be more accurate than Madrid

Porna stretching in Rome 🍑

Stan is fading fast. Can we jinx those trollish Nadal's fan who FFed this thread in the next thread?

Titsy Thiem!

R290, it might not be Nadal fans, although they are a fervent bunch. OP might have earned some F&Fs from posting on other threads.

Wawrinka is sucking badly. Nadal not having to do much to win this one. Ugh.

Stan team

Stan always had trouble against Nadal (and Federer). On the other side he is always a danger to Nole

Journeyman Stefanos Tsitsipas will return to the Arantxa Stadium at 11.15pm to play the doubles semifinals with Wesley Koolhof, against Rojer and Tecau.

Is this where we talk about Rojer’s Cup?

R296 really brings the cuntitude.

R242 was right

R299: NOt in everything, the Tsitsipas -Zverev was in fact a good match.

I'm not only surprised about the handshake but the fact that Zverev even praises Tsitsipas game in the press conference

I don't know why Nick Kyrgios is commenting on the match... he should be concerned about 17 year old Amanda Anisimova's dad finding out he's been screwing his daughter.

Is there a reason Tsitsi is playing his doubles SF today, but Thiem is playing his tomorrow? The scheduling at this tournament has been atrocious. It's like Bertens finishing at 10pm tonight when Simona was done in the morning.

Anyway with this result, Flopos officially will be ranked outside the top 4 for the first time in ages (he'll be at #5, Thiem is now #4 which is good for his RG seeding). Tsitsi is moving up too, can be as high as #6 if he wins the title (unlikely I know).

Obviously with a win tomorrow Simona can regain the #1 position from Osaka. If Kiki wins she will be the highest ever ranked Dutchwoman (at #4, besting Brenda Schultz McCarthy's career high of #5), not including wheelchair tennis where for some reason the Netherlands women are unbelievably dominant.

[quote] not including wheelchair tennis where for some reason the Netherlands women are unbelievably dominant.

The Netherlands, being one of the Low Countries, is more conducive to wheelchair play where the players are closer to the ground.

What about Betty Stove?? Lol!

Bertens reminds me of a KLM flight attendant. All strong blonde dutchwomen.

[quote]at #4, besting Brenda Schultz McCarthy's career high of #5

Big Brenda! I think she runs some sort of tennis school in Florida now

[quote] Big Brenda! I think she runs some sort of tennis school in Florida now

Lesbian from the Netheregions. That’s all they care about - the Netheregions!

Sorry I meant Betty Stove as the highest ever ranked Dutchwoman at #5!

Big Bad Brenda peaked at #9, although she played in a much tougher era. She held that fastest serve record for a pretty long time too until Venus eclipsed her! Back in the mid 90s on fast indoor courts she was a nightmare to have to break.

Kiki really does have that strong, sturdy blonde eyebrow-less Dutchwoman thing (KLM flight attendant) going on lol. It's funny how meek and sweet she seems in interviews, when on the court she seems out for blood, hits one of the heaviest forehands and has a vicious, muscular serve.

Oh, the irony, R301--this from the man who berated Wawrinka for Wawrinka's carnal knowledge of 17-year-old Dokic.

R301 wait what? Kyrgios and Anisimova are a thing? When did this happen? Can you link the source?

The Isner family visited George W. Bush

is it where we talk about former WTA players from the Netherlands?

I remember Miriam Oremans..well, just the name, I can't even remember what she looked like

so Isner just likes repub politicians period. He doesn't seem to care that his fave Trump and Bush don't get along

More evidence of Isner's double-digit IQ...

[quote] is it where we talk about former WTA players from the Netherlands?

And Rogers Cup.

[quote] I remember Miriam Oremans..well, just the name, I can't even remember what she looked like

Like this. More like You'reaMans! Am I right?

WOuld it kill Bush to get his teeth whitened? Jesus!

Apparently a double jinx is bad luck.

For us.

You really forget what a giant deplorable he is until you see him standing next to regular size deplorables.

well it's up to Thiem and Tsitsipas to stop a Djokdal final.

Nodal!

[quote] Does OP even know he's been greeted out, or does his post look normal to him? Whadja do, OP?

It looks like a normal thread to me, but I have my settings at asbestos eyeballs. I use Chrome. However, I opened this thread on another browser (Safari), and it’s greyed out with no link. Oh well. Next thread will be a Nadal only pic.

the double jinx worked in the last thread

R308 Umm it's been going on for a few weeks now. They've been practising together since the Sunshine Double, chatting on twitter, been in each other's Instagram stories (going to basketball games etc.), sending flirty emojis to each other, and all the rest. She was actually watching one of his matches courtside and vice versa (forget which tournament). Even with a look on his twitter you can see him congratulating her on her Bogota title and saying that their practise sessions together are paying off.

I know there's only 7 years between them but any adult man going after a 17 year old is creepy to me. I wonder if he and Ajla broke up before or after her started seeing AA.

Spare us the political bullshit, R318

Why is politics such an off-limits topic for you, R324? We post about every other aspect of these players, so why wouldn't the politics that they inflict on us also be fair game?

Also it was actually an innocent, funny comment that went after his height more than his politics. Not much "political bullshit".

Bye R324

No, its political hate speak.

That might be so, R327, if one lacks any sense of humor or perspective or accuracy.

Most American tennis players are deplorable and not very bright. Some exceptions... Noah Rubin, Nicole Gibbs, Sloane??

Tiafoe, McDonald, Mmoh, Giron are others, probably blue.

Most tennis players (and most athletes) are not bright, there are a lot of exceptions, but the majority are very average with the problem that most of them didn't studied enough to have a decent cultural level.

I remember some tweets when Obama won where some players (i remember clearly Melanie Oudin) were less than pleased while others (Sachia Vickery) were in fact very satisfied. So yes, most american players seem quite conservative which is not strange because tennis is an expensive sport played by rich people.

Of course being conservative and antigay are two different things, Juan Carlos Ferrero is pretty conservative but he always was very pro gay rights

Even Isner isn't anti-gay, he praised those LGBT tennis events on twitter last year. It's just that for them, gay (and other) rights are expendable as long as they get to keep their wealth-friendly tax regime.

Djokovic used to be so cute. How'd he turn into an angry scarecrow?

He’s just too thin. Also his face is kinda too wrinkly for his age.

Djokovic looks like he needs to eat a burger. Gluten free for him.

He's 32 but looks quite a bit older.

God i'm so tired of the big 3.

We'll get another Nole-Rafa final

R337 change is coming. Give it a little more time.

I'm rooting for the KLM stewardess.

Bertens is this close to victory

KiKi Bertens won. Sasha Birjin has chosen wrong Kiki to coach

New WTA Top 10

1. Osaka

2. Halep

3. Kerber

4. Bertens

5. Kvitova

6. Svitolina

7. Pliskova

8. Stephens

9. Barty

10. Sabalenka

Bertens can be exposed if players make her move more. Hitting in her strike range is risky if she's having a consistent day. Her heavy top spin forehand really works on clay in particular though she's done well on all surfaces in the last year

definitely a top contender for RG though let's see how Rome goes

Serena practicing with her ex boyfriend.

Today really showed that Kiki has so many more elements in her game than Help.

The perfect dropshot when she's got her opponent out of the court, the amazing defensive slicing (she was winning points from WAY behind the baseline), that mammoth serve, good skills at the net, and the huge heavy topspin groundstrokes she forces her opponents back with. She can play so well defensively and turn that into attack as well.

Halep... can run very well and gets a lot of balls back? Not enough dear. No volleys, no variety, no serve, and no mentality. Although I felt bad for her on the HILARIOUS point where Kiki missed a smash (it was a bit of a shank), the ball was going well long but hit Simona on the thigh and won Bertens the point anyway, it would have been 15-40 and two break points to Halep but instead 30-30 lol.

Serena practising with Grisha, is she just trying to piss Sharapova off? Actually I know he practises a lot with Venus at the big events so maybe this is an offshoot of that. At this point he should be begging Serena for serve lessons with how his year is going...

Oh please, r343. The closest Young Grigor’s dick’s been to a vagina was when he was born.

The (infamous?) “he’s got a black heart” comment Swilliams made was code for “he’s gay.”

Stefanos break Nadal's first serve and had break point on the second. Unfortunately he lost his serve easily, and i fear that if he is unable to hold the match will be over

The truth is Grigor's dating is quite suspicious, not only the relationship with Serena, but his relationship with Sharapova looked more like a shoping partner than a real boyfriend

And don't get me started with the professional beard Nicole Sherzinger.

is Grigor still with Nicole Scherzinger?

Of the few pictures of Serena and Grisha that exist while they were dating, Serena always looks like his chaperone.

Yeah, I'll be surprised if it's not a Djokovic-Nadal final in Madrid. I still think and in-form Djokovic is probably the only one who take out Nadal at Roland Garros. Maybe Thiem, but best of 5 favors Nadal there over Thiem.

^only only one who CAN take out Nadal

R349 nope its over.

Titsy is filling out nicely. I bet he looks fantastic naked.

does anyone else think that nadal could and is "on something"... i'm thinking perhaps some e.p.o.? i mean it's getting ridiculous! what is he going to be 50 years old winning the hardest, longest, most grinding 3 out of 5 sets 7 matches to win major on clay against guys young enough to be his son? come on!

What happened in semi-final one?

Djokovic picked holes in Domicakes then threw him to the lions.

God I hate Djokovic.

Rats. I don't hate Novak and would choose him over Nadal any day of the week, but I'm definitely Thiem team.

Tsitsipas is competing hard which is good to see. Even if he doesn't win this, he's improved so much. Last year I didn't think his game was well suited to clay but he's shown he can play on all surfaces. He's not so hit-or-miss anymore (see Shapovalov)

Tsitsipas serves for first set, but he failed to hold his serve the first two times he broke Nadal's serve

wow Stefanos takes the first set!!!! so impressed even if Nadal made some sloppy mistakes in this set

Wow. I was sure Tsitsipas had lost the game after the failed serve–smash combo. The way he came back to win the first set is very impressive.

you can tell Tsitsipas REALLY WANTS it when he faces the best players. He doesn't give up which is encouraging for his future

I think Djokovic will win the final even if Nadal gets through this. Nadal is not at his best today

I was glad to see Tsitsipas hold his nerve. And although Nadal made some errors in the first set, so did Tsitsipas, so those cancelled each other out. That bold net rush from Tsitsipas to take the set was nice to see.

I wonder how OCD Rafa is in everyday, non-tennis, life. I could see it leading to being debilitating. It gets worse and worse.

Nadal is absolute garbage so far.

A nightmare, r365. I bet he goes through the house two or three times to make sure everything’s been turned off before he leaves, then goes back at least twice just to make sure once he’s left.

R365, he’s afraid of dogs, and has a lot of other phobias.

R367 I wish he treated my pussy the same way he does the house!

What R357 said

Tsitsipas is making a lot of errors on his service games now while Nadal is being more aggressive on his service games and his shots are dropping in.

Major drop in level from Tsitsipas, which gives Nadal confidence to go more for his shots. I smell a Djokovic-Nadal final now. So much for my hopes after the first set.

Taking a brief break from the Madrid SF to bring you Borna's ass in Rome. The gift that keeps on giving.

Titsy team

The groans then silence in that stadium are delicious.

Well, well, well... Can Tsitsi hold?????

How long before Nadal announces that he'll be pulling out of RG?

The former Spanish king and consort look like mummies. And to think he and Diana were rumoured to have had a fling...

Ain't no fucking way Rafa is going to win Paris.

Mark my words, bitches!

YES! Every time Nadal loses, an angel gets his wings.

I can't believe it, he won. And he became the first nextgen to defeat the big 3

MELO, BRING ME THE AXE!!!!!!!

I'd think it's a safe bet that Stefanos will overtake Flopos in the rankings two Mondays from now.

Something's off with Nadal which has been clear this entire season. I'm not talking about what we sometimes see from Djokovic who shows up at a tournament clearly unprepared after a long break and then takes some time to find his form. Nadal was playing very convincingly at AO, only to be trounced by Djokovic there. Then, during this clay court season, he'll play a very sharp match like yesterday against Stan where he almost looks unbeatable only to follow it up with something like this. If he can't pull his shit together mentally on clay, this doesn't bode too well for him at all.

The cover boy curse is still working. I hope it works on “Nole” next.

Titsy should withdraw from Rome. at least from the double championship. Not good to overtire his body. I have high hope from him in RG

Nadal's salty handshake/hug was delicious. Even the ballkids nearly knocked Stef over running to bring cranky Rafa his towel. I know I should be happy with just this.... but ONE more win please Stefane re. Just one more please Palikari!

Also no way Nadal, king of withdrawals, pulls out of RG. Best of 5 is still a very different beast and he knows he doesn't have many years left to rack up the slams. Stef and Domi are only going to get stronger and stronger next year and beyond, and even without a clay title he is still the favourite there.

It's worth remembering that of all the red clay surfaces, Madrid is the least like Paris.

Two weeks before Roland Garros, Daniil Medvedev has more clay court finals than Rafael Nadal.

Whereas, R387, Rome is the most like Paris, hence not a good idea for Tsitsipas to withdraw next week, R386. He'll have a full week to rest between Rome and RG.

Nadal is an old bull and time is finally starting to catch up with him. He looks winded more easily and a step slower over the last few months. Given how hard his game has been on his body after 18 years on the tour, it's astounding that he's plateaued for as long as he has. It's time for someone under 30 to take the FO title.

I hope Tsitsipas has enough energy for the final. Nadal was off today but Tsitsipas had numerous great points.

When's the last time Nadal played this many tournaments, especially on clay, without winning at least once? 2004? 2003?

Tsitisipas has been bulging beautifully all week, too. So there's that.

R382 Hahaha, It's killing him.

I almost turned it off after the second set.......there's good news tonight. Rafa can go home and arrange his underwear drawer!

Semi-Final Highlights

it's sad to see Stefanos is already developing wrinkles in his eye area. Unfortunately I don't think he's going to age well so enjoy his looks now (if you find him attractive) while you can.

He's likely going to be like Dimitrov and be super wrinkly by the age of 30

Titsy, bitches!

Rafa's going to have to play the post-Wimbledon clay court swing if he wants to reach a clay court final this year.

Nadal's early rounds of Rome are easy but then he'll likely have to face Thiem so that could be fun

Radek Stepanek will join Young Grigor's team now that Dani V. is gone

Stefanos should play Rome, he has a week after that to rest, but he should avoid the doubles.

So Grigor is a size queen!

Tsitsy has such good volley skills - I am excited for his grass season.

On the Rome qualys Ruud has a draw full on players younger than him

amazing isn't it (sarcasm) how rafa at his age and his body wear can after coming off of "cough cough" injuries, can play on the most grinding, wearing mentally and physically surface that of clay one week after another?! and not have any worries of re-injuring himself either? or physically gone by the time 3 out of 5 sets at the french coming up very very soon?....

on another note, what kind of undies does nadal wear that he has to constantly pick them out of his ass crack? why doesn't he just wear nothing but a jockstrap like the players did back in the day?....

I've often heard that clay is the most forgiving surface for a player's physicality. Hard courts can be very hard on bones and joints because of how jarring the surface is, and players are constantly slamming against it during play. (Think: jumping up on serves/overheads, even jumping on some groundstrokes when the players leap into the air, the pounding on your knees/ankles when running, etc.) Clay is a softer surface, and players tend to slide much more - and when you're experienced sliding, there's much less impact to your body.

Grass is a softer surface as well, but what they say makes it difficult (I've never played on grass) is that the ball bounces lower, so you're putting more stress on your glutes and thighs to get lower to the ball. Also, there's more weird bounces, so more last minute footwork adjustments, making it easier to tweak something.

But it's generally thought that clay courts are easiest on a player's body, despite the likelihood for longer points.

I love Nadal but I was glad to see Titsi win. I love his game and he is handsome AF.

#405... all good points, although i still think clay is while softer is tough and so so grinding,,, the constant sliding, the points lasting much longer, the worry of being hit behind and wrong footed and not able to change directions and so on would make it tougher then other surfaces, although hard court and grass have their own issues of course.. ..

grass nowadays except maybe at newport plays like a hard court with a grass topping. NOWHERE near how they used to be when they really played like grass and spin and bad bounces were the norm.. look at the evert vs wade 1978 wimbledon semifinals for example! yikes! true achievement that evert won 3 wimbledons, should and could have won more! no doubt she wishes the grass like today was how it was back then!...

off topic, but HOW STUPID AND IDIOTIC IS IT THAT THE CLAY TOURNAMENTS REFUSE? TO PUT AND USE "HAWK EYE"??? i mean is this professional tennis or what? relying on marks on a clay court? really? REALLY? in 2019?...

R407, good point about Evert and how she would have won Wimbledon a few more times if the grass were like it is now. It probably plays more like the old Kooyong stadium when the Australian was played on grass. I remember Wilander, one of the great 1980s clay courters, won the Australian twice on that type of grass court. Evert won on the super slick stuff.

Yes, it's ridiculous that they don't use Hawkeye on clay. The Tsitsipas-Nadal semi-final had a point that emphasized the need to go to Hawkeye when the umpire admitted he couldn't find the right man, but he was sure the ball was out. He was right in that case, but what if had been wrong when he admitted no one could tell which was the right mark? I've seen clay matches in the past when that has happened. Just embrace that Hawkeye's laser technology is better than the human eye and use the damn thing!

One other incident in the Tsitsipas-Nadal semi-final was when Tsitsipas and Nadal were in a rally, one shot from Tsitsi went out but Nadal played the next ball, which he missed on, and only then did Nadal march over and point out the other mark. The umpire gave the point to Nadal. I mean, that's fair in the sense that it really was Nadal's point, but the rule is you're supposed to stop play immediately. Tsitsi did this earlier in the match, although he was wrong and Nadal won the point. But Nadal did not follow the rule and the umpire didn't even question it, and Tsitsi didn't either. The Tennis Channel commentators were all over it, though. Of course, that just makes Tsitsi's win all the sweeter.

Tsitsy's dad is really good looking for his age.

[quote] the umpire admitted he couldn't find the right man

*sigh* I can relate

Tehe, R410.

Nole!

Djokovic ranks pretty high among the most unlikable #1 players ever. I'd rank him in the top 5 or 6 along with Nastase, Connors, McEnroe, Lendl and Hewitt.

Titsy team

Nobody's brought up Nadal's cunty quotes from yesterday?

‘My feeling is that it was more about me. That’s my truth, maybe not the truth, but mine. I don’t think I would lose the match if I played like Barcelona 2018 or Australia this year.’

Nadal can pick a few more excuses out of his anus but the truth is Tsitsi beat him fair and square.

I can't believe how well Djokovic is playing in the final so far. This is easily his best match since the AO final. Surprisingly aggressive too.

Has he never seen Novak play, for the love of God? Doesn't he know Novak loves having a target? Novak has made him look like a beginner the last few games. Novak looks great at the moment if he can sustain for the next month.

Everyone screaming about Tsitsipas winning everything in sight because he'd beat Nadal forgot about Nole.

Tsitsipas gave more fight that i was expecting, he had two very difficult matches before this and he was on doubles semifinals. I thought i would quit after losing the first set but he tried.

I don't think Stefanos is there yet to win a GS, but i think he'll should reach at least quarterfinals at Roland Garros

Nole was going to be a tougher match-up than Nadal for Tsitsi. Novak has a much better backhand than Nadal and Novak's serve is better than Nadal's, plus I think Novak is the better returner.

Not to mention Novak got a walkover to the SF from big dumb Marin.

I still don't think we'll see a new winner at RG. The problem is that once you beat one of the big 3, there's another one waiting in the wings in the next round. And they play differently enough that they're hard to beat all in a row, especially in best of 5.

What you need is for different people to each take them out before it gets to the very final rounds. Where's Robin Soderling when you need him? Maybe Thiem can beat Gramps, Fognini can beat Rafa, and Wawrinka or RBA can get rid of Nole. Then they can play the likes of Tsitsipas etc. and each other in the later rounds.

BOOBS OUT.

Yeah Nole was well rested but Titsi did not bring his game up to the next level which he had to do to beat him. He wasn't aggressive enough. Nadal is right, he beat himself..he just wasn't playing at his best.

R409 Agree. Total hunk back in the day and is holding up well.

Thiem and Li'l Diego team!

Unfortunately Thiem and Schwartzman lost the doubles final to the team with more experience in that discipline.

Su-wei Hsieh won the doubles in Madrid yesterday (with Barbora Strycova). Good result for a fun team!

Who won the men’s doubles?

R421: That's exactly the problem, they are not only exceptional players, they have very different styles and even if one of them suits you it's difficult that happens with the other two.

Tsitsipas was able to defeat the three really fast, he has a negative h2h with Rafa 3-1 and it's tied with the other twoi1-1. Even with very negative h2h against them, the truth is most players were unable to defeat the three.

Most players who defeated the three of them are retired like Daydenko, Ljubicic, Roddick or Ancic and between active players most of them are veterans like Wawrinka, Delpo, Murray and Nishikori.

The only young players who defeated all of them are Thiem and Tstsipas (and they are the ones with better h2h, probably because they had to face the big 3 less times)

Li'l Diego looks even more li'l when he has someone standing on the same side of the net as him. It would be fun seeing him and Isner playing doubles. Isner could stand there and serve (like he does in singles, never having a shot of breaking anyone) and Li'l Diego could do all of the running and returning. It would be like Master Blaster being broken in two.

hopefully Thiem and Tsitsipas are on opposite sides of the RG draw. Thiem had his chances yesterday against Djokovic.

Let's hope neither Djokovic nor Nadal wins Rome

They could have played dubs together at Laver Cup but I think the lineup was Kyrgios/Sock instead.

[quote]Who won the men’s doubles?

Horia Tecau & Jean-Julien Rojer

That's crazy, R431. And it also causes very, very, unpure thoughts.

Thanks, R432.

It was Rojer’s Cup after all.

Ladies doubles champs.

In Rome, 17 yr old Jannik Sinner is a winner!

He'll play Tsitsy in R 2

His nickname should be The Red Arrow.

Djokovic is really unlikable. Seems like a huge ego ridden asshole.

And neurotic, r438. A real diva, but in the purely negative sense. What I would like least in the tennis world? The neurotic diva cunt taking home all four slams in the one calendar year. That would be an entirely unbearable hell.

if Djokovic or Nadal wins RG the men's tour will look truly pathetic. I mean it already has for several years now but this will be worse

With Madrid win, Djokovic 1st tennis player to pass $130 million mark in career prize money.

I know, can't believe i'm saying this but I would actually rather see Hairplugs Nadal win yet another RG if it means it stops Djokovic from going for 4 in a row, or 4 in a calendar year.

Being a few years younger than the other two, I can honestly see him ending his career with something like 25 slams. He doesn't need this one too. His little bitch at the umpire today about starting the serve clock too quickly after the point just highlighted how neurotic he is.

So the fact that he was correct doesn't alter your opinion, R442? The score is supposed to be announced before the timer is started.

I didn't notice the timer being started earlier than the umpire saying the score. It didn't bother Tsitsipas at all. And even so, Novak was taking longer than the 25 seconds. Which is why he rightfully got a time violation in the second set. Again, he was being neurotic.

R436: He is having an amazing year, curiously he lost on a challenger against 15 yo (now 16) Carlos Alcaraz Garfia.

R442: That's not going to happen. Djokovic is younger but not that young, and winning GS is not that easy. The same way everybody expected Roger and Rafa to dominate and NOle suddenly rose his game, it'll happen again. But he has a shot to reach Federer record (but even that won't be that easy)

Jesus Christ, Djokovic neurotic? Compared to Nadal, he's practically somnambulant.

I would say there is a difference between the two. There is something about Djokovic in his neediness..Nadal doesn't really strike me that way. People like him because he is a fighter and he doesn't really seem to care about being loved, he also appears humble, whether it is true or not doesn't matter. Everything about Novak is rooted in insecurity. I don't see that with Nadal.

So handsome

Most Masters 1000 titles

1. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, 33 3. Roger Federer, 28

New ATP Top 10

1. Djokovic

2. Nadal

3. Federer

4. Thiem

5. Zverev

6. Nishikori

7. Tsitsipas

8. Anderson (-2)

9. Del Potro (-1)

10. Cilic (+1)

Qualifiers have been placed and 25 languages Mladonna has drawn frenemy Caroline Garcia in the first round.

Everything about Nadal is rooted in his OCD. I don't see that in Novak. Novak is no different than Martina Navratilova, who also longed for people to like her. But like Djokovic, she just racked up the titles while not really receiving the love from fans. Lendl did that, too. Nadal is so focused on his OCD issues, he can't even notice if he's liked or not. He's loved in Spain, his home country. The French hate him. They'll cheer like crazy if he loses at Roland Garros this year.

Poor comparison of Djerkovic with Navratilova, who was always professional and measured in her responses. Can you imagine her berating umpires and routinely smashing her rackets and screaming irately when things weren't going her way? Or something as pathetic as the "boobs out" gesture? I'd venture to guess that the reason most fans don't like Novak is because he seems always on the verge of screaming at someone or beating his chest, both driven by an ego way, way, way out of control. Nor would Navratilova ever support someone like Gimelstob.

Wish we could just push fast-forward and the Djokovic era would be all wrapped up and he is no longer playing.

The only comparison I was making was how both Navratilova and Djokovic longed for the crowd to love them, R453. I didn't compare all aspects of their personalities, so for you to drag that in to one comparison makes no sense. All the things you wrote have nothing to do with Djokovic's wish to have people love him. I was simply saying Djokovic isn't the only great player who didn't get the love from the crowd who craved it, and Martina was another example.

And Martina had a nasty side to her. Remember when she complained about Seles at the 1992 Wimbledon semi-finals? She said Monica sounded like a stuck pig. She was being beaten by a better player on what she considered her court, couldn't handle it, and got very, very nasty.

Djokovic has flaws just like every other human being, although I grant you his support of Gimelstob was deplorable.

Your comparison seemed broader than that, R455, though Martina seemed to accept that she would never receive the level of adulation that Evert or Graf did. Djokovic seems to be so dependent on support from the crowd that he becomes irate if his opponent is given more applause, etc.

Twelve years ago I was a big fan of his, but that disappeared commensurately as his anger and ego became his two most prevalent characteristics.

I mean last year at both the French and Wimbledon he literally told the crowd to "shut the fuck up" when they were cheering for his opponent, or gasping in the middle of the rally.

J Sinner has w i d e hips.

I think the comparison of Novak to Martina is apt. She, too, always wanted the love, but not nearly as much as Novak. I like Novak even if I don't always approve of his behavior. I feel sad for him in his unending desire for the love of the mob. He can be very funny and charming. I do think there is something to be said for the lack of love for the two of them and Lendl (who at least wasn't needy) as being partially tied in with all of them being eastern European. I'm American, but I have never hated any player as much as I still do Connors. (Although Kyrgios is just as hate-able, it's just that he is such a loser we don't see him as often.)

Agreed that they share the desired and unrequited love of the crowd. Martina's reaction to that has been more admirable.

Also agreed that Connors is the biggest asshole ever to blot a court.

The overall lack of devoted support that Djokovic doesnt have like Nadal and Federer is all his doing.

Martina became more respected and appreciated as her career neared its end and people realized they were witnessing a legend. (She was incredibly popular when she returned a decade later and played doubles). This is similar to what we are seeing with Serena now, who received tepid support (and at times hostility) for much of her career at home and abroad.. That similar level of recognition hasn't yet occurred with Djokovic.

lots of good matches on tap for Monday

You Fed lovers have no clue what a true jerk he is. Novak has issues but nowhere near to what Fed does to ensure his sainted image. Fed will eventually have a scandal and vile shit will come out about him. Mark my words.

I'm not a Federer fan, but I can't believe that, R464. He's not the god his fans both in and out of the media want him to be, and he has a huge ego. But he does seem to be a genuinely nice guy. Even his opponents that he's been prickly with (Djokovic, Murray), he's on good terms with.

Why do you bring up Federer fans, out of context, r464?

I fully believe Federer is a pampered and spoiled diva but he doesn't seem like he's devious or scandalous.

Frankly, R467, we probably know less about all of the Big Three than we think we think we do. Sportswriters have no incentive to do anything but talk about them in laudatory terms. In reality, though, most great sports figures are totally obsessive and self-absorbed; they could not be who they are if they were not.

Sportswriters used to protect the image of Chris Evert back in the day. She was basically a slut who liked smoking pot. Her WTT parties at her old Phoenix condo were legendary. I don't think doping was in play back then. She was however the biggest draw in women's tennis at the time. She married John Lloyd and tried to control her image as the married lady but after a few years with the lapdog Lloyd who was unadventurous and retiring she branched out looking for a strong man who could challenge her. McEnroe loved to gossip about her - after hearing stories from the many men (Trey Waltke, Vitas, Leif Shiras) who 'knew' the real Chrissie.

[quote]She was basically a slut who liked smoking pot.

That's my kind of girl!

Roger wasn't always a 'goody two shoes' type or personality though (even though he always came across as a good sport to the GP). In the first few years of his career he was bleaching and spiking his hair, had a long ponytail at one point, wore sharktooth necklaces, talked about partying and club music, and other tacky accoutrements that were on trend for young European men at the time. Until all the legal issues he was trying to hang around Marcelos Rios in the very early 00s lol.

It wasn't until the late 00s and early 10s when he not only hired a new publicist, but also one of the UK's top image consultants (I forget the name but I think it's the same one who worked with Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch etc., very involved with GQ). And they remodelled him as this James Bond type, svelte classy 'gentleman' and family man. After all tennis is a 'gentleman's sport'. It only helped boost several of his endorsements (especially the luxury cars and watches).

Of course people generally just grow up too at some point in life, but I wonder how much of his real personality beneath the surface is also just a hyper-aggressive, almost childish OCD divo who must have everything his way like the other two.

More stories, please, R469.

I cant believe sportswriters would protect someone's image!

This week, The PGA is holding one of golf's four major championships, The PGA Championships. I mention this because prior to 2019, The PGA Championship was held in August, and was the 4th of the 4 majors to be played. The reason why the PGA moved their championships is because with golf becoming an Olympic sport, the PGA Championships would have to shuffle their calendar every 4 years and try to squeeze themselves in. Also, perhaps not the main reason, but the event will no longer face the obstacle of being played in the U.S. during NFL season.

So should the USTA make a similar significant move with the U.S. Open?

The warm-up calendar for the US has been decimated. Since the tours pushed Wimbledon back a week, there's one fewer week between the last two majors (6 weeks)... which wouldn't seem like a big deal, but the tours insist on scheduling European clay events between the two majors.

For the women, a key warm-up (New Haven) was sold to China, so there's no WTA event the week before the US Open. In fact, there are only four WTA hard court events leading into the US (San Jose, DC, Canada, and Cincinnati)... one fewer event than the grass court warm ups for Wimbledon.

The week after the US Open, the WTA scheduled a Premiere event in China.

The biggest warm-ups for both tours (Canada and Cincy) will have to be moved in two of the next five years (2020 and 2024) to accommodate the Olympics.

The US Open lost a huge US partner when CBS television ditched it for NFL games. They still have ESPN but will battle for attention against football (both NFL and College).

I always thought moving the US Open from Flushing (which has made multiple improvements to the National Tennis Center), and from the Labor Day holiday weekend was sacrilege. But the more I see of what's happened to the event and it's warm-up calendar, I think it's a notion worth serious consideration.

R474 no it will never happen with the US Open. It's a social thing for New Yorkers. At one point - many years ago - there was a push to move the Open to an October date in Los Angeles. The USTA said hell no.

There are a lot of reasons to keep it in NYC (population center and nearby big cities, number of visitors to the area, access to transportation, access to lodging, etc.). I have to confess, being "a social thing for New Yorkers" wouldn't sway me.

[quote] I always thought moving the US Open from Flushing

Where to?

[quote]Where to?

Open to debate, of course. Indian Wells seems to come up most frequently in these discussions. Of course, another possibility is to keep it in NY but just move it on the calendar. Weather makes it tricky, but you'd still be ok in late September.

I'm not suggesting a solution, but looking for other ideas. It has become more apparent to me that it's current space on the calendar isn't doing it any favors, especially with Olympic Games scheduling and the shrinking presence of tennis in the U.S./North America.

[quote] She was basically a slut who liked smoking pot.

And now she’s the “grande dame” of tennis bowing to Orientals of all people. Trey Waltke, Vitas, Leif Shiras, my fundamentalist ass! It was all a cover for what she really liked: the carpet surface. Good, fake publicity then. Good, fake publicity now.

It's hard to change the gap between Wimbledon and the US Open because Wimbledon will never move back any further, since they are intent on being part of the 'London social calendar'. It's all those champagne swilling F-list celebrities who don't actually follow the tennis at all, but show up to be photographed at Roger or Serena's matches.

Yes there are 5 WTA tournaments on grass, but they all occur within a space of 3 weeks. And three of them are in the UK (including the two Premier ones). It's the French Open, then immediately 3 weeks on grass to try and get some form on the surface, and bang! Straight into Wimbledon.

I know that doesn't really pose a solution to the US hard court swing problem or the US Open venue/calendar date, but I still feel like that's too short of a space of time for players to warm up for arguably the biggest event in the sport.

R471 I remember seeing an interview with Federer when he was around 20 I think, in which he came across as quite dumb. The interview was about what he did outside trainings and that amounted to watching some action movies and partying, he also mentioned he never reads books. He is very well spoken now, but that comes from training done by whoever takes care of his PR and is not a result of his education or intelligence (contrary to Djokovic or Zverev who are natural when public speaking). The gentleman image though fits endorsments from companies like Rolex perfectly though ;).

It would be much easier to drop tennis from the Olympics. Once upon a time the Olympics only had sports for which it was the pinnacle -- the ultimate championship for that sport. For tennis (and golf) it's the 5th most prestigious title that year. I'm surprised most players are even interested in playing it and wonder if that enthusiasm starts to wane.

I don't see the US Open moving to later in the month. There's a tie with the long Labor Day weekend in the U.S. and most top players start checking out of the season when it's over so I doubt they want to see it later. There's more time to get acclimated to the hard courts than there is to the grass courts and if players want to waste it on European clay post-Wimbledon, that's their choice. Those aren't the contenders for the US title anyway.

Can we put Nole on the next post cover, please? Clearly Rafa’s not going to be a problem (he hasn’t had sufficient matches to play himself into form by RG) and I would like to see some new blood.

The jinx is so bad, it's practically going to warrant Novak gets the title!

R436: I suppose it's because he came out of nowhere, because even his results are impressive it's not like there weren't players that did similar in recent years, from FAA to Nicola Kuhn.

R452: The french are amazingly good at selling themselves as amazing, but as someone who treated with their bureaucracy they are as inneficient as any other latino country (exactly the same that Spain, Italy or Portugal). And they tend to have a superiority complex, so they can't stand the success spaniards had in their tournament when they failed again and again. They have promising juniors every year but they tend to put and incredible pressure on them from a young. Nadal and Gasquet were equally good at 16

Is that ESL at R485?

R483: I remember Rafa winning Roland Garros playing at no so great level without any player giving him trouble.

He is far from his best right now, but at the best of 5 sets he is not that easy to defeat.

In Australia he was far from his best form as Nole exposed in the final (he had absolutely no chance) but till meating Djokovic he spanked all the players on his way to the final

They get spankings in all their meatings in the ATP unlike the WTA where no one wants to spank meat!

as if evert and everyone else couldn't have told far worse stories on mcenroe!....at least evert on court acted like a gracious classy champion and of course she WAS a greater champion then mcenroe..

Federer changed a lot over the years. When he was 20 he seemed the typical dump player with bad behaviour on court destined to waste his talent.

The good thing is he has no problem in recognize he was far from well behaved, he even gave good advice to Zverev, saying his behaviour put the crowd against him

Federer had a nose job done at some point too. Nobody talks about this.

Maybe because it's not that important

And Murray got his teeth fixed. Who cares? It's irrelevant.

As for the upcoming French Open, I just really, really hope Nadal doesn't win yet another one. I bet he adds at least one more before he retires, though. Based on current form, I'd say Djokovic is probably the favorite. Federer will do well if he can get to the quarters, but I could see him going out even earlier than that. This week in Rome will be a big tell because it plays more like RG.

Unless the younger generation starts stepping up at Slams, I could see Djokovic overtaking Federer and Nadal for most Slams ever as long as he stays mentally with it. Even though Djokovic has played overall the best of the Big 3 since 2011, he still has mental walkabouts like he did in 2012 and 2013, not to mention his nearly 2-year walkabout from mid-2016 to mid-2018. If he does that again, it could make it near impossible to pass Federer.

The match today between FAA and Coric was quite easy on the eyes, sorry to see Felix lose in three pretty tight sets.

Here's a nice Mother's Day piece...

trying again...

Is there where we discuss Coupe Rogers?

Williams sisters both win and will face off in round two (they seem to draw each other a lot lately). Granny Vee blew a 5-1 lead in the third set and took NINE match points before finally sealing the win against Elise Mertens (in a 3rd set tiebreaker). She's still injured and will probably look like the walking wounded against Serena... still, i'd love to see her beat The Mother.

[quote]Federer had a nose job done at some point too. Nobody talks about this.

[quote]Maybe because it's not that important

[quote]And Murray got his teeth fixed. Who cares? It's irrelevant.

You two have some nerve calling yourselves dataloungers!

I don't see Fed's nose job or Misery's fixed teeth.

What about Rafa’s hair transplant?

That I saw.

[quote]I don't see Fed's nose job or Misery's fixed teeth

I think Murray only recently has his teeth done

Maybe with the hip R502!

Two-for-one NHS Special,R503?

lol!

Things are so bad Uncle Toni is back.

Rafa's hair "transplant" didn't help much. He should buzz or shave his head.

Besides Serena and Venus, Muguruza, Azarenka and Keys all won. Errani got destroyed, just getting 1 game in a loss to Kuzmova

Ramos Vinolas destroyed Monfils which is quite a surprise

Have any of you fallen for the Tsonga gaze? One watches him sway, waiting for the serve, and then they catch you - his eyes. They beckon, they entice. One is mesmerized and captured. "Come hither" they say. They sing to you. They make of you a statue. At once distant and not physical, yet burning. Do not resist. Do not fight. For it is the Tsonga stare. One is a captive of...Tsonga.

[quote]It would be much easier to drop tennis from the Olympics.

While I don't think it would be easier - the top players support including tennis in the Olympics- it is a solution I could get behind. Or at least don't include professionals in the Olympics, but that horse has left the barn.

Tsonga has always been stacked.

Yummy Berrettini plays Flopos 3rd up on Centrale.

Kyrgios is drop shotting the shit out of Medvedev. I don't know how he hasn't been able to get a read on it when he does it almost every point.

During the dramatic last game of the first set of Flopos v Berrettini, there were quite a few close-ups of Melo in Flopos’s box. To say he looked worried would be an understatement.

If they’re not fucking, they aren’t that far off it.

Melo seems to be functioning as some kind of a coaching assistant in Z's team now, going by footage from practices.

Mladenovic def. Garcia 6-1, 6-2.

Z. Zverev

Tiafoe team or Sousa team?

Flopos team or Flopos v Berretteami?

R513: Of course not, Melo is a man very worried about a posibility of a gay player could see his thing on the showers.

At least Zverev new excuses avoid his depression post break up, frankly nobody is going to buy that big fat lie

OFF TOPIC, .. BUT how i wish the men would go "old school" and start wearing super short shorts like back in the day! eye candy for days! as it is, who wears the shortest shorts now? perhaps nadal?...

Jimmy Connors, r519.

Tsitsipas is showing the most thigh these days.

Benoît Paire, r519.

Bye Flopicia

Bye, Flopos!!

Someone upthread stated that the Italian Open will define how AZ does at FO. Moribund.

The Italian commentators are blaming Flopos’s defeat on the fact that he’s lost his girlfriend. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Serena withdraws and gives Venus a walkover. I ain't mad tbh. This week Patrick M was coaching both Serena aaaand...... Dimitrov, who lost in three sets to Struff.

- Kyrgios def. Medvedev in 3 (but was in charge the whole time).

- Sousa def. Big Booty Tiafoe in a 3rd set tie breaker, close match.

- Elf (Goffin) def. Wawrinka (4-6 6-0 6-2).... didn't watch, but what happened to Stan after the first set?

- Cilic def. Basso in 2.

- Teen dad Taylor Fritz def. clay specialist Guido Pella in 2.

- Karen Hemsworth def. RBA in 3. Starting to regain form.

Some WTA results:

- Vondrousova def. Strycova 7-6 in the third (after Barbora served for the match). Close one, both dangerous floaters at RG.

- Goerges def. Hsieh in 2. Neither played well.

- Alize def. double fault machine Sabalenka in 2.

- Bencic def. Sevastova in 3 (Sevastova was playing amazingly until a set and 3-0 up, only won 2 more games after that... massive mental implosion)

- Barty def. Kuzmova in 3 (just barely).

- French battle: Mladonna defeats frenemy Garcia 6-1 6-2.

- Ostapenko retires at 4-5 in the second set against Buzarnescu. She could have waited the 3 more points lol...

- Carl Suarez Navarro def. Yastremska in an up and down 3 setter.

- Sakkari def. Pavlyuchenkova in 2 sets.

- Wozniacki retires after losing the first set to America's Sweetheart Collins. Will be shocked if she isn't retired at the end of the year.

- Kasatkina wins a match (over Begu, if that counts).

Wouldn't it be funny if Sharapova, Serena, and Wozniacki all retired from tennis at the US Open?

Serena has no fight anymore.

I think Serena still has her sights set on at least tying Margaret Court's 24-Slam record, but in an ideal world surpassing it. If by some miracle she were to win two Slams in the next couple years, I could see Serena hanging up her racket right after she gets to 25. But that's going to be increasingly difficult. Serena's abilities are fading, and stringing together 7 matches to win a Slam has become increasingly difficult for her as she encounters one of her off days during the tournament. If she runs into an in-form Osaka, Sloane, Halep, Kerber, etc., and has an off day, she can't win.

Anyone speak German? Zverev is unhappy with his team's "unprofessionalism."

Zverev im Interview völlig unzufrieden. V.a. mit der „Unprofessionalität“ im Team. Da stimmt es vorne und hinten nicht.

It's pretty much the blame game that you'd expect to hear from AZ. It's his unprofessional team who's caused him to lose, and he's lost motivation but knows he can win the French Open if he just regroups next week and gets his team behind him.

Blaming your team for you losing is something I haven't ever heard before.

Well, AZ blaming everyone except himself. He said that he could have defeat Tsitsipas in two (when he was never in control of the match, not even in the second set), the hearbreak of losing his girlfriend (even if he spent way more time playing videogames with Melo than with his girlfriend and they have a relationship more focused on instagram than in reality).

He is saying now that he just don't want to play tennis.

He is a spoiled brat, he was supposed to be the new prince on the atp tour but the big 3 refused to give him the throne, even the truth is that he was losing with people with lower ranking than himself in all GS.

I suppose he must be mad that someone like Tsitsipas is going to steal the nextgen crown in no time

AZ Zverev

Lol at this self-defeating attitude. Tomic walked so Zverev could run.

As for Serena, she's obviously only focused on the majors, and she's still one of the best 'slam players' in the draw. Like someone posted here before, in her last three slams she's gone Final, Final, and QF with match points for the semi. I remember when she lost embarrassingly to Madison Brengle in Hobart and then the next week won the Australian Open. It's harder than it was before the pregnancy but (especially with her serve) she's gotta be... at least ONE OF the favourites. Even on clay.

I do think she'd play better if she had the match rhythm that comes from consecutive wins on the tour... momentum is still important. But if she is having physical issues, she's one of the few players who can probably stand to miss the matchplay and try peak for the big events.

Felix Auger Aliassime watching Tomljanovic. Looks like he is dating Ajla's BFF.

His career is ovaah

who is Tomljanovic's bff?

Some random beautiful girl. Anyway, at the end of day, she is still a female and out to entrap FAA.

his career is Ovah

tomorrow will feature a clash between 2 problematic players-Djokovic and Shapovalov!

I’m not a fan of either but in this instance I’m on Shapo team.

FAA looks like he's about to turn 13.

She looks like the same generic sort of mercenary THOT as Djere's. And I had such high hopes for Felix after this pic was taken and posted...

Give FAA a few years. If he is healthy, doesn't slump and keeps working out he'll be a true stud

If a player like Tomljanovic is really able to bring her cousins to tournaments around the world, then tennis players make too much money.

Alja is like the white version of Keys but with way less talent.

Awful French Open Wild Cards - 2019 edition

Main Draw:

-Audrey Albie -Diane Parry -Chloe Paquet -Jessika Ponchet -Harmony Tan -Selena Janicijevic -Priscilla Hon -Lauren Davis

Qualifying:

-Margot Yerolymos -Alize Lim -Manon Leonard -Elsa Jacquemot -Myrtille Georges -Cori Gauff (USA) -Loudmilla Bencheikh -Tessah Andrianjafitrimo

FAA is adorable...I'll wait a few years.

how is Alize Lim still getting WCs lol she's like the much worse French version of Bouchard. A hot girl who always loses. In Lim's case she never gets far in any tournament. At least Bouchard had 1 great year

MEN'S SINGLES Wild Cards - these are better because most are in the top 150 at least

Main Draw: Qualifiers:

1 - BARRERE Grégoire (FRA)2

2 - HALYS Quentin (FRA)1

3 - HOANG Antoine (FRA)

4 - JANVIER Maxime (FRA)

5 - MAHUT Nicolas (FRA)

6 - MOUTET Corentin (FRA)

7 - POPYRIN Alexei (AUS)3

8 - PAUL Tommy (USA)3

R548 the French have no one else. French women's tennis is really abysmal.

I thought Mahut was going to retire.

and he's not a clay player. He's a grass specialist

I find really annoying that they don't even try to give wc to someone talented who is not french. Why not q wc for the previous junior winners like other GS do?

Felix is starting too soon with the "posting pics on instagram with my girlfriend thing".

I don't expect them to be chaste but at least at the first stages of this careers they should be way more concentrated in tennis than in dating

R552 they did give a qualifying WC for Cori Gauff who won last year's junior singles. To be fair to Alize Lim, she may not be very talented or have any potential, but she's still not the worst player on that list. And at least it's only a qualifying WC.

For example, main draw WC recipient Selena Janicijevic has never played a pro match, and is France's 3rd or 4th ranked junior player. Her career-high ITF ranking (not junior ranking) is in the 1000s. She is a sitting duck to be destroyed by someone in round one. Any single one of them.

Overall the choices are complete trash as usual. French tennis is... not in a good place.

At least it's not on Felix's instagram. Let's hope he doesn't go all DT AZ on us...

lovely Matteo

Federer must play at 11 AM tomorrow!!!! I can't imagine him liking that schedule

Elena Svitolina collapse is complete !!!

Yesterday her bf now she.

Now those twos have all the time in the world to fuck like bunnies

Svitolina won't be a top 8 seed in Paris.

Stephens and Barty with their spots safe.

Tennis couples seem to cause slumping

anyone remember when Hewitt and Clijsters were an item? That was a hilarious blond curly mess. She always seemed too nice for him

And she will arrive Roland Garros with zero wins on clay in 2019.

Lol what's with the Svitolina hate? I notice it everywhere (here, twitter, tennisforum, instagram). I mean i'm not a fan of hers either, but she's been legitimately injured and took a pretty sizeable break. Has only played 3 matches since Indian Wells.

This is her first Rome loss in since 2016 though so her ranking will drop a bit. Halep who lost to her in 17 and 18 finals here will breathe a sigh of relief. And while Elina will probably also lose early in RG, she's never a true factor at slams anyway. I remember last time everyone wrote her off after the severe eating disorder / weight loss and she ended up winning the YEC (and going undefeated in the round robin). I'm sure she'll be back.

Monfils is actually having a great season, all things considered (especially his form the past few years). And he's also had some injury troubles. Retired in Indian Wells, withdrew from Miami and Monte Carlo, poor movement in the clay warmups. Let them live...

[quote] Federer must play at 11 AM tomorrow!!!! I can't imagine him liking that schedule

That’s time for second breakfast.

I don't think there's any Svitolina hate R562. The worst I ever hear about her is that she underperforms at the Slams. She's won quite a few of the Premier 5 events. -- not just the 2 Rome titles -- but that seems to be her ceiling. I really don't put a whole lot of stock in the YEC anymore. Those seem to be a crapshoot anymore with whoever is healthy enough to stay upright at the end. It's also not a very good indicator on who does well the following year anymore

I think many here are indifferent to her as they are with respect to many of the WTA players.

Svitlona's game style is boring. I also don't like that she only grunts when she gets a ball she tries to hit hard (and often fails to do so).

My mother loves Svitolina’s playing style. I’ve never quizzed her as to why. Next time I see her I’ll ask. For some reason she finds her game compelling. My mother is a former competitive (though not professional) tennis player.

One of the things I like about Coric is that instead of grunting, he does a sharp exhale. I mean, I can definitely see how forcefully exhaling can contribute to your ball strike. But there's no reason really that you need to vocalise through it and grunt.

No one in the tennis world deserves to die in a grease fire more than Nick Kyrgios.

Why, R569?

[quote] But there's no reason really that you need to vocalise through it and grunt.

Fuck you.

Who should be next cover boy? Who do you want next cover boy to be? Should there be two?

Young Grigor!

Do you really need to ask why, R570? Watch him in any match for five minutes and he'll give you at least three reasons. He's giving Jimmy Connors a run for the crown of most detestable player ever.

R572 Novak. He’s back to robot form and we need new blood taking the reins at Slams.

What if making Djokovic, rather than Nadal, the cover boy results in another French Open victory for Nadal?

We have that power.

yeah it should be another duel coverboy of Nadal and Djokovic. They both are still most likely to win until someone else finally goes all the way

Yes, the jinx works so well.

Djokovic more PR disaster

he wants to keep giving his opinions but can't take the criticism

nice handshake A. Zverev lol

Oh my Dimitrov will play Geneva... qualies next week

Poor Grigor. I hope he can find some inspiration in Stepanek's monster cock.

Svitolina seems like a pusher to me.

LOL " She was basically a pot smoking slut". Let's reduce all the greatest players to a single slur. She is basically a Eurotrash, bitter,man-hating lesbo who could serve and volley. He's is basically just a deplorable, Greek- American retard who had a big serve. She's was basically a Nazi youth with a pedophile father, who only ever lost because of "allergies"

Get a fucking roof, Rome!

Jerzey Janowicz, homophobe.

R584 it’s pretty accurate I’d say. Also WTA is full of lesbians!

Did someone say grass expert?

If you are wondering why The Woman Federer is scheduled at 11am - his team heard about the forecast and knew he wanted to play today so he wouldn't have to play twice in one day which will likely happen to Djokovic who is scheduled last. Yes those are HIS diva ways.

R589 The entire day has been rained out so far and since it is 6pm there, doubtful any matches are going to get played.

Oops, meant to include this link for a chuckle with R590

New thread. Same cover boys.

I can’t seem to link he new thread because of the glitch that occurs in some threads with many replies. Search for “tennis”. It’s titled The Gays and Tennis Part 41 - Pre-French Embrace of Death.

test:

Thanks, R594. That works.

Titsy!

Nole!

A. Zverev

Misery

Puig!