The Gays and Tennis Part 41 - Pre-French Embrace of Death

Nole will win Roland Garros this year. End of

Yeah Nole might ditch Rome but he'll be deadly at Roland Garros. Rafa is psyched out right now.

Rafa’s face looks hot there.

Where’s Jeff Giloolly when you need him?

next time. skip part. because it leads to greying of the thread . Also, try to write forty-two instead of 42

Nike's Roland Garros Collection looks a little....gothic?

More like Little Shop of Horrors...

to the person who asked at the end of last thread, I read the Janowicz homophobic twitter thread and someone wrote his comment on the 2 guys kissing pic translates to

[quote]Everything is great but it is too much for me"

so he didn't use any slurs but clearly he's not a friend to us

The vomiting, angry emojis were as bad as any slurs. He's just a mindless knee-jerk jumping onto the Polish populist bandwagon to bash gays. As if anyone gives any weight to what a balding 28-year-old tennis has-been thinks anyway.

French open

Out SHARAPOVA, MARIA

In MINELLA, MANDY

Next VOEGELE, STEFANIE

darn. I was looking forward to Sharapova suffering a humiliating loss again. When Muguruza whooped her ass last year I was ecstatic

Agreed R11. And I normally can't stand Muguruza, she has a horrible attitude and plays terribly for 95% of the year. But she really did the lord's work that day!

Meldonia now hasn't played since the Australian Open and with the loss of her fluke QF points at RG (walkover from Serena) will tumble quite far down the rankings. I wonder how long she plans to hang on to her tennis career for? At this stage she can't even make it through a full tournament. In Shenzhen she was getting hit off the court by a 15 year old Chinese player. And then retired out of shame when Sabalenka was giving her a beatdown. Does she really still think she can contend for slams? No dope, no hope.

I’m still hoping for one last Sharadopa/Serena match before they both retire.

That OP pic is very intimate.

Nobody cares about what Jerzy thinks, he is a has been that never was good in first place. When some athletes made this type of outlandish comments and they are from countries with homophobic goverments i always think there's something more than spread their homophobia, there is something more to gain.

THE WHOLE DAY WAS RAINED OUT TODAY....NOOOOOOOOO!

For you Maria fans ...

Kyrgios gave an interview to Ben Rothemberg and well, it's not something to be missed.

He seems to really hate Djokovic and he is not too fond of Nadal either.

I read an excerpt on a spanish blog so it's centered on his opinions of spanish players, he likes Feliciano and CSN (he says he would like to play mixed doubles with her) and he can't stand Verdasco (who he says it's the most arrogant player on tour).

He talks about Tsitsipas too, he says he likes him and he would like to play doubles with him but he fears being a bad influence on someone who is very focused on his goals

He is an absolute disgrace, R17. Some of the things he said about Novak are truly awful. And he wants to come across as this rebel...wearing black to a white party...ooooh, tough guy. Or partying till 4:30 am every day during a tournament he won. He is incredibly immature. (All this I read, I most certainly didn't waste my time listening to it)

wow lol he speaks the way we at DL write about Djokovic

i hope they play each other soon, preferably at Wimbledon. They could go at it and horrify the delicate British crowds and press

Wow I didn't expect that Ben R/Nick K podcast.

I have so much more respect for both of them right now. Where the fuck did that come?

Who is the DL Fave in the c*nt off between Collins and Muguruza when the matches resume?

They are very different Collins is bratty and Muguruza is cold and throws shade like a pro. It'll be an interesting match

[quote]Nole will win Roland Garros this year. End of

...story?

[quote]Where the fuck did that come?

...from?

It's Andy Murray's (32nd) birthday!

[quote]Collins is bratty

Collins has been pretty 'coy' since the Australian Open...maybe because her results haven't been that great

i'm glad another player has called out Djokovic's desperation to be liked and his very calculated/phony behavior from the boobs out shit to the rest

Kyrgios shouldn't be so cocky about his 2-0 record against Djokovic. Both matches were in 2017 when Djokovic was shitting the bed. The Djokovic who won the Australian this year would destroy Kyrgios.

The boobs out shtick is desperate

Nick should stop shilling for misery. Misery is ovah . And very soon he will be too

And yet I’m very fond of Kyrgios. And loathe Djokovic, and his boobs thing. And his making the sign of the cross heavenward when he wins. Ugh.

Does Nick read DL?

Almost all the players tomorrow are going to have to win both of their singles matches to get to the quarters. Diego, Shapo, Verdasco, Thiem could all be playing two singles and a doubles match in quick succession.

wow this is fascinating. Nadal has the easiest path though. He'll have to beat Chardy and then Basilashvili (who won his match on Tuesday). Lucky for Nadal neither of them are great clay courters.

Djokovic has the most fair deal as he'll have to beat Shapovalov but then his next opponent will be Kohlschreiber or Cecchinato.

Federer is going to have trouble. He'll certainly beat Sousa but then he's got a fully rested Coric waiting for him later that night.

Venus thanks to her walkover can be fully rested and await either Stephens or Konta

Azarenka awaits the winner of Muguruza/Collins

Pliskova awaits the winner of Keys/Kenin

Barty awaits winner of Bencic/Mladenovic

Khachanov awaits winner of Thiem/Verdasco

Nick should do a weekly podcast of him bitching about other players. It's not as though he's wasting his time practicing.

I do like how Kyrgios shouted out his admiration of CSN. That was unexpected

[quote] next time. skip part. because it leads to greying of the thread . Also, try to write forty-two instead of 42

Why does that make a difference?

[quote] Meldonia now hasn't played since the Australian Open and with the loss of her fluke QF points at RG (walkover from Serena) will tumble quite far down the rankings. I wonder how long she plans to hang on to her tennis career for? At this stage she can't even make it through a full tournament.

Cut her some slack! She has a heart condition.

[quote] THE WHOLE DAY WAS RAINED OUT TODAY....NOOOOOOOOO! —life is over until tomorrow

Dead. Totally dead.

[quote] CSN (he says he would like to play mixed doubles with her)

Mixed?

it'd be awesome if Kyrgios and CSN started dating

[quote] It's Andy Murray's (32nd) birthday!

Misery team. I wish him the best. I know he likely won't play competitively again, but he's a great person.

[quote] boobs out shit

[quote] boobs out shtick

[quote] his boobs thing

[quote] Nick should do a weekly podcast of him bitching about other players. It's not as though he's wasting his time practicing.

Completely agree.

The biggest surprise is that Nick even knows who CSN is lol. I do like what he said about Tsitsipas and his goals.

Venus is so lucky with these delays and withdrawals! Especially after her 3hr shitfest of an opening match. She is going to be able to feast on the scraps of Sloane or Konta after they've already played a match. Watch her cock it up somehow though...

Also just back to the Svitolina thing for a second, I guess it's more on other sites that she cops a lot of hate (it's probably mostly for her slam results and tacky photoshoots). I know her game isn't the most appealing, but she seems like a really nice girl. Does a lot for charity and she's always so lovely when opponents are injured in a match (Zhang Shuai, Buzarnescu). It came out today on twitter that she privately paid 12,000 euros for a young Ukranian player's knee surgery here in Rome.

[quote] he is going to be able to feast on the scraps of Sloane or Konta

They all want to feast on scraps of Kont!

It's hilarious that you think Nick READS, R31. Every time he plays, I hope that he will have a compound leg fracture and writhe on the ground for a while before they use a broom to push him to the side of the court. He is scum.

R37: She has a heart?

16 y/o Daria Lopatetska underwent a knee surgery in Italy, her recovery process will take "long weeks or maybe months". Her family is thankful for all kind of help from the Ukrainian people & Elina Svitolina 👇

Ben Rothenberg thinks he's a journalist but he's really just a gossip columnist.

Yes, Djokovic wants to be liked. What's wrong with that? Why is that a bad thing? I can get behind people not liking his game, or how he loses his temper sometimes with ball kids, etc. but I've never understood disliking someone for their desire to be well-liked. Same for Azarenka, who seems to suffer the same fate among the women.

I'm not even sure what Kyrgios' problem with Nadal is. Nor do I care. Kyrgios is just the "mean girl" writing the burn book on his fellow players because he's unable to deliver with results. And Ben is the "gossip girl" sharing the message so he can get more twitter followers. They're both just a waste of time.

TC gets a yellow card for showing Gramps routining Sousa and not Verdasco upsetting Domi in 3.

I listened to the Rothberg interview, and, it was interesting, and I continue to enjoy NK as a player and personality. Big fan.

That being said, regarding the interview, and, informed some by a poster on the most recent thread who said he knows (or knew) Ben, this is what it sounded like to me: Ben has a not-so-transparent crush on NK. NK seems to realize this and seems to me to be very comfortable with gays. Ben's speech was so rapid-fire (not sure if it always is or not?), and he fawned on NK non-stop. Ben is often informative and I follow him, so, I suppose I need to acknowledge that, but I agree that even on points and personalities that I agree with him, he does come off as a gossip columnist.

Ben's past tweets to NK seem desperate, and I recall one in which he tweeted something along the lines of, "what are you doing tonight? Call me!" as if they were buds. I'm assuming NK is a good sport and maybe enjoys the attention, but Ben seems to be unabashedly in love with NK.

^ hard to fathom, but I guess there's no accounting for taste

[quote] Verdasco upsetting Domi in 3

Domi lost and Mladonna won!

Ugh. I hope it's the opposite result at RG. Mlad the Impaler is really gaining form though. It's not even that she's playing better under Bajin (yet), but she just seems to have so much more confidence on the court. Not DFing on every single break point like she has for the past year.

Still, we're already seeing a lot of tanks and retirements (Goerges, Cornet) today. Not many are up to the challenge of winning 2 matches in one day and still possibly going deep in this tournament right before Roland Garros. So some of these results have a slight asterisk next to them.

I actually got the same 'obsessive schoolgirl crush' vibe from Rothenburg to Kyrgios. He's antagonising him because he wants that reaction. And yes, NK is very comfortable with gays and definitely enjoys teasing him back and getting that attention. It's high school all over again.

[quote]but Ben seems to be unabashedly in love with NK.

And, dear DLers, so am I. He’s unfiltered (so refreshing in the tennis world of carefully-crafted PR drivel and pablum) and iconoclastic (would anyone else who plays tennis dare say what 80% of tennis fans and 99% of DLers think about Djokovic and his cringeworthy sucking up to the public?). That, and I love his Austrian wog accent, which he wears with pride.

^I meant AUSTRALIAN wog accent, of course.

I think both BR and NK came across very well in that interview. If BR had had his NYT hat on it would have been rubbish. I like with podcasts how tennis people can say what they like.

Well tennis does benefit from bad boys. But we already have Tomic, and it's hard to out-douche that.

I completely agree, R50!

Kyrgios just defaulted. Does anyone know why?

He was throwing shit on the court and arguing with a fan. He aint right...

I think he said something bad to the chair ump, got docked a game, and started throwing chairs. Then he was defaulted.

Thanks, R62. I just read he threw a folding chair among other things.

Bitch be cray

R50: You can say whatever you want about him, but he did the right questions where most journalist only praise and kiss the ass of the player. In fact some things are very interesting on that podcast.

And i don't know what's his problem with Nadal, but Nadal's problem with him it's very obvious, he lost a couple of times. I think Nadal can bear being defeated from people he considers his equals but losing to someone with that work ethic is tough for him. And Rafa is not a good loser.

Saying that, Kyrgios needs to tone down or he will end being expelled. I wouldn't mind his bad boy pose and his big mouth but his court behaviour is hideous

I hope Lopatetska recovers well. And i'm one of the few that likes Svitolina's game

Hahahaha Kyrgios. Djoko fans getting some welcome relief balm for those salt burn wounds from yesterday.

Anyone know when that podcast was actually recorded?

[quote][R50]: You can say whatever you want about him, but he did the right questions where most journalist only praise and kiss the ass of the player. In fact some things are very interesting on that podcast.

Gossip can be interesting.

I'm not commenting on the podcast w/ Kyrgios because I haven't listened to it, but one of my critiques of Ben is that he *doesn't* pose questions correctly, as a journalist should, and instead asks long-winded questions to insert his own viewpoints into the discussion. If he's improved in that area, then bravo to him.

The video of the Djokovic press conference making the rounds had a lot of back and forth between Novak and Ben. And that's where Ben got distracted in that exchange. He started out asking Djokovic who he was voting for in the board election, and by midway through, he's pushing Djokovic to comment on what his (Ben's) unidentified sources were telling him. In my opinion, an experienced journalist would approach Djokovic and ask for more information and more transparency about the election and ongoing search for the new ATP president. And if Djokovic is evasive and gives non-answers, ask follow-up questions: "Can you elaborate on that?" "What specifically are you looking for in a candidate?" Etc. if Djokovic still refuses to answer, then there's your story.

Instead, Ben floats out a rumor he heard, dresses it up as "his sources say", and asks for a comment. Gossip.

I can't believe what a fucking child Kyrgios is! Grow the fuck up already. His parents must be so proud!

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

After appearing to question something with an official, footage shows Kyrgios furiously smashed his racket into the ground before kicking something along the floor.

As he made his way back to his court-side seat, the Australian then picked up a chair and threw it onto the court while the Italian crowd booed.

He then sat down before instantly returning to his feet and protesting further. He said: 'F****** retard bro. Why are you walking across court as I am serving? I don't want to play. Why would I play?

'I am giving 100 per cent to deal with f****** idiots like him, I'm done. I'm f****** done. I'm f****** done with it. I don't give a f***.'

There seems to be some suggestion that he was put off during his serve by somebody in the stadium.

Kyrgios will now forfeit all of the prize money he won at the event and will have to give up his complimentary hotel.

The 24-year-old will also face a major offence investigation, which could lead to serious consequences given his on-court record over the years.

Kyrgios later took to his Twitter account and mocked the celebrations from his opponent after he won by default.

He wrote: 'Hahahaha' and added two crying laughing emojis in response.

The incident on Thursday is far from the first controversy Kyrgios has been involved in.

He was given a ban by the ATP in 2016 after walking off court midway through a match against Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters and may well find himself suspended again.

Kyrgios' antics came only 24 hours after he laid into the sport's biggest stars in an interview on the No Challenges Remaining podcast, saying he 'could not stand' Novak Djokovic and calling Rafael Nadal 'super salty'.

R59 Tomic is a complete has-been though. Kyrgios, despite his faults, is still a contender.

Yeah, with Kyrgios, bitch be cray.

Nadal struggles with Kyrgios because Kyrgios does not allow Nadal to get in a rhythm. Kyrgios is very unpredictable and it rattles Nadal. Nick can hit a screaming winner or some cutesy drop shot, both coming out of nowhere. Plus Kyrgios has a really good serve when it's on. Kyrgios additionally is tall with a two-handed backhand, so he can handle Nadal's high bouncing shots.

It's too bad Kyrgios is is a lazy, crazy motherfucker. He is so, so talented. Imagine if he harnessed that talent?

Lil Diego took down lovely Matteo 😒

Kyrgios is 24. Tomic is 26. Neither one seems to be able to find the discipline to filter their commentary or the work ethic that turns a whiner with great talent into a winner with no excuses. At this rate they can both expect flatlined careers that were more about piss, vinegar and unrealized potential that never got to where it could and should have.

I was shocked about Thiem....we will see what happens now with Fed, Nadal and Djoko playing again

The Fog is through. My, his ass looks perky in those white shorts 🍑

It's so refreshing to have a not just a tennis player but an "iconclast", who's brave enough to be honest with his feelings and throw a chair, call everybody "fucking idiots" and walk off the court. His follow-up tweet mocking his opponents win was truly revolutionary. Bravo! I love that when he's frustrated and not getting his way he can be honest and slut-shame one of his peers and try to embarrass his opponents. His authenticity is as refreshing as his hair-do's. Here on DL we know he's right, those fans ARE fucking idiots and Vecic IS a whore. Also, that hideous chair deserved to be thrown out.

- Tsitsipas and Fognini both win their matches to set up a very exciting encounter. Can't wait for that one.

- Kohlschreiber will face Djokovic again (3rd time this year), after beating Cecchinato.

- Azarenka defeats Garbage Muguruza.

- Vondrousova beats Halep AGAIN. Took 3 sets (Halep tried a tactical MTO but it didn't work). Halep's RU points from last year drop off.

- Jo Konta beats both Sloth Stephens and an extremely crippled Venus Williams to make the QF.

- Mlad the Impaler beats both Belinda Bencic (in 3) and Ash Barty (in 2). Very good wins even though clay is not their best surface.

Now this is something I want to see-

[quote]‘The celebration just kills me. Every time it does… it kills me. If I play him and beat him again, I’m doing the celebration in front of him [laughing]… that would be hilarious!’

[R80] me too, oh, please, I hope we get to see it soon.

Isn't Kyrgios likely to be suspended for a while?

Yes, and then Djokovic could kick a bottle, throw a chair, call Nicks girl a slut , dye his hair pink, shave a Z in his head, and scream at the fans, "I'm so EDGY"

Gramps arguing with the umpire. Coric [correctly] stopped the point to say Federer hit the ball out, and the umpire checked and it was. Federer whining that Coric said 'out' too late (he didn't).

Coric is currently 5-1 up.

Gramps gets cranky when he’s losing

Nick and Nole lethally choking each other at net at the end of their match would be the perfect ending for all of us. Both are blight on the tennis landscape.

Very few people can make me root for Nole. Miss Nick Krygois is one of the people

ATP culture is so PC. Nick K should be easily banned for at least 3 months

Where can I find Kyrgios' Italian meltdown on youtube?

Now Gramps is complaining that when the tournament workers came to maintain the clay after he lost the first, set they put too much water on the court. LOL.

If Coric beats this sulk today (and I hope he does) he'll have done so on all 3 surfaces.

Wpw !! Elder bi Nando won two marathon 3 sets match today against much younger and fitter opponents. Beating Thiem on clay is no joke. And Karen looked solid today

Iron Man Verdasco

Federina lost 1st set. Hope he loses the match. Can’t stand that arrogant prick.

Kyrgios on Verdasco “He’s the most arrogant person ever. He thinks he’s god’s gift but like, dude, your backhand’s pretty average”

35-year-old Verdasco spends 6 sets and 4 hours, 54 minutes on court to defeat [5] ThiemDomi and [11] KarenKhachanov at #IBI19. Verdasco is scheduled for one more match today alongside Denis_Shapo in doubles 2R.

Verdasco has always been super fit. Didn’t he play a nearly 6 hour semi v Rafa at Oz?

Drama queen. Why has he always been angry about his small Malay cock?

There is no way Federer comes even close to SF in best of 5 tournament on clay.

Congrats, R97, on finding an even lower level of bogan wit than Kyrgios'.

Bogan video.

I gather the players are not happy in general with how the Rome tournament has been run- lots of angry Tweets from many of them. Nick is a meathead. He has been dissing Nadal, Djokovic and Verdasco- among others. I time all his competition will learn how to ignore his antics and he will just do himself in more consistently. It's already happening.

NK has alluded to having some mental health issues in the past. I genuinely don't think he wants to be out there. He's so ridiculously naturally talented he's earned a tonne of money without having to put in much effort, but I don't think he's enjoyed much of it.

I wouldn't be surprised if he just walks away from the game after this.

Coric is a loser and he will always be.

Looking at the draw, I'm thinking his meltdown was to avoid being Boobs Out's bitch! He knows he'd be humiliated and to have to sit on court while Novak shoved his tits in his face and Nick would have to sit there and take it like the huge cunt that he is. Planned default. I seem to remember him avoiding Stan for a couple of tournaments also.

I bet you're quite the winner, R103.

R105: What i am doesn't change the fact that he is not made to be a number one. He has the skills but he doesn't have the mentality. He should have won this match but once again he was unable to do it.

The fact that someone like him, who has big wins (titles and he defeated Nadal and Federer before) is unable to crack the top 10 says a lot

WTF and Coric's forehand fails him AGAIN. He had 5-2 in the tiebreak then 6-4 on his serve. He missed a few forehands. The final point was a missed backhand volley.

Can't believe old ass Federer won 2 matches today and 1 of them was this marathon. Truly pathetic on Coric's part. Nadal with his fragile body likely will too as Basilashvili sucks on clay

Sloane another WTF loss. Konta is horrible on clay. Sloane was up a set and it looked like she was going to win in 2. She must have completely given up in the third set.

Shocked at Mladenovic winning 2 matches especially over Bencic and Barty

solid wins for Osaka today

there's no doubt that Kyrgios will be suspended from tour for several weeks if not months. He'll likely miss Wimbledon which is a shame as he could do wonders there. I was hoping for a Djokovic/Kyrgios rematch soon. I enjoy Nick's game when he's in good form and his candor but I don't like his tantrums and quitting like this is disgraceful

To be fair, Verdasco IS one of the biggest douchebags on tour. With his selective grunting, fake MTOs, tantrums at the umpire, teenage girl level thirst traps on IG, fake tanning, and general bad taste... he is a dick during matches and walks around like a peacock. "Arrogant" is the right word. Not to say that Nick isn't arrogant himself. But he clearly doesn't like Fiasco after the latter's incident with Kokkinakis (where he was being a cunt).

I'm so disappointed in Coric. This is the 2nd time in two weeks Fed has gotten away with an opponent choking multiple MPs against him (Monfils in Madrid). They're letting him off the hook too easily. I also wanted him to silence the incredibly rude crowd who were whistling between his first and second serves, and booing every time a close Federer ball was called out.

I think Nick is one injury or one meltdown away from retirement. Demolition derby tennis, I think fans are going to try and bait him in the future.

And pray Tsitsipas to win today because Fognini is totally useless against Federer.

Yes, Kyrgios is totally right, Verdasco is arrogant unless you are a celebrity (even an minor one) in that case he is nice.

Kyrgios will walk away from tennis. He has no interest in it.

it's really shocking that Verdasco is now 4-0 vs. Thiem. Thiem has shown he can beat Nadal. Verdasco certainly hits harder than Nadal especially on the forehand side and serve but his backhand is attackable, he's much less consistent and while a decent mover, not as fast. I don't understand how Thiem can be owned by Verdasco but highly competitive against Nadal.

and Verdasco has now beaten Khachanov in back-to-back weeks.

What does it say about the ATP that so many old men are winning 2 matches today? The younger generation really needs to get their shit together.

R112: If he had not interest he should quit.

It's a little tiresome when some players complaint about how much they dislike the sport but they keep playing.

Agassi did it all the time, he was a millionaire, he could retire ten years before but he kept playing and playing.

Thiem will never be a dominant player (not even on clay). He has all the weapons but in my opinion he'll be more like Wawrinka, unstoppable when he is on fire but not on fire too many times

€20,000 fine for Kyrgios + forfeit of ranking points and prize money

R115 yes but that's before the investigation. He will certainly be suspended.

I agree with others here that I could envision Kyrgios possibly retiring for good.

He needs to get some perspective. He gets to play a game and make millions from it. He's naturally talented and doesn't train as hard as most others. If he doesn't want to play tennis what doe he want to do? He's not good enough of a basketball player to go pro. I think he would get bored if he only worked on his foundation. He'll regret it if he does leave tennis

add Del Potro to the old man list of winning twice today. Goffin and Ruud both in straights

And Nadal is on the verge of losing two games in two matches.

Sometimes the level of atp looks pathetic. Nadal is not even remotely at his best level

Nadal had the easiest road today of anyone playing 2 matches. Chardy and Basilashvili aren't clay players

That's not excuse to win only one game

R104, I agree. I know some people like this lol

R106, I'll bet Coric cracks the top 10 this summer. Other than Halle, he has very few points to defend up to his 2018 4th round finish at the USO. He's been hovering in the rankings between #12 and #15 for a while, and at age 22 he' s ready for a breakthrough.

Nadal with another cake draw. I hope his RG draw is a mine field.

When NK is 100 yrs old, looking back on his life, he will have many regrets. Such a fucking waste of talent and not fulfilling your full potential.

He is an embarrassment! How can he not be embarrassed for acting like that? seriously what a fucking asshole. so immature.

R118, you must not play tennis, nor have my history as a fan as well. We have perhaps the 3 best ever still 1,2,3 in the world and depth like there has never been in the game. I don't think you have a clue. We are in a golden age that may be finally turning over.

"much" not "my"

and the chronically injured Nishikori also wins 2 matches today. He almost lost in straights to Struff.

so old men and chronically injured are somehow able to win 2 matches in 1 day: Federer, Nadal, Verdasco, Del Potro, Nishikori. Djokovic is up right now

I've interviewed Verdasco before. He was professional, polite, and accommodating.

Big ego? Yeah, probably. It goes with being as self-centered as top players need to be. I've met with dozens of players, and only a handful have struck me as not having a pretty big ego, and (coincidentally?) they're all women: Kvitova, Safarova, and Mauresmo. But that's a knee-jerk reaction of having been around them for maybe 30 minutes max.

A slight big ego is what probably separates successful players against lesser ones. Obviously hard work but you have to believe in yourself.

R125: Nobody is questioning that, but a top 20 player should be able to win more than a game, no matter how good is Nadal

and Djokovic rolls through too

I too think you need a big ego to make it to the top of the game. You need complete belief. Those who don’t have the big ego are the exceptions not the rule. Which doesn’t excuse being a douchebag.

Exactly. When you work on a public stage it doesn't matter if you are an athlete, a singer or an actor you need a good self steem, but that doesn't equate to be a jerk.

Stefanos is not having that much trouble with Fabio

Good win for Titsy. The Fog is in form, and he definitely had the crowd.

Titsy and Maria Sakkari both through, good for the Greek fans who came to Rome. She beat Petra Kvitova 7-5 5-7 4-0 -retirement. Her 4th top 10 win, and second straight appearance in the Rome QF (she also had to go through qualifying). Will play Mladonna (another qualifier) for a spot in the SF.

Kvitova actually seemed fine, I just don't think she wanted to keep playing so late at night against a very determined opponent lol.

Petra is no pushover. The Greeks are on fire!

Petra won't be a top 4 seed at the French Open now

nice shot of Titsy:

damm

Karen Hemsworth

so the only younger ATP guys to reach the QF are Tsitsipas and middle-aged Schwartzman. The rest of them are 30 and over Federer, Verdasco, Nadal, Djokovic, Del Potro and will-be-30-this-year Nishikori.

Not surprisingly the most interesting ATP match tomorrow is Federer vs. Tsitsipas

Nadal will likely straight set Verdasco

Djokovic will probably straight set a rusty and tired Del Potro

Nishikori vs. Schwartzman could be interesting

On the WTA side I"m looking forward to Osaka vs. Bertens and Azarenka vs. Pliskova. Mladenovic vs. Sakkari could be interesting. Don't care about Konta vs. Vondrousova

If Bertens does the Rome/Madrid double i'll be really impressed. At this point (without wanting to jinx) I put her as the Roland Garros favourite.

She's already beaten Halep, Stephens, Kvitova, and Kerber (arguably some of the biggest RG contenders) on clay. As well as other good clay courters like Sevastova, CSN, and even 2017 champ Ostapenko (who played better than usual against Kiki). If she can snatch that #1 Osaka scalp tomorrow, then the bookies will really start favouring her.

I'm sorta shocked Kei came back. But good for him.

Felix is neck in neck with Karen for top ATP abs...

Karen Hemsworth is going to be a father soon, apparently.

I kinda envy his wife.

Someone upthread asked for a video of the meltdown...found this on twitter...sorry if already posted.

Cray

R99 R105 Aussie apologist, ie NK's bald gay brother, working overtime here.

Uh, no R148, I'm not excusing Kyrgios' behavior at all, far from it. How you inferred that from either of those posts just speaks to your own obtuseness.

Nole.

Some nice shirtless footage of Titsy after his match with Fog... He took his time changing his shirt and is surprisingly muscular in the chest and abs. (Also, shaved smooth, which doesn't get any complaints to me.) He's a haircut away from being one of the hottest in the men's game.

C'mon Tisty beat the old GOAT.

Osaka defaults??

Don't tell me she's throwing chairs now, too

Go roger! Win one of the few tournaments you never have!

Osaka and, now FEDERER retires. I think it is unfair for Coric. We all knew that there is no way Federer could play two matches on the same day (one very competitive) and then play Tsisipas the next day....So unfair for Coric.

Leg injury, apparently.

Probably his hip. So Titsy into the semis.

And, probably, another Titsy-Nadal semi.

Well I hope Verdasco - Nadal goes 4 hours...

Meanwhile, Lil Diego is shellacking Kei!

I don't think it's unfair to Coric, R156. He had a golden opportunity and he blew it. At his level and this point of his career, he needs to close a match like that out. All these guys just seem to be content to wait the Big 3 out.

Pussy Fed was bitching about the lines being wet. I know he's not played on clay in years but still....this is new to him?

R156: Coric had everything to win and he lost, it's all his fault.

Federer had very few probabilites of defeat Tsitsipas today, so if he was not feeling well he did the right thing. RG is here and he has some time to recover

R160: Nadal - Verdasco it'll be another 60 61 routine. Verdasco never was a rival to Nadal, he only was able to defeat the worst versions of Nadal (and sometimes not even those), but at least this time he has a good excuse because he had two very tough matches yesterday

Tispsy could be five (ahead of Zverev) if he reach the final

I agree, This tournament would make a great case study for a sports psychologist. The most important factor for the top players is belief. Roger woke up and knew it wasn't going to happen today. As we saw in AU final Nadal v. B.O, You couldn't call it a tank, but from the 3rd point we all knew, barring injury, that he wasn't going to win. That's why Nadal continues to win 6-0, 6-1 on clay. It's almost like the Spanish players have a contest on who can lose the fastest to him. We've seen Ferrer and RBA unable to win points, much less games. The only ones who have belief are Thiem, B. O., Titsy Bang Bang, , and of course the Iconoclast, bogan, Nick Hilmy Kyrgios, who threatens the tennis establishment by wearing black to a White Party.

Lil Diego resurrected in Rome

And Verdasco won already more games that i was expecting him to win in the whole match

Does anyone think DelPo has a chance versus Boobs?

So far we’ve had two blowouts and two walkovers in our four singles matches of the day.

They clearly need to push all these clay events up a week. No one wants to take any chances with RG so close

Could someone please explain what Djokovic and 'boobs out' refers to or means?

Thanks.

His celebration, R171. And as a big fan of his, the description amuses me, haha.

Though I'd venture to guess that most of us DLers find his Djokovic's ritual to be vomitous. I certainly do.

Lil Diego withdrew from doubles

When someone withdraws from doubles, is there ever a partner who complains? “No I want to play!”

I look forward to R139's nausea all summer long.

R175 I do wonder if they get pissed when it's a player who makes most of their living in doubles. For example, Tsitsipas' partner Wesley Koolhof. Sometimes in a Masters event the difference from one round to the next can be as high as around 80k (Euros). For a minor player and doubles specialist like Koolhof, who is 30 years old now, that is a big difference. That money he will miss out on for Tsitsipas withdrawing could fund travel and lodging for the year, physios, etc. So it's even more important in the smaller tournaments.

For winning the womens doubles in Madrid, Strycova and Hsieh get to split 357,540 Euro. Strycova had just made two consecutive SF in singles at the international level, winning four matches each in Istanbul and Prague. She made more from winning her four doubles matches with Hsieh than from those eight singles matches.

Of course the likes of Diegito and Thiem and Fogna don't really care if their partner wants to withdraw. Recently some players pretty much admitted they just played doubles at the bigger events because they'd rather play a match and make some extra $$ on their off day than do hitting practise. Sadly I can think of a lot of players who would benefit from the netplay.

But they know that if you play with a top player who use to play sngles competition that this could happen (a lot of times). Of course playing with someone like Thiem or Tsitsipas has some advantages in form of wc (and Tsitsipas is not a problem because he don't quit, if they left him he would play two tournaments per week)

R178 Exactly. I'm just saying that's arguably the only reason someone would be pissed to withdraw from doubles. Or maybe if it was like.... a slam semi or final. Which is rare to withdraw from.

Mladonna HAS to be in on the joke. She just spoke 2 different languages with Bajin in her on court coaching session. Was even trying to talk to Sakkari in Italian when they came from back stage on to the court (Sakkari: "I only understood the first part...").

Nole.

I think Fed played here and pulled out realizing he's guaranteed a top 4 seed at RG. He could care less the Italian nutjob fans want to see him. I really wanted to see him against Nadal in the semis and I think he would have psyched out Tstisy.

I hope Tsitsipas carries over confidence from his win against Nadal in Madrid, but I fear Nadal will be extra determined to get revenge. Tsitsi needs to be dialed in from the outset.

Sakkari beats Mlad the Impaler 6-0 in the third set. She looks really in-form right now. Can she and Tsitsi do another 'Greek double' like they did a few weeks ago in Estoril/Rabat?

Will play Pliskova in the SF, a *delicious* one year anniversary grudge match of the Rome encounter where Pliskova went apeshit and destroyed the umpire chair.

If she can win that match, a final will be very interesting. Either a rematch of the Rabat final with Konta, or playing Bertens. The latter is arguably the best clay courter in the world right now, but Sakkari has beaten her twice before (both times on clay, one was earlier this year in Charleston).

R181: I doubt Federer had a chance against Tsitsipas. He had a tough match against Coric and Tsitsipas is probably better than him on clay anyway

Djokovic seems to be getting ever more emaciated. He's already having tantrums at 3-3 in the first set and looks like he'll collapse into a pile of bones and dust if he gets too apoplectic.

And Delpo won the first set. Nice to see that not everything it's that easy for Nole

ole , ole ole . DelPo

Think of what DelPo could have been if he had stayed healthy . . .

I need Del GOATRO to show up and win this 3rd set. I mean the title probably belongs to Rafa or Tsitsipas anyway but still, I just like seeing him play well. Which it doesn't feel like we'll see for much longer.

He's still so talented as a shotmaker but with all these injuries he looks so laborious and stilted around the court. A less extreme version of what we saw with Venus the other night.

To be fair to DelPo that big toe doesn't look good.

and Del Potro choked that tiebreak. I knew he'd lose the third set too

every fucking body on the ATP chokes against the big 3. It's madness

Tsitsipas is our only hope to stop a Djokovic-Nadal final. It was good he got a day off today

Titsy!

Lil Diego!!

Nole actually saying he loves Delpo in yesterday's press conference. That is sweet. I love their matches and today was no exception!

Does “Nole” give boobs out to DelPo?

Still my favourite picture of theirs...

I predict Djokovic will be like Safin and enter politics after he retires. The 1 country where he's wildly popular is his native Serbia. I could even imagine him being elected President there some day. He'd do it because he loves attention and praise. He would want to elevate Serbia to being a more prominent country on the map with frequent trips to the US but things wouldn't go well given his Kosovo stance

Nolive Oyl...

Nole is a warrior

Nole's manner is off-putting and there are other sublime top players to choose from that are more worthy of my attention.

Nole is a desperate twat

Like me, like me! Or I'll kill you!

This Djokovic vs Del Potro match was one of the best, if not the best of those I've seen so far this year.

Djokovic vs Del Potro should have been a great rivalry spanning at least a decade. DelPo's injuries cheated us of that.

Yes, very true, R203. It's a real pity.

I hope today's match means Del Potro's left wrist is feeling good again. He was giving Djokovic trouble because he was often pounding his 2 handed backhand as he used to do 10 years ago. If not for the choke on match point he would have wrapped this up in 2 sets

Rain is in the forecast for Rome....

R196: Safin is in politics because it's a easy way to get money and influence. He doesn't seem to have any real interest and his opinions can be summarize as "what Putin says".

Even he wants to be politically correct and follow Rafa and Roger footsteps of trying to avoid any criticism, the truth is Novak has opinions (for better or for worse).

The Tsitsipas-Nadal is an important match. I still think Nadal is favourite but Stefanos winning today it'll be the real start of a change of guard. He showed he can defeat Rafa on clay, but defeat him two consecutive times on Rafa's favourite surface is a huge thing

Konta is annoying. Also with the way she plays she will probably lose in the first 2 rounds of the French.

Agree, R207, about Nadal-Tsitsipas today, especially with Rome being closer to Roland Garros in terms of how the clay surface plays. I know the French can't stand Nadal and are sick of him winning RG. Why don't they speed up the clay to be more like Madrid?

Well, the french tend to hate when spaniards go there and steal their beloved trophy and Nadal did it a lot of times.

I don't think it's personal against him, i'm pretty sure they will give him a big homage when he retires but yes, they are tired of watching him win

So ugly, so obnoxious, so angry, so unlikable....

Maybe, but he is able to be back to normal once the match is over. No awful handshakes, no belittle of the rival on the post match interviews

Exactly, R212, and even during the match as we saw yesterday with their high fives after Delpo's great dropshot and with his applause etc...

Roger Federer with his big ole nose and Princess attitude is the ugliest sports figure I can think of.

Urgg, Stefanos started the match exactly the way you should never start against Rafa. Giving him advantage from the beginning is the best way of making him feel comfortable and you don't want that on clay if you want to have a chance

[R213] FF’d you by mistake. Meant to WW

Aww, no problem, R216! Thanks!

No one is oozing BS PR more than the Nose.

Unless there is a miracle, it looks like Nadal straight sets Tsitsi today. Ugh. I need Nole to beat Shortzman and then destroy Nadal in the final. Otherwise, Nadal goes into RG with renewed confidence. I just can't handle another Nadal French Open win.

[quote] Rain is in the forecast for Rome....

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Nadal and Djokovic are equally overbearing and tedious at this point. We need a Slam champion under 30. It's hard to believe there's not a single Slam winner under 30 among active ATP players.

I was sitting at the computer and listening to the match from the other room. It is much more pleasant than watching Nadal and his tics......

R222 but you would miss the best part of Nadal’s match!

Yes I’m talking about his ass.

People can't even pretend to be interested in women's tennis. The stadium is practically empty for this semi-final in Rome.

never would have guessed a Pliskova-Konta final lol Konta sucks on clay but somehow she's having a great week. I guess her result in Morocco a few weeks ago was a sign of things to come. Bertens is still beatable after all

Pliskova has been bad too with early losses in Stuttgart and Madrid. Now she's regaining all those lost points this week.

I think wta is in one of its lowest moments. They need a star, and all they have is a bunch of good players unable to keep their level three weeks in a row.

Stefanos has a big problem with his serve in the first games of every set. He is broke in a lot of matches in those first games and that against solid players like Rafa or Nole is a big disadvantage that he needs to correct.

The good thing about Tsitsipas is that he seems to learn from his mistakes and he is clearly improving. His serve has the potential to be a big weapon. He has a lot of chances to leave Roland Garros as the number 4 in the world

I don't want Nadal to win Rome but if he does, at least it's only 1 title. I'm glad he didn't dominate the season. Hopefully ANYONE except Nadal and Djokovic can win RG

fuck the ATP is annoying. For the last 7-8 years I've been wanting someone to break up the monotony. Wawrinka did it 3 times to his credit and Cilic once but that's it.

Yes yes we have new promising players but until 1 of them wins a slam, the ATP is nothing but boring. The masters have been more interesting but not the slams.

and there's no excuse for it. The big 3 are now into their 30s well past their physical peaks yet they still dominate slams.

J'adore Rafa.

draws for next week out.

A. Zverev playing AGAIN in a last ditch effort to get some momentum

The only top ranked ladies playing are Barty and Sabalenka but neither is a real contender for RG.

Garin returns from his rest

Wawrinka also playing

FAA and Shapovalov both trying to get that first title

Flopos.

Je hais Rafa.

I can't see Rafa's ass - he always has his hand back there in the way.

Nole team or Lil’ Diego team?

Schwartzman's serve isn't good enough due to his height. No way he beats Djokovic without help from Novak. First set 6-3

Diego would drop his pants down the moment he sees Nadal on the other side of the net. With Novak, he and Rafa may give us a good match.

Does he have an Onlyfans?

What?

I see the young Diego fan in the stands......obviously a DataLounger......

Diego is giving Nole a fight

Is Pliskova even a good tennis player? Or is she just tall…. she’s always so consistent. That is, consistently taking advantage of her high seeding to steamroll through easy draws, consistently playing middling tennis, and consistently never seeming like an actual threat for a GS. She's just a great serve with a basic bitch game attached…. it’s worth noting that she only played three matches before today. Sakkari had played TWICE as many and was still pushing her.

I don't like Rafa either, but my one consolation with him is that this year *genuinely* feels like his last rodeo. I know we've said that before, but he's not playing well on clay at all. Other players getting better and better (Coric, Tsitsipas, Schwartzman, Thiem). His body is so fragile now, imagine how it'll be in one years time? My attitude is kind of like: let him just fight his body to the death to win this last slam and then disappear into the ether.

No outrage over Pliskova bashing an umpire’s chair with her racket? I guess that’s very “basic bitch.”

The umpire's voice sounds like a woman's voice.....

Lil Diego really tried. At least he won a set

Lil Diego has a champion's heart. In a munchkin's body. :-(

[R242] I thought it was a woman until he was on camera. Very strange voice

R211 So true.

College tennis. Compelling.

Well Boobs Out versus Wedgie Boy certainly shut this thread down.

The audience for the doubles final in Rome is completely empty.

Since the Rome final won't change the rankings, and next week's results don't go towards the French Open seeds, the seedlings are set, pending withdrawals. Anderson and Isner have already pulled out.

1-4: Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Theim

5-8: A. Zverev, Tsitsipas, Nishikori, Del Potro

9-12: Fognini, Khachanov, Cilic, Medvedev

13-16: Coric, Monfils, Raonic, Basilashvili

No. 32 would be Djere, Just missing a seed are Kyrgios, Tiafoe, and Garin. (Although I wouldn't be shocked if Raonic pulled out and Kyrgios got in.)

Among the group seeded between 17-32 are: Shapavalov, Wawrinka, Auger-Aliassime, Gofin, Berretini.

[quote]The audience for the doubles final in Rome is completely empty.

To be fair, it's on court the same time as the Women's Final. I guess they're afraid of rain impacting the schedule? Although tournament organizers have really made a mess of this year's event.

Nole? Rafa? Nole?

Pete.

The ones to avoid in the 5-8 section are Tsitsipas and Delpo (if he has easy first rounds), and in the 9-12 Fognini (only if you are Nadal) and Medvedev (even if his level doesn't seem the same in the last tournaments).

I suppose Tsitsipas prefers not to play against FAA even if in clay i doubt Felix has a chance

With Pliskova winning Rome, Ladies seeds set. No one in seeded territory has pulled out yet, Sharapova (No. 49) is the highest ranked woman to withdraw.

1-4: Osaka, Pliskova, Halep, Bertens

5-8: Kerber, Kvitova, Stephens, Barty

9-12: Svitolina, S. Williams, Sabalenka, Sevastova

13-16: Wozniacki, Keys, Bencic, Q. Wang

Just missing a seed are Collins, Kenin, and Cibulkova.

Among the group seeded between 17-32 are Muguruza, Mertens, Kasatkina, Andreescu, Vekic, Garcia, Hsieh, Konta, Suarez Navarro.

Ostapenko and Azarenka unseeded.

R254, FAA has never lost to Tsitsipas, including in juniors.

NoNad

Amazing that we're a week away from the French starting and neither of the defending champions (Nadal or Halep) has won an event since August.

Although Nadal with a good shot at the Rome title today.

Djokovic has won 9 of 10 of his most recent encounters with Nadal. No?

Nole!

Is anyone watching the match? Is Nole injured or did Rafa just play out of his mind the first set?

Watching. Tic boy is just playing well. Novak has stepped it up in the second set (although he just missed an overhead into the bottom of the net that he definitely should have made).

If Rafa picks up just a couple of more tics to add to the growing list of pre-serve rituals, he will not be able to physically serve a ball in less than one minute.

Djokovic is playing poorly. That's all.

I'll bet Rafa stands over there waiting for a serve and has to obsessively count how many times Novak bounces the ball before serving.

Novak miraculously finally breaks and takes the second set.

The level of play from both of them is execrable.

Are you on Rafa team or Boobs Out team?

Grease fire for both of them, Team

Nadal is standing so far behind the baseline he’s gonna vanish from the screen.

Nadal leads, 6-0, 4-6, 1-0 (break)

The score line is so "WTA" I would have thought the match was compelling.

Djokovic not playing well. This is my worst nightmare. Now Nadal will go into the French with renewed confidence. If he wins again, I'll throw a rock through my TV screen.

Better throw bottle. So Nadal will have to count it

Looks like Rafa's new tic is to obsessively take multiple glances over to the countdown clock on his first serve. His regular life must be more and more debilitating.

He's so dreamy.

Hai Ram,Nole

Half the cover jinx worked.

boo! hiss!

I think we've found our next cover boy image, R277.

Awww, no Nole nausea today, R176...

It looks like old age inconsistency has caught up with Djokovic. His first set was horrendous. He could not move at all, time after time after time. Hopefully he will have a good day in RG if he has to meet Nadal again there.

Jesus, awful performance from Djokovic. Nadal will likely take #12 at RG. Sigh . . .

Go west?

Nadal!

Given the week Djokovic had it's not surprising. He would have lost to Del Potro in straight sets had Juan Martin not missed a sitter forehand on match point and yesterday he went 3 sets with Schwartzman.

I'm not upset that Nadal got 1 title. I'll be annoyed if either Novak or Rafa wins RG though (and that will probably happen)

I can't believe Pliskova is up to #2 again by winning Rome? ugh I can't stand her game at all.

Djokovic’s failed drop shots deserve a highlight.

in Geneva, Dimitrov qualified for the main draw

MOST MASTERS 1000 titles

Nadal, 34

Djokovic, 33

Federer, 28

R256: And? There's always a first time, and right now Tsitsipas level on clay is miles away from Felix.

First time i root for Rafa in a good while. I think i prefer him winning his 12th RG than Nole winning, but if i am the one to chose noone of them will win

The Rome final should have been sponsored by Geritol.

Looking forward to FAA, Hurkacz, McDonald, Humbert, and Garin this week.

Roland Garros qualys start tomorrow. I wish Alejandro Davidovich gets into the main draw, he is a very entertaining player

And it's context, that's all, R288. FAA so far has had Tsitsipas' number. That doesn't discount that Tsitsipas has reached a phenomenal level of tennis, though both he and FAA seem to do either very well or are barely registering in the last few month's events.

R291: That's the reason i said that probably Stefanos prefer not to face Felix, but right now it will be a big surprise if Felix was able to win.

Stefanos played incredibly bad the only time they played on pro level, and Felix was played at a way higher level on the hardcourt than he is playing right now. He had an amazing record against top 20 players but once the clay started he lost against every top player he faced (including Zverev) without too much opposition. He is very young so ups and downs are expected.

On the other hand his experience in GS is near to zero, he lost in the qualies in Australia and he had to retire on the US Open

well it's unlikely because Nadal often gets easy early round slam draws but I'd LOVE it if he drew Garin in 2nd or 3rd rounds

Anyway, it doesn't matter if he has an easy draw or not in the first rounds because he is not vulnarable on clay (in fact a rival like Isner or Opelka could be more dangerous for him than a clay specialist on the first round).

Where he benefited from easy draws is in Wimbledon. He is very vulnerable on the first rounds where the court is faster, so someone good on grass could mean an early elimination

I suppose for Rafa and Nole, de jackpot is avoid Delpo and Tsitsipas on quarterfinals and Thiem on semis

I love Rafa and every little tic that comes with him. Onward to RG!

I had to laugh when they played "Go West." WTF?

R296 their biggest hit?

R297: Biggest hit of who?

R298 I was asking if they played "Go West" biggest hit?

ESL, they played a version of “Go West”, a song by Village People.

Go west is not Village People biggest hit (at least not in Europe)

There’s a group called Go West.

The Pet Shop Boys version was a pretty big hit.

Well Paris is sorta west of Rome, n'est-ce pas?

Another vote for R277 as our cover boy for Part 42.

Qualies draw is out

Vote for Nole as cover boy. Rafa has his faults but he’s not as insufferable as Nole. And at least he’s pleasant to look at, rather than a Gumby plucked chicken.

Today was the first time I've rooted for Rafa in ages. Nole would have been insufferable.

Nadal is completely insufferable. As noted above, his new tic is to look at the service clock over and over and over before serving. Add that to his other annoying OCD habits.

There is no way that anyone except Rafa should be the next cover boy. He must be stopped.

Yup, given Nole/Rafa, I'm team Rafa.

I don’t like either, but between “Nole” and Rafa, I’m on Nole team.

I cannot abide Djokovic trying to rally the crowd after he makes a great shot. Just ostentatious. Regardless of the fact the crowd may not be pulling for him, his sarcastic summoning to the crowd to cheer is pathetic. You never see Federer or Rafa do this. I mean they might celebrate themselves with a fist-pump of something, but really, Djokovic's celebration is an act of petulance. If the crowd is not behind him then suck it up buttercup.

DJokovic getting bageled is pretty sweet too, I'm not picky about who does it.

Did someone say “bagel”?

There is no doubt that Novak needs love. Instead of hating him for it, I pity and feel bad for him for it. Regardless of the immense success he has had, it isn't enough; he wants the adulation. He's at the top of his profession, is wildly wealthy, good-looking, has an attractive wife and all the other women he wants, two super cute kids, and he still isn't satisfied. It's sad. And cautionary.

Sometimes appetites have no bottom.

I think what he lacks is respect. I mean everyone respects his tennis which is astonishing. But I think his antics earlier in his tennis life color what his peers think of him in private.

I preferred the Djokovic who first came on tour. He was arrogant but knew he belonged with the top players. He wasn't afraid to speak his mind about them. He even imitated players' mannerisms. Most of them laughed but of course some like Nadal took offense. Once the press heard Nadal's thoughts on that, they began bashing Djokovic and so he stopped. Since then he's tried to become fan favorite (except for when he notices crowds cheering against him in matches).

Yeah, the desperate pandering is off-putting. The imitations and cheekiness were much, much more preferable. He should've just stopped doing the Nadal impressions ... "Oh, I wasn't meaning to cause offence, I'll just stop doing that one then!" and emphasise that everyone else has thicker skins (even if they don't, they'll probably put up with it after that).

Honestly, I wish he would do the Nadal impression as he is actually serving against Nadal in a tournament! If they make it to the RG finals, he should do that because it would freak Rafa out completely.

don't they share the same agent now for several years? That's why they play nicely towards each other. We'll never see another imitation unless Nadal OKs it

Djokovic of 2007 would have a field day imitating Djokovic of 2019: the flared nostrils; the furious, megalomaniacal glare; the furrowed brow, the downturned lips, the pout, the endless ball bounce before serving, irate yelling at spectators and umpires and ballboys, the flailing of arms toward the crowd for applause after a good shot, and finally the boobs out gloat. At least we didn't have to deal with that today.

R290 he's got a good chance with his qualie draw

DL favorite Mmoh finally returns to tennis after some injury (never learned what it was). He's in the RG qualie draw too

Fed's foot may be worse than thought but he's likely to try and play.

Tipsaravic's interview on The Tennis Podcast was interesting for the insight he gave about Djokovic. He basically said he's a "people pleaser" who can't say no to anything. He's a good friend of Novak so chose his words carefully, but the subtext was that he's desperate to be liked.

R323 exactly.

so Federer doesn't think Kyrgios' incident was a big deal

...

“I don’t think he should be suspended,” 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer - who Kyrgios has hailed as the greatest player of all time - said.

“He walked off the court. What did he do? He hurt a chair? That’s not enough for me.

"A zero pointer, fine, all this stuff is already tough enough. He knows it's a mistake what happened.

“I don’t know if he’s on probation or not from his Shanghai thing. If that’s the case, then obviously you can maybe look into it.

“If that’s run its course, I don’t think he should be suspended.”

I think NK and Bernie would both benefit from a suspension. Maybe then they can figure out if they really want to play tennis.

LOL no doubt Fed loved Nick's comments about him and that shaded his opinion. Fuck Federer - Nick is going to hurt someone and needs help. He's funny but I could see him opening fire.

NK doesn't deserve a suspension and isn't going to get one. He was fined €20k and lost all prize money and ranking points.

It was a default rather than a disqualification. No-one got hurt. It's not the same thing as Nalbandian injuring that line judge or Henman hurting that ball girl.

I don't think Kyrgios should be suspended, but Federer misses the mark with his flip comments about "hurting a chair". If this happens once every few years (Pliskova smashing a racket against an umpire's chair), you brush it off. But Kyrgios seems to have some on court meltdown every six months. Remember the US Open when Lahyani was begging Kyrgios from the chair to make some kind of effort? It just doesn't represent tennis well to have these repeated episodes from him. If tennis just continues to ignore it and look the other way, is it going to resolve itself? Doubtful.

Would have been nice if Federer was a little more concerned or critical in his comments.

I think there's a general feeling of concern or sympathy for Kyrgios which comes through in these comments.

Everyone knows he's ridiculously talented but he's also obviously unhappy. I do think he's a good bloke "deep down", his mental issues have been alluded to for years. I think he's playing a sport he doesn't want to play but he doesn't have any other option. With his talent it's easy money but he just doesn't want to be doing it.

It's easy for us to slag him off but he remains popular on the tour with people who actually know him.

I can't stand Kyrgios, but in light of what other punishments get meted out, I think suspension would be overkill for this one. It's not only that he didn't hurt anyone, it's also that the chair throw was not an act of aggression towards anyone in particular, it was into the open court. IMO the Pliskova incident was worse because her aggression was clearly targeted at a person (the chair umpire).

[quote]Everyone knows he's ridiculously talented but he's also obviously unhappy. I do think he's a good bloke "deep down", his mental issues have been alluded to for years. I think he's playing a sport he doesn't want to play but he doesn't have any other option.

Walk away. Players have done it before. Look at Borg - he played his last Slam at age 25. Kyrgios has earned over $7M in prize money alone (who knows how much more in racket or clothing deals), so he should be ok financially unless he's been totally irresponsible.

[quote]It's easy for us to slag him off but he remains popular on the tour with people who actually know him.

Honestly, I can imagine they're starting to get annoyed, especially after the interview last week. I always listen to the "good guy" comments with some suspicion. If one of your co-workers publicly trashes other co-workers in the press, the good guy label starts to get a little tinged.

My boyfriends Mmoh and Rubin have already been eliminated.

Marcos Giron def. Donald Young, 6-0, 6-1.

Yikes! The good news is that Donald earned $7000 for every game he won.

DY never happened, did he?

R324: I'm starting to repent of deciding to become his fans. He was very entertaining in Estoril and he has talent for sure, but i think he is a head case (well he described himself as crazy as a goat, which is a spanish expression to say he is batshit crazy). He started his match against Clarke incredibly bad. I don't know if were the nerves (i think this is his first RG). He had advantage on the second set but he totally tanked losing his serve to consecutive times (the first one when he was serving for the set). Then he broke Clarke and finally won the tie break. He has a good draw to qualify, so i hope he start to play at a good level and win the third.

The nice comments Federer made about Kyrgios have nothing to do with Kyrgios not bashing him (like the other two of the big three). Federer always was kind with Kyrgios (like he is with Zverev) because both remind him of himself when he was younger. Roger was a brat at the beginning and for a while he gave the impression he was going to waste his talent. That didn't happen and his behaviour never was on Kyrgios level (not even on Zverev) but he has a soft spot for them (he even gave good advice to Sascha on the laver cup)

Trying to jinx Nadal at the beginning of RG is a waste of time. Rafa is not going to lose in the first rounds no matter how difficult is the draw

Jannik Sinner lost in the first round of lyon, but he is doing a really great job. He is very talented but not particularly strong for a 17 year old (Carlos Alcaraz who is two years younger has a stronger body). He is by far the player of 2001 with better ranking, way better than Tseng

What, if anything, did Kyrgios say about Andy Murray?

Kyrgios adored Andy Murray.

He was kind with Tsitsipas (which was a bit surprising because i thought he said Stef was weird before, but maybe it was weird in a good way).

Davidovich won the third 61

Dangerous FO floaters on the men's side: Tiafoe, Kyrgios and Garin just missed the seedings. Hurkacz and Struff also lurk, and we might witness comebacks from Tsonga, Gasquet, Dimitrov, Sousa, PCB, Haase, Berdych or Feli.

R341 Something about Murray being better than Djokovic and should have more wins against him, and also implying that the big 3 were doping because Murray tried to keep up with them for a few years and this killed his body.

Kyrgios at least keeps himself on the SM buzz line with his controversy. Otherwise he'd be barely a blip in the middling ranks of not-so-young-anymore ATP players who've not fulfilled their promise, e.g. Pouille and Edmund.

I think it's important to remember that Nick brings a LOT of free press to the sport. I'm in Australia so maybe it's more exaggerated here, but people here don't talk about tennis unless it's Australian Open time (where they might mention Fed/Nadal/Djoko/Serena/Venus and this past year Barty), OR some N.K controversy at any time of the year. I have a friend who wouldn't even know who Delpo or Sharapova are, and he said to me the other day - a few weeks late - "did you see that Nick Kyrgios did a dropshot on his serve?? Lol".

For better or worse (and it's often the latter IMO), he gets people talking about tennis. There's a reason Federer hand-picks him to participate in Laver Cup, when there are much higher ranked players from other countries where tennis is more popular, who will put in more effort. There's a reason ATP picks him for their 'cards against humanity' video when you would suppose there are more 'likeable' players to participate. To me it seems there's a general sentiment (from other players, to even the tennis media who seem to get along with him, to the ATP itself) that he's "good for the sport."

I think he'd be even better for the sport if he tried harder. He IS talented. But the higher ups like him and he does bring the buzz. I think Tomic has had his turnaround after tumbling down the rankings and realising that he doesn't have much else going on in his life, maybe at a certain point Nick will have the same change of intention.

Oh my.

Xisha or Mary or Maria or whatever his “fiancée’s” name is has never seen something similar to what is shown at R348.

RG Nike gear in action

if I could design the draw myself, I'd give Nadal Davidovich, Kyrgios and Garin as his first 3 opponents.

I see that @R348 many times

R337 yeah it was a bit of a rough day. A lot of the ones I was rooting for lost. I was surprised Mmoh didn't play a challenger last week as he hasn't played a match since the AO.

other notable day 1 qualie winners:

Rosol who is always unpredictable and seemingly not liked by several players (including Murray)

The always entertaining Dustin Brown straight setted Istomin. Trivia fact: Brown is dating Kyrgios' sister

Garcia-Lopez def. Smyczek

Bolelli wins

Troicki

#nextgen M. Ymer (his brother lost though)

Robredo lost

Thanks for that summary, R354.

If Isner withdraws there will be no American men seeded at Roland Garros for the first time in the Open Era

E. Ymer

M. Ymer

Robredo lost against nextgen Molleker.

I think Rudolf is the youngest player in RG unless some of the french wc is younger

Fait accompli R356, Isner withdrew last week.

Just spit-balling... chances of winning the French.

Nadal 33%

Djokovic 22%

Theim 13%

Federer 12%

Tsitsipas 6%

Wawrinka, Fognini, Del Porto 2% each

Zverev, Monfils, Nishikori, Schwartzman 1% each

Remainder of the field -4% total

Now for the ladies:

Halep, Bertens- 14% each

Pliskova, S. Williams - 12% each

Osaka, Kvitova - 8% each

Sltephens - 7%

Barty, Bencic, Kerber - 6% each

Muguruza -2%

Rest of the field - 5% total

Glad Dustin Brown, Bolelli, and Ymer are through. Troicki is a douche but he plays well and has experience enough to at least give some of the MD names a good battle.

I'm surprised to hear the name Tommy Robredo because I kind of thought he'd retired. Former world #5 losing in the first round of qualies isn't great... I wonder if this will be his last year on the tour.

Rain delays at both WTA events this week so far (Nuremberg and Strasbourg). Hopefully it has passed but if not, and they have to do repeat matches etc., some of these girls are going to be completely fucked for the French.

Bolelli is always a delight to watch. Che bello!

I still hesitate to call Halep a favourite to win any title, even if i'm sure she'll go deep. I know she finally got the GS monkey off her back last year (against tired and formless Sloth Stephens who had barely won a match since the US Open win), but she has lost 9 out of her last 12 finals. With her mental midgetry, and the way she runs her body into disrepair by the time she reaches a final, she's actually very vulnerable.

It's actually a good thing for her that Pliskova won in Rome. Because now being bumped down as seeds #3 and #4, Halep and Bertens will be on opposite sides of the draw.

Interesting to see Bencic on the list of favourites too. I know she's had a good year, but this is a slam and I am yet to see her get through her tantrums and sulk sessions without calling daddy down to calm her nerves every changeover.

I think Nadal should do a parody of Novak. I mean touché, Mr. Djokovic. However, Rafa is too classy to stoop to that level.

I don’t think Rafa would be very good at doing parodies. He’d OD on his OCD qualities in attempting to parody a player.

And so Dr r367 has made the diagnosis that Rafa is OCD. Do tell, what year was your MD/Psych conferred? btw, Goldwater rule .....

When I was coming up with numbers, I didn't intend on making Halep the (co) favorite, but is there anyone more likely than her to win it? Pliskova looked good in Rome, but is so up and down. Serena has shown no form, but I put her high up just because she's Serena, and if she can win a few rounds and stay healthy, she probably becomes the favorite. Kvitova is never a sure thing, especially on clay. I've been underwhelmed by Osaka on clay, but I think she'll compete well. The only one I had close to Halep was Bertens, but she's never reached a Slam final, and was seeming a little spent by the end of Rome.

Garin should be in there somewhere. 2%?

the ladies qualie draw is out today. There are some former top 20 players in there such as Bacsinszky, Wickmayer and others. Also former top 50 players mixed in with young teens

Borna

I want #NextGen to start winning a lot more not only to end the Big 3 domination but also so they'll get more attention and photo shoots. Borna looks great there especially the legs

R361, R362, I disagree

For men

Nadal 60 %, Nole : 39%. Rest: 0.79%chance each [Only if Nadal AND Nole get injured]

Yes, things are this bad on men's field

For women: each woman has a 0..78 % chance.

Don't even try to be surprised if Kateryna kozlova wins the ladies titles

yes, things are this bad in women field.

Yesterday, both Nadal and Djokovic looked old. Fed has been looking old for a while now but Nadal and Djoko have entered that age that it is time for them to go...but, of course, they are still winning and they always go deep in tournaments. Thus, we might be having those three for a long time.

[quote]Yesterday, both Nadal and Djokovic looked old

I thought so too (especially Rafa)

Rafa isn’t helped by his stringy hair and bald spots.

I don't understand how anyone can defend Kyrgios on any level. He is scum.

And if you don't believe that Rafa has at least a certain level of OCD going on, you're probably delusional.

Rafa doesn’t have OCD, he’s superstitious - huge difference.

I'm genuinely interested in how you can discern that Rafa's ever-increasing repetitive motions are not OCD related, R379. I'm not fighting you or necessarily disagreeing, but, to an outsider, it is hard to believe there isn't some aspect of him that is far beyond superstition and more in the realm of psychological dependency.

And sorry for your battle.

I don't think one would pick at their ass repeatedly in public as a matter of superstition. It must be OCD or some other affliction.

R372, you know you’ve done something terribly wrong when not even Porna Coric can make your kit look good. What on earth was Nike thinking?!

^ ITA, it's just hidjus

What about Rafa's straightening of the water bottles. He definitely has OCD tendencies. I wonder what he is like in real life?

Superstition would be wearing a favourite necklace again because you won last time you were wearing it. OCD is arranging your bottles in a certain way or making the same physical tics before every service motion.

And obsession would be an inordinate focus on something that matters not one iota to anyone else. Get over it. It's highly unlikely that anyone else cares about your propensity to diagnose Nadal's court habits or whether you accurately identify their etiology.

R361 I do not agree Thiem has comparable chances of winning as Federer. Fed is fading and has consistency issues when a match on clay extends to third set, and there are too many second tier players who will challenge him and make him play longer. I will be surprised if he makes it past quarter finals.

Oh, for FFS, of course it's OCD. When the movie As Good as it Gets, (starring 3 Golden Globe, 4 Emmy, 1 Oscar winning Helen Hunt) came out, Rafa was excited and said "That's me". Unlike in the movie, Rafa cant take the meds until he leaves the tour, which I hope is soon. I do feel for the guy, following all those rules must be exhausting. Can you imagine how many rules of engagement he must have for sex? I also think the reason for the OCD is the conflict of the closet

Let's face it, Rafa's a simple man, a natural introvert and private person. I think after that famous interview ( and the LAST personal interview ) he gave where the reporter outed him, the family devised a careful media strategy. I think he's out to his family and Xicsa is his sister's girlfriend. Lucky for him, he has 100 million dollars to figure out how to cope.

Tell more about the interview where he was outed, R388. Thanks.

It's behind a paywall.

Thanks, R390.

I haven't read it for a few years, what I remember is that he talks to his mother every day but can go weeks (months?) with out talking to X.. He doesn't even see her at Grand Slams because it's too distracting. Remember, Rafa and X are from the same culture and small, tight-knit, island community. They are neighbors and families who have known each other for their entire lives. This is your girlfriend, who you rarely see or talk to, and your relationship is so private. He is not private with any of his male friends. Give me a break. Oh, and at that time,she still worked at a bank or insurance co., "because she likes to have her own life". No way, a man who has 25m let's his girlfriend work at a bank. Anyway, to my knowledge, this was the last time he had a personal interview.

Once or twice a year they have a couple of pap shots at the beach or on a boat. There is not one photo that shows any chemistry. Look at the photos of Rafa and his sister, you can see the love. Look at him hug his male friends, you can see the love. Every photo with X. shows his arm draped over her shoulder. Look at the video with Paulina Portapotty, he was terrified. Poor guy, I would have felt the same. There is no evidence that Rafa is strait. Why does his sister wear a diamond ring? She's not married. Why does X wear a diamond necklace?

R387: I think Tsitsipas chances are way bigger than Federer's. Roger will need a cake draw and being very inspired to have a chance.

There was some controversy on the Opelka-Moutet match. Opelka stopped playing and started to celebrate victory because he thought the ball was out but it was called in, he didn't react well and ended losing the match (he didn't handshake the umpire)

Correction: He may be in dire straits, but there is no evidence he is straight.

Ryan Harrison (now ranked #122) lost in the 1st round of French Open qualies. Chris Eubanks also lost but T. Sandgren won

[quote]There was some controversy on the Opelka-Moutet match

There's footage of it here:

Feli Lopez playing Dzumhur in Geneva right now. What I wouldn't give to be the meat in their sandwich.

Dzumhur and Fucsovic sandwich also on my menu!

All players have certain things they do before they serve. Look at Sharapova who used to always tuck her hair behind her ears that didnt need to be done. His seem more odd though.

[quote]in Geneva, Dimitrov qualified for the main draw

...and then lost to Delboner in the 1st round

R396: Maybe my eyes are not the most reliable but that seems clearly in

it looked in to me as well R401

Zverev started the match losing his serve but Gulbis is simply not a rival right now. Probably this is the kind of match that Zverev was needing

FAA 7-6, 7-5 over Millman in Lyon. That match was quite easy on the eyes.

It would be interesting to watch what Felix is able to do on Roland Garros. It doesn't seem probable that this will be his breakthrough GS (the US Open seems way more possible) but not an easy early rounds rival for a lot of top players (even that unlike on hard courts his matches against top players on the clay switch were very one sided and not in his favour)

R399 when Nadal had longer hair he would push it behind his ears too. Now that his hair is shorter, it doesn't fall down in front of his face anymore but he still has to push the imaginary hair behind behind his ears. That's a blatant example of his OCDism

I also think Rafa's sister and Xisca are bumping pussies.

I agree he has OCD, but it's true almost every player has their own serve rituals. In addition to the Sharapova example, I know Serena bounces the ball twice before a first serve, and five times before a second serve. Every single time it is that number. Cibulkova sniffs the balls before she does the toss. Djokovic obviously does his endless bouncing. Caroline Garcia nervously looks up at her opponent one more time before directing her eyes back down before the toss. Strycova does this weird shoulder circling thing that almost looks like she tries to dislocate them. .

Felix is the youngest player to be ranked in the ATP top 30 since Hewitt in 1999.

[quote] Cibulkova sniffs the balls before she does the toss.

Perhaps she is addicted to the psychedelic effects of tennis balls?

Nadal now with 735 consecutive weeks in top 10, is only behind Connors (785).

^ huh? You mean Nole?

R410 makes sense as she used to date J. Melzer and Monfils

Double huh, R412? Djokovic's consecutive run in the top 10 lasted from March 2007 to October 2017, which is nowhere near 735 consecutive weeks. He didn't return to the top 10 until July 2018.

Nole.

Some people sweat heavily; Rafa sweats like a racehorse. And he sweats through to top of his head, causing sweat to run down his forehead, into his eyes, etc. All his 'tics' are merely managing profuse sweat. You don't serve or return serve blinded by sweat. Even the headband doesn't completely do the trick. Yes, even pulling on his shorts is all about sweat management. Eventually it's just a habit, a 'better safe than sorry' ritual. I'm sorry to disappoint all the self-ascribed psychiatric professionals on DL proffering their OCD diagnosis. And the water bottles routine, as said upthread, is harmless superstition. Endearing actually.

R416 there is no legit excuse for Nadal to go through the motion of putting imaginary hair behind his ears. He's been doing it for 2 years now

R417 To be fair to Rafa it's become part of his motion. Like how people who've moved to contact lenses still go to push their glasses up their nose.

I do think he displays examples of OCD behaviour, but two years is a short time in his career. He's been doing the exact same thing everyday since he was a child, it can be hard to unlearn that.

[quote]putting imaginary hair behind his ears.

Again, its sweat management. It's a condition known as hyper-hydrosis. When certain areas of the body are more prone to profuse sweating than other areas. For Rafa it's his scalp area. Differing degrees of intensity with each individual. Some people have manageable sweat, others are basically drowning. And fitness levels have nothing to do with it once a certain level of fitness is achieved.

[quote] trevordonovan When someone's feet, hands, face, and armpits sweat excessively, it's called primary hyperhidrosis. #themoreyouknow #ck9

R419 that's bs. When he used to have longer hair, it made sense to put any hair that fell down as he went to serve behind his ears. His hair is too short now to fall into his face. He keeps doing it simply out of habit

Yes r421, you probably know better ....

R409: Are you sure? Nadal was number 4 just before winning his first Roland Garros, he turned 19 by the end of the tournament. He won Montecarlo almost two months before and i think that put him top 30 (he rose to the top 5 really fast). But given Felix only turns 19 in August (and Nadal in june) it's possible that Nadal wasn't top 30 at the age he has now

Yes, R423, it's a statistic that was provided by ATP per the link, the last sentence in the article.

Nadal made the top 30 three months before his 19th birthday. He was only a couple of weeks older than Felix was when Felix made his top 30 ATP debut.

Garin must be a bit rusty after a couple weeks off. He lost to Taro Daniel in 3 sets. Hopefully this doesn't mean he'll carry that form into RG

And Dzumhur upsets wobbly Wawrinka.

R425: So Nadal went from outside top 30 to number 2 in just three months

In the beginning, it may just have been out of superstition but everything from the butt-picking, to the water bottle placement and the wiping away of hair that was once there but no longer is are all evident characteristics of OCD.

Murray said in one of those jokey interviews they do at some tournaments that Rafa was the last person he'd like to share a room with because Rafa would have to flick the lights on and off 30 times before he could finally go to sleep.

I bet he fucks Xisca/Mary/Maria/Francesca the exact same way each time.

[quote] I bet he fucks Xisca/Mary/Maria/Francesca the exact same way each time.

Flicking her?

^ lol!

Shapo loses again. He was whining about everything today and often doing it in Russian.

Raonic OUT of French Open.

Tiafoe now the last seed.

[quote] Raonic OUT of French Open

Pig out!

Davidovich had some injury on the feet and he lost in the third set. I suppose his breakthough has to wait.

Zverev is having trouble today against Dellien, that was expected because his easy victory against Gulbis has more to do with Gulbis making an pathetic match than with Sascha's good game

Felix is serving for the match

Rudolf Molleker qualifies again after getting into the main draw in Australia

Disgusted at Nadal's cakewalk draw.

FAA is up to #24 in the ATP singles rankings with his win over Johnson today. A win over Basil tomorrow will make Felix the second-ranked Canadian within jumping distance of Raonic.

RG men's main singles draw is linked.

[quote]Disgusted at Nadal's cakewalk draw

SERENA SPOTTED IN WHEELCHAIR AT DISNEY PARIS?

Creepy + desperate for attention = A. Zverev

Who’s that on Serena’s lap?

R440 also why is another tennis player photographing Serena like a paparazzi.

R441: He really miss the human touch after his girlfriend dumped him

Maybe Serena didn't want to have to queue up for the rides?

What's with the weird sweat stain on the guy behind Serena; is that her husband who fathered her BABY?

yeah a real WTF again at Nadal's pathetically easy RG draw. He NEVER gets hard first week opponents there. Of all the guys he could have drawn, he gets 2 qualifiers in a row. Now maybe 1 of them might be a surprisingly tough opponent but that's not the point. Of all the floaters there...and we end up with a Garin vs. Opelka first round.

Contrast this with the floaters in the women's draw who mostly landed near the seeds. Osaka will have to deal with Azarenka or Ostapenko in round 2 while Svitolina has drawn Venus

the men's draw seems to really favor the seeds while the women's does not

Again Serena gets a ridiculous draw. She's the only player with 3 Q's in her 8th and her first seeded opponent is injured and hasn't played in two months (was 100% certain she'd get Andreescu). Basically a cakewalk to the quarters unless one of those Q's is someone dangerous. Why am I not shocked at all?

Azarenka got fucked...again. She's got a former champ, top seed, and player that upset her last year in first 3 rounds. She has been very unlucky with the draws for the last year or more.

R446 That's obviously a shadow from a balloon

*meant to type cakewalk to 4th round where Barty will have her beat and repeatedly choke away the win (just like last year).

[quote] is that her husband who fathered her BABY?

?

I don't think that's her husband or her baby. We'd have heard something about it if she'd either got married or given birth, so that sounds very far-fetched.

That’s what I thought, R452.

Nando is peddling his baby on Insta harder than Serene ever had. Harder than any frau living in suburb

Raonic out of #RG19, reportedly, which means that Frances Tiafoe gets in as the #32 seed, preventing this from being the first Slam in decades without a US man seeded.

Kyrgios, had he not lost all ranking points from Rome following his default there, would have gotten the spot.

Kiki Bertens could face Jo Konta, who beat her in the Rome semis, in the #RG19 third round.

Projected men's #RG19 quarterfinals:

Djokovic-Zverev

Thiem-del Potro

Tsitsipas-Federer

Nishikori-Nadal

Frances Tiafoe, lone American male seeded, opens against Krajinovic and could face Tsitsipas in R3.

dammit I wanna see somebody new (Garin, Berrettini, FAA, Fritz, whoevs) in the quarters and semis

I'm impressed with Fritz' result this week in Lyon. He's actually reached the SF

He's been playing well on clay all season.

Taylor has his toddler with him this week.

And he has great hair.

R454 he's passing his kid around like a basket of breadsticks, making everyone take one.

What’s all this talk about Serena and a BABY??!!

Men's Tennis Forum is compiling it's 2019 most disliked player list. Some of these guys are crass,. Calling Tsitispas "Sissyass" and Del Potro, "Del Possum". You can also see the results from 2017 and 2018. The results over the years demonstrate that they are not big fans of ass pickers. Kyrgios should be the runaway favorite this year. After his comments about how the French Open sucks, he will probably freak out again. It;s easy to imagine the French fans taunting him, it obviously doesn't take much to set him off.

R467 the majority of both tennisforum and menstennisforums don't speak English as a first language. For example, wtf is Del Possum supposed to mean? It's just another word that starts with a P.

The only thing worth checking out on menstennisforum is the bulge thread.

No, R468, the comments are around Del Potro's propensity to act fatigued and ready to fold, then miraculously finds a second and third and fourth wind, which is alleged to be a fake strategy tactic.

Some of the takedowns are hilarious, such as this one on Fed:

1. Federer Overrated and ugly game (he's nothing without the serve), fake personality, gets preferential treatment from tournament organizers, appalling fanbase. Manufactured PR image, vultured 12-15 slams. They say the eyes are the gates to the soul. But Federer's eyes are so sunk into their sockets that you need a flashlight to see them. Probably purposefully retracts them inside so that people won't see his ugly arrogant soul.

Defending champs. (Rafa looks better with a hat on).

R468, as in: "playing possum" - is English your first language?

Get help, R470.

Ugh, another Rafa cake walk to the final. Looks like it's #12 for him. Wake me when it's over.

[quote] Federer Overrated and ugly game (he's nothing without the serve),

That is such an incorrect assessment. I agree with other things in that post but not that.

[quote] vultured 12-15 slams.

I don’t even know what that means.

[quote]I don’t even know what that means

Me neither....how can you vulture a slam? I thought it meant playing small tournaments to gather ranking points

R475, I think, in this context, it means "preying on lesser adversaries." It's the whole "Federer played most of his career in a weak era" argument. Of course, there's nothing you can do about your opposition; they are who they are.

The women's draw is going to turn out SO ugly. Look at all the qualifiers who drew other scrubs, all the low ranked juniors getting first round matches against each other. The sheer ranking boosts on offer are astounding. But Azarenka's draw is former champ Ostapenko, then Osaka, then Sakkari. And Venus has to get through Svitolina, then Kozlova, and then former champ Muguruza.

Meanwhile the likes of Osaka etc. have super stacked draws. Even Kiki Bertens who is supposedly one of the favourites draws Pauline Parmentier at home in the first round (0-3 head to head), Alize Cornut in the second, and Jo Konta who last beat her in the third.

Really the only easier draws are for Halep, Pliskova, Serena and Stephens.

Mens is just total seed protection all the way through.

It's absurd and just irrational hating to say Fed vultured 12-15 slams.

It's not like he played in the wheelchair tourney.

Get help for what, R473? Extracting other threads' comments that I find to be amusing? If you're going to throw out pejorative remarks, at least substantiate them.

I need to substantiate my remark, R470? Oh, the irony.

Alt-Right favorite and DL Icon Tennis Sandyriene has qualified for RG main draw. He will play little Radu in the first round

The irony is in your obtuseness, R473/R480. I was remarking that I found the comment from another thread to be amusing in the way that it described Federer. You seem to be objecting to the content of the other post in the other thread. I wasn't addressing whether there was any validity to the content, but its description of Federer was inventive.

Suspect you will not be surprised to hear that Katie Boulter has withdrawn from the French Open this morning. This grifter travelled to Paris to withdraw on site this morning and will collect 50 percent of her prize money (about £20,000).

This tweet is more phony and disingenuous than Kerber congratulating the biggest drama queen ever.

Roland Garros update:

OUT: Kyrgios

IN: 3rd Lucky Loser

Norrie will play against a Q/LL.

Whose hex worked on Nick? Kerber? Casper? Or Nole?

Alternative facts

Yea R456, and if my aunt had a dick - she'd be my uncle.

R487, ummm under the current scenario, your aunt doesn't have to have a dick to be your uncle. All she needs to do is to identify herself as one

Is Fritz a deplorable?

I told you Kyrgios would avoid Djokovic, just as he avoided Stan. That's why he freaked out and quit Madrid, not over a fan moving in the stands. Anyway, it's a good decision on his part.

How out are your boobs?

I absolutely stand corrected, R482. After looking at your post more closely, I see now that you were posting someone else's thoughts. Guess I skimmed your post instead of reading it more closely. Mea culpa.

Whoever wrote the original post, though, needs to get help. It's clear irrational hatred overcame logic and sense. I absolutely hate Nadal with a passion, but the man is one of the greatest players ever to play the game, is the best ever on clay for sure, is one of the greatest fighters on the court I've ever seen, and he deserves all his titles. He's had some weak draws over the years and I hate how players roll over for him at Roland Garros, but that's more to do with Nadal being so tough to beat in five sets. Only peak Djokovic and peak Federer usually have a shot at taking Nadal out (except at Wimbledon). Thiem may be working toward that. Time will tell.

I similarly couldn't stand Sampras back in the day, but the man was one of the greatest ever until this current generation came along. In his day, when Pete was on, no one could beat him, except maybe on the slow red clay at Roland Garros. Just because I don't like someone or don't root for the player doesn't mean I can't appreciate how good the player is.

[quote] Thiem may be working toward that. Time will tell.

Thiem, time and trolley wait for no man. Let her go, motor man!

I like your well thought out post, R492.

R489 Not seen any evidence he is, but all that might mean is that he is smart enough to keep his mouth shut about it...

Go the ATP site and you will find a record of every player's party registration and voting history for all federal, state and local elections. You will also find Google images photos of their yard signs.

Reading tennis blogs was a big surprise for me lately. The number of absolute idiots who claim to be tennis fans is incredibly high. I totally understand not liking Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, and wanting them to lose every single match, but claiming Federer only won his GS because it was a weak era, Nadal is a pusher or Djokovic is no competence is simply ridiculous.

A month ago i read a comment on youtube of a guy who claim that Zverev is talentless and he would never win more than 6 GS (he wishes) like if winning 6 GS was nothing (i'm pretty sure Becker and Edberg have a different opinion). I don't know if having three of the greatest players of all time spoiled the reality for some people or if they were idiots from the beginning but sometimes one look way more inteligent with his mouth shut.

FAA (who by my surprise was on one of those list of most disliked players, unfortunately the guy didn't say the reason because Felix did absolutely nothing till now to be disliked) reached his second final. Zverev will face Jarry. Winning or losing that tournament doesn't change my opinion that he'll lose in the first rounds of Roland Garros

R496: He is married with Raquel Pedraza which is obviously latina. He could be a deplorable anyway, but it seems less probable

Thanks, R498.

Less probable or less plorable.

And I'm married to Rachel Campos, who is obviously Latina, and and I'm nonetheless one of those Trumpist republican sycophants, so go figure!

R500: Yes, but not everybody is that dumb

Thiem split with Gunter Bresnik, that surprised me. Right before RG, too!

[quote]Nando is peddling his baby on Insta harder than Serena ever has

Today it was Shapo's turn to meet the baby, yesterday it was Rafa

Thanks R488 you're right - she IS my uncle.

R502 so now would be a perfect time for that whore Dani to try and get with Thiem

If Dani and Domi form a team then DL tennis thread will explode.

Kyrgios had the right idea. He should withdraw from every tournament. Forever.

RG Sunday OOP is out Some potentially good men's and women's scheduled

They did not put Svitolina /Venus match either on Philip court or Suzzane court. What a disgrace

I think Domi is out of Dani's league now...

And again the cushy scheduling for Fed. He plays Sunday and will get 3 days off before his next match if he wins. Novak will probably play Tuesday. The French fans will go nuts for him.

Busted

The qualifiers are

Sandgren

Caruso

Benchetrit

Ymer (m)

Bolelli

Vatutin

Monteiro

Maden

Martinez

Coppejans

Rola

Garcia Lopez

Travaglia

Muller

Hanfmann

Molleker

Pera

Kukova

Nara

Bolsova

Lepchenko

Gatto Monticone (first GS main draw at 31)

Lottner

Zhuk

Blinkova

Samsonova

Paolini

Rybakina

Lucky losers so far:

Stakhovsky (Berdych)

Rosol (Roanic)

Otte (Kyrgios)

Bouzková (Boulter)

Babos (Giorgi)

I don't see a problem with what Boulter did. First of all, she would have been inconsequential in the draw anyway. She played well enough over the year to scrape in the far end of the draw to fill it out so why not pocket some cash that probably makes up a big percentage of her earnings? I don't feel that sorry for the "next in" who didn't get in. Had she won 2 matches against weak competition in the qualifiers, she would have gotten in as a Lucky Loser, at minimum. But she lost her chance on the court.

Similarly, why worry about Federer's schedule? We all know he is going to catch these breaks so the other guys are going to have to beat him. They can't fold like a tent in the rain when they have him on the ropes like Coric did last week.

I think the issue with Boulter was how she did it. She announced a few weeks back that she was unable to play due to a stress fracture in her back. That's a serious injury. She had no intention ever to play in Paris but hopped on the Eurostar to collect her £20k then pretended she'd hoped she could play, which no-one in the world believes.

I understand the £20k is something like 5% of her career earnings so it's a large amount of money for her, but it's the ridiculous way she went about it. I understand it's not illegal and that she hasn't broken any rules, but there's something "off" about it all. And she's treating us all like we're stupid.

What she did is well within the rules, but it just looks bad the way she handled it. She had already withdrawn from the grass tournament in Surbiton BEFORE suddenly withdrawing from RG after the draw deadline, so there's proof she never intended to play it.

Unlike Meldonia or Makarova who knew they weren't going to play RG and took themselves off the list, Boulter [and professional scammer Giorgi] took advantage of these rules. Whilst it's not illegal, it's a bit unfair to the two players who had to play qualies (incl. Voegele next in who lost) and the two players just outside the qualifier draw who could probably REALLY use that 7000 euro just from losing in the first round of Qs.

Also LITERALLY running away from the press and media is a bit of an embarrassing way to go. This campaign didn't age well...

Oleg S. ‏

@AnnaK_4ever Follow Follow @AnnaK_4ever More Paire eliminating NextGen : QF: 20 year old Shapovalov

SF: 21 year old Fritz

F: 18 year old Auger-Aliassime

7

I'd let Paire eliminate me any day.

After a week of being obnoxious and jeering at the local crowd, Putin's daughter wins her first ever title in Nuremberg (over Tamara Zidansek). Came down to the 3rd set.

FAA was said to be injured during the match with Paire.

R522 Groin injury. Said he didn't want to retire as it would have taken away from Paire's win. In doubt for RG now.

Why take issue with Fed's sweet schedule? Because he PAYS for it. That's why asshole.

Big battle in the Strasbourg final, 3 hours long with lots of drama (and high quality tennis). Dayana Yastremska def. Carolina Garcia 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(3), after blowing two match points in the second set. Garcia won the set and blew her own match point in set 3, and Yastremska took it to a tiebreaker which she ran away with. Garcia crying at the end, it was a very tough and emotional fight.

The 4th member on the list of multiple title winners in 2019 (with Bertens, Kvitova, and Pliskova).

The way Yastremska is playing I can definitely see her killing off Carl Suarez Navarro in the first round at RG, although I think she likes to be fed pace rather than variety.

FAA and Paire were quite affectionate in their handshake and embrace at the net. It seemed that FAA's movement was okay during the final. Where does it states that he's doubtful for FO, R523?

Interesting Times' take on players to watch at RG...

R525 Yastremska trying to break the rhythm in the 3rd set with a MTO, again. Obnoxious.

[quote] although I think she likes to be fed pace rather than variety.

Is this where we talk about Fed Pace?

Why don't they just take a point away on your next service game for taking an MTO? If you're really hurt, it's still worth it; if you aren't, you might think a little harder about it. If one point doesn't do it, make it two.

shame about FAA. I was hoping he could get that title. Now asswipe Paire has won 2 this year? weird.

R529 It was embarassing. She had the phisyo apply a bandaid on a nonexistent wound on her foot. Under the sock, like wtf.

Let's be serious, Felix is not solid enough to defeat Paire if he is having an inspired day (injured or not).

Felix is having very bad luck on GS, first retirement on US Open, then the lose on the Australian qualies and now this. I hope he recovers, i don't know when his match was schedules, if it was on tuesday maybe he has time to recover, specially because it's predicted to be rainy on the first days

I'm surprised Paire got through the Lyon draw with his forehand unless he fixed it this week. He has matches when it looks recreational level

She did it in the Hua Hin final as well and ended up screwing Tomljanovic in the crucial moments of the match.

To be fair I don't think that's the [only] reason she won today, though she did interrupt Garcia's momentum after going up a hold. The worst part is that she doesn't even bother pretending she's hampered before or after. I might be more receptive if her movement had altered, her hitting, something. When Andreescu had her MTOs in Miami she had played a million matches in a row. Even in this match, Garcia had arm and ankle taping and didn't make any fuss at all about it.

It's even more frustrating because Yastremska is genuinely a really good player and shouldn't even need to resort to those antics. When she's on she may have the best return of serve on the tour apart from Serena. Hopefully she grows out of this gamesmanship, she's still only a teenager.

We won't ever know, will we, R532? An inspired and uninjured FAA when he's on his game could have taken Paire down, especially given Paire's lack of consistency. We expect inconsistency from an 18-year-old. From a 30-year-old, not so much...

Felix had his crotch thoroughly rubbed during his SF match against Basilashvili, so it must be a recurring issue.

Garcia should be experienced enough to ignore the gamesmanship.

It's a shame though as Yastremska is obviously quite talented. She's 19 and already 3 titles.

[quote]Novak will probably play Tuesday. The French fans will go nuts for him.

The French also thought Jerry Lewis was hilarious and held him to genius status.

Some one needs to create a new thread specifically for the the French Open.

R535: ON hard courts for sure, on clay, not right now. Paire is a tricky player, he is irregular, but when he is on you need to be on a higher level that Felix is right now to defeat him.

I'm not surprised about Yastremska behaviour, people complain about next gen players but court behaviour is way worse on young girls, the junior tour is full of bad hanshakes and bratty behaviour, at least boys seem able to act well once the match ends. I still remember the Khromacheva-Putintseva matches when they were both U14, and those were full of bitchiness

Putintseva is still the worst

Which one, R539?

omg this Geneva final is a mix of the very good and the very bad. Lots of wild forehand misses by both but some impressive clutch play too.

Zverev had 6-3 in the tiebreak but blew it and then won 10-8. Both missed match points they should have won.

Jarry is not too bright. He kept going to Zverev's backhand in the last few points which cost him

Jarry is not inteligent on court, he is brave, but using his brain will put him on the next level.

Zverev needs to improve a lot if he wants to reach the second week of Roland Garros

That one, r542

Is Sharapova semi-retired? She's not even posting photos/video of her practicing tennis on Instagram anymore.

Putinsova won . She defended her title in Germany

Auger Aliassime is up to world No. 22

I have an awful feeling Sharapova will announce her retirement at Wimbledon "where it all began".

Felix Auger-Aliassime loses 6-3, 6-4 to Benoit Paire in the final. In p.c. after said his groin injury got worse after 1st set. He thought about stopping but didn't want to ruin Paire's win. He said they will decide in next few days if he can play Roland Garros.

Farah

R547 it's Putintseva's first title.

I am glad that tiny dick Nick has withdrawn from the French Open. Actually, he should have been banned but ATP did not take action because from pressure from their golden boy Roger. But at the end of the day, mother nature has done ultimate justice

r19, Kyrigos has said exactly how I feel about Joker. I might change my opinion of him.

r549, yeah in 2021,

She's gonna to give it one strong push to get to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.

I don't want Sharapova to retire just yet. There are several players I want to see give her a beatdown before she hangs up her rackets

R556 Well you better hope she finds that 'replacement' she said she was looking for...

You people lack basic human empathy! Do you really expect Sharapova to compete at the same level as before without the medicine for her diabetes and heart conditions?

Sharapova's ranking will plunge because she isn't defending her QF points from last years, so she's falling out of contention for making the Russian Olympic team.

I still think she'll retire at her home slam - the US Open. No slam treated her better. The French Open president slammed her a few years ago - "we organize a slam, not a casting call" - when they denied her a wild card. While the US Open jumped at the chance of giving her a wild card and she's only played on Ashe for the last 15 years. Even King Roger has been dumped onto grandstand a few times over the years (the infamous loss to Robredo in the Fourth Round).

Check out the racist comments to this post and in multiple languages.

Potapova is near to eliminate Kerber.

Muguruza lost first set against Towsend (but it's winning in the second)

And Kerber is the first seed eliminated

Bye Drama Queenber. She was never even going to try here, was she? The second set was basically a tank. I guess this is the flipside of the Katie Boulter rule.

I'd forgotten just how damn sluggish and slow Roland Garros is. I've been watching most of the clay warmups (both ATP and WTA) and even compared to Rome which is supposedly the most similar, it looks like they're hitting through mud. Currently watching Tsitsipas v Marterer and Stef is really having to wallop the shit out of the ball for it to go deep.

I know Townsend gets a lot of stick for being fat etc, but when she's good she's bloody good. Likely to go out to Muguruza soon but she does have some flashes of impressive play.

Dimi up a set and break against Twatsarevic, hopefully he'll be able to see this one through.

2 breaks now and Janko having a medical.

R564 I agree. She's the laughing stock of tennis fans everywhere, but I actually don't think her weight is what's holding her back at all. She's heavier but she defends and counterpunches *extremely* well for her short limbs. And her big topsin-heavy forehand is very ATP and catches a lot of the girls by surprise, as well as all the slice and dice she can do. Terrific volleys and netplay too. Very fun to watch.

[quote]Someone needs to create a new thread specifically for the the French Open

This one is almost full so the next thread can be a French Open one

Cilic, Muguruza through

R564: That's exactly the problem, she has a lot of talent but her poor fitness will never let her reach her potential

[quote]Twatsarevic

Snort!

Titsy's ass is getting rounder :-)

Dimitrov started really bad, but he had a nice reaction. Of course Tipsarevic is one of the easiest rivals you can face on first round right now

Rain predicted for Tuesday which could delay Novak's 1st match. Is Mirka working her voodoo?

I fucking knew Dimi would find a way to fuck this up.

Tsitsipas was very solid today. Even in the third, he really had no problem holding his serve. Nice way to start.

Now, Federer

Djokovic and Nadal, debut tomorrow.

Querrey is out, Laaksonnen in

It seems Dimitrov reacted, 5-5 in the fourth

FAA out, Davidovich in

What a mess Dimitrov made of this match.

Also I know it's not *quite* a rainbow, but Nishikori's outfit screams 'gay rights'!!

Quite disappointed by FAA's withdrawal.

Yes, interesting study in contrasts between Kei's screaming neon and Halys being forced to wear a nightmare right out of Little Shop of Horrors. This is Nike's worst effort ever--unflattering, unsightly, unacceptable.

French Open thread:

I had forgotten how long a 3 out of 5 can take......

[quote]Also I know it's not *quite* a rainbow, but Nishikori's outfit screams 'gay rights'!!

that's a little far-fetched lol, but he did look....colorful

Seems a shame to leave this thread unfinished when the other thread has begun with the French Open, so will close this one with...

a lament for Felix's groin injury...

and celebrations of withdrawals from Isner...

Querrey....

But we'll return to this thread once French open is over (it's what we do in every GS)

Kyrgios...

and the early demise of Gulbis...

Tipsarevic...

Nole.

Titsy.

Poohey

Domicakes

A. Zverev

M. Zverev

Flopos

Misery

Gramps

Puig!

Roland Garros