The Gays & Tennis, US Open Thread IV 2019

BiBi ain’t scared at all.

thanks OP for the new thread

Team Daniil.

vamos rafa!

Villain team or Adjacent team?

Nadal team all the way. Not a great fan of his but I hate Russia, homophobes and assholes more.

I certainly hate Russian (and any) homophobes and assholes but not Russia or Russians in general. As a non-American, I also don't hate Russian foreign politics as much as I hate US foreign politics. It's not even close.

As for the match, I am more curious than anything but don't really care about the result that much.

Maybe Clijsters didn't fear Serena, but she had a tendency to choke that it was very useful for Serena.

Tsitsipas had a really good idea. Skip social media for a while, focus on the rest of the season, he has a lot to win and just few points to defend. He should try to win a masters 1000 (the big 3 are not even close to be dominant on the last masters 1000 of the season) to start next season the right way. It's a pity that he is spoiling such good season.

And the fact that you come from an homophobic country doesn't mean a thing. There are a lot of homophobes on gay friendly countries and a lot of gay friendly people in homophobic countries.

And we have the perfect example of Basilashvilli

Russian and American politics are redundant these days, R7, haven't you heard? Regardless Medvedev deserves his reputation as a racist belligerent snarling asshole regardless of his country of origin.

Haha, they really aren't, R9. Syria? Iran? Venezuela? Libya? China? I could go on, but this is not the right thread :).

Anyway, I'm no fan of Medvedev but that is not BECAUSE he is a Russian. He just happens to be. I still think Kyrgios is worse though.

R10 uh you do realize Putin annexed Crimea and protected Assad in Syria. You do realize he's now in Libya and Tunisia and Madagascar and a host of other African countries trying to exploit their natural resources and turn them into satellite Russian countries? You do realize Putin has interfered with not only the US election but also France, Netherlands, Ukraine etc

we could go on and on about Russia too but you're right this isn't the thread. How you can say that Russia is not doing very malicious things all over the world and now has Trump supporting him

r11 Not to defend Russia, but maybe let's not throw around the "trying to exploit their natural resources and turn them into satellite countries" argument, because USA is even worse in this regard. [ /politics]

Did I say they weren't? I said they were less malicious than what the US is and has been doing for ages. I don't view Crimea as an annexation. As for Assad, I think that was the least bad option. Certainly better than allowing the terrorists to take over. Everything else is also done by the US and has been for decades on a far greater scale...usually with death and destruction as a result. Anyway, I have a mixed Western/Middle Eastern background so my perspective is different, no question. Not saying I'm right, but there is usually much more to each story than what Western media pushes as the "one truth".

Exactly, R12.

Anyway, apologies for derailing the thread. I will stop now.

R12: Both countries do exactly the same, the difference is USA is a democracy and has some control over the actions of the government and in Russia Putin can do whatever he wants (and he is more ambitious, because he really tried to get influence in countries that are a little outside his league instead of the usual third world country the USA loves to manipulate).

And after that brief politics, let's go back to tennis.

And it's curious, but for the first time in a good while i think i don't really care who wins bothr finals, i will love the winners anyway

well this whole thing started by you getting mad that a lot of us don't like Medvedev. I agree citizens of a country shouldn't necessarily be held accountable for negative actions of their government (unless it can be proven they are supporters/voters of said government like Isner for Trump). I don't think most here "hate all Russians". I bet you were the one defending Safin in the last thread too even though he's a piece of shit as well.

Medvedev has demonstrated he's an asshole numerous times and used bigoted rhetoric during his tantrums on court.

Khachanov hasn't so far.

Well, i think the only nextgen who has an inmaculate behaviour on court is Felix Auger Allliassime (even his instagram is a little worrisome).

Most of them have their moments.

Medvedev seem to fit into the Paire's cathegory of player, a nice guy off court, a jerk on court

FAA, Tiafoe, Fritz, Berrettini, de Minaur all seem fine.

Zverev, Medvedev, Tsitsipas have all shown poor behavior at times

Shapovalov is a Putin loving idiot but I'm not sure if he has outbursts on court. He did almost blind a chair umpire a few years ago during a tantrum though

Shapovalov has a very aggressive body language on court but to be honest the incident with the chair umpire was an accident.

De Miñaur seems polite and shy off court, but he throw raquets in more than one occasion.

To be fair, Berrettini is in a totally different league. He could be considered next gen by his age, but he never was on the group of hyped players. Matteo never was a good junior and he reach top 100 when he was almost 22. His progression is amazing, but nobody considered him a nextgen future star when he has the age to be a nextgen

I was originally responding to R6. I didn't say anyone else hated Russia/Russians in general.

I agree about Khachanov and I think Rublev seems fine as well in terms of Russian players. At least I haven't seen or heard anything bad about him so far.

The commoner that married in to the Royal family is in Serena's box exuding her commoner aura.

Who narrates the intro?

[quote] After giving birth to her daughter

What is Serena's wearing? Magenta? Hot lavender? Fuchsia?

Fucksia is the preferred DL color.

R23 Lilac?

Not a good start from Serena. But if Bibi keeps screaming 'Come on!' after Williams errors she's gonna piss Serena off, and you better believe that will get Serena going.

[QUOTE] What is Serena's wearing? Magenta? Hot lavender? Fuchsia?

R23, it’s violet.

It's such a nice outfit compared to her evening wear.

[quote] It's such a nice outfit compared to her evening wear.

Evening wear!

[quote] it’s violet.

She's the one with the Mercedes, swimming pool, and room for a pony.

How come there aren't any good American tennis players anymore?

Andreescu's first 'proper' match against Serena, and she's already so much better at returning the serve than Meldonia is despite 21 times to practice it).

Serena is missing a lot of backhands but god damn this girl is good. You have to give it up to her.

[quote] god damn this girl is good. You have to give it up to her.

Agreed.

She's no Coco

R31, the better athletes must go into other sports.

Medvedev has an attitude problem which he acknowledges (since he was in the juniors). His sports shrink is in NYC with him. Can you imagine the session they had after he flipped off the umpire LOL.

Andreescu is crushing it. So good.

Serena really lost his intimidation factor against young players.

In the past even players didn't played her before feared her, but not anymore. Naomi didn't fear her last year, and Bianca doesn't seem intimidated either

Wow, this is not what I expected.

Serena looks like she's gonna cry!

Never thought I'd see the day Serena was 0-4 in slam finals not having won a set.

Go Bianca! (although I am suspicious)

That fucking whore princess is bad luck!!!

well, this is not over yet.

But losing Wimbledon against Halep was something to be believed (and the way she lost).

Here, Bianca was clearly the worst possible rival for Serena in the final

Is her coach coaching her from the box?

why are all the top male players have some kind of "mental Issue"? is their any top male player that is more or less down to earth and normal?..

Damn that rock on serena's neck must weigh her down...very hard to run with that big rock around her neck!

Is Wayne Gretzky there ? He was there the other day to cheer on his fellow Canadian.

wow, the mommy didn't wear the wig today.

Is Anne Murray there?

Does that guy look like Brett Favre with the hat on?

If you start losing your serve (which is one of your biggest weapons) at the begginning of every set you put a lot of pressure on yourself.

Now she has a break point, if she doesn't recover soon this will be over even faster

Poor, Serena. She now believes she can’t serve in finals. So that’s all she focuses on. She’s already lost this match in her mind. Even when she’s receiving she’s talking to herself about serving.

[quote] Is Anne Murray there?

A. Murray

I told ya, she's too fucking fat to win!

And that poster was right that Serena was gonna lose the final...

of course that whore princess is a fucking curse.

Lucky bitch!

Well, she recovered the break, so it's not over yet.

And serving to win a GS final is huge, so we'll see how Bianca react if they reach that moment

Chrissie Evert just said "They are pushing each other to higher and higher depths, and I love it." Higher and higher DEPTHS?! CoCo would never say that.

I so want Medvedev to win. I abhor him but want him to defeat Rafa.

Her body language is bad.

Her bra is too tight...you can see the rolls of fat on her back.

Serena is WAYYY more of a drama queen than Bianca!

R58 Chrissie's commentary continues to ascend to lower and lower heights.

C.Evert must be on something real strong...

She's like a fucking cry baby...she's not acting like a champion.

Ups, she lost her serve again

R59, you are a traitor!

I am happy to see Andreescu win. A newcomer...

It doesn't matter what country any of them are from. Team Daniil.

If Serena doesn’t realize by now that she has to play to Bianca’s backhand, she is truly too numbed out to think. Serena’s best points have been played there and she’s not even trying to go there. So dumb.

R66: Maybe just tired of Big 3 reign of terror.

Medevedev needs a miracle because his game is not the best to defeat Rafa

Looks like the tournament officials are conspiring against Serena. Smells like discrimination.

WTF was that from Serena, she did this to herself.

Serena might as well play the baby card now.

It's not just that she is losing, it's that she lost the last GS finals very clearly and this could end the same way

Andreescu is a fantastic player, she’s been great through the whole tournament.

R74: After last year's debacle that doesn't sound like a good idea

Bianca is playing very well but Serena is doing some odd things. Looks so nervous.

R75: It's not only that she has the shots and the skills, she has the right attitude too

Serena is losing this. Far too many errors and she can't serve. She's laying yet another egg in a Gland Slam final. Andreescu is playing well and taking full advantage of Serena's errors. This one is over folks.

She's still a teenager too! I'm very impressed, she's acting more mature than Serena.

[quote] Serena might as well play the baby card now.

Baby?

she's not even running anymore. she's given up.

I would love Andreescu to win under most circumstances but I want Serena to beat the homophobe's record.

Uf, a 5 1 advantage is a lot. Bianca doesn't seem the type to be scared of winning anyway, but such big lead makes the pressure way more bearable.

Serena used to be queen of come backs but that seem to be a thing of the past

I'm surprised that Serena's 'near, dear, and sincere' friends in her box haven't trampled en-mass over to Bianca's box yet.

Serena is just there crying and shit, not fighting back. kept looking at her box and making gestures.

She had a break point, breaking Bianca's serve could put doubts on the canadian game, but she is playing so well at the return to serve that it's difficult to think she could lose her advantage

Well, she broke Bianca's serve so she is still alive, but unless Bianca really starts to tank i can't see a turn around

Serena's gonna get coaching from her box during the break and she will make a comeback...if she can get her shit together mentally.

If only Serena had Venus’s temperament.

Jesus, Bianca is tanking.

Wow, Bianca is tanking big time

Well this is taking a turn

Damn, poor Bianca, the whole place is against her.

WTF is happening? lol It was 5-1, I blinked and now it's 5-4.

I'd like to thank my god Jehovah.

Unreal. What a flop.

Bianca put out plenty of "come ons!" at Serena's errors. She's getting what she deserves.

I don't know if she is going to lose the whole match, but this seems like she is going to lose the second set.

Frankly, i thought she was stronger mentally. And if she finally lose, this is the type of lose that cause a real damage. She even had match points

Their levels are starting to go in reverse. Bianca needs to get a hold of herself here.

And she did.

I remember Hingis making a comeback on the Australian open against Lindsay, only to lose the final two games

I don't see Bianca having the composure to win it in 3 so she'd better do it here and now.

YES!!!

MARKLE is a jinx!

And Serena suffered exactly the same fate that Hingis in Australia.

To be honest, i think Bianca could recover on the third set unless Serena was on god mode, but we'll never know

Serena won't ever win another slam.

I don't know, man. She was up 5-1 and let Serena back in. That was wild.

I am a huge Bianca fan, I was freaking out.

WOW. Chrissie will be happy she is tied with Serena.

Chris Fowler is an asshole. That's all.

They need to get a wheeled staircase or whatever those things are called. Someone is going to fall off that ladder one day.

R108, what did he say?

Serena will never win another Slam with Markle parked in her box.

Can she now fire morataglou?

It's still not bad, for serena, it's 1.9 million for less than 2 hrs of work! For the winner it's 3.85 million! Mommy gonna get lots of new wigs!

Serena just fell apart mentally, she panicked and just fucking cracked under pressure.

Nice to see the unfinished business from Toronto finally put to bed.

I didn't watch the final: did Serena had another baby that we didn't know about and made her character unquestionable?

Markle has nothing to do with her not winning these matches.

[quote] Villain team or Adjacent team?

Is Serena cosplaying Moby Grape in that outfit?

When did Kathy Rinaldi get so fat? Wtf is Tracy Austin wearing?

Serena also had the cadaver known as Anna Winter in her box. Anna always brings bad luck to Fef.

Markle is a jinx on everything, from the BRF to "bestie" Serena.

I love Serena's necklace.

And what are those things on her face? Warts?

Serena has moles on her face and some pimples.

“Jehovah God”?

This guy's had a face lift.

It's about time Canada had a tennis champion.

What guy R127?

Why does Serena do that to her brows? so ugly.

The guy from ESPN. doing the interview.

R130 She draws them brows on with a Sharpie.

Serena has gifted many of these finals the same way she gifted away multiple finals before she got to the magic 18 benchmark. It’s the exact same pattern. Same serving issues and breakdowns.

Congrats to Bianca for taking advantage.

Hoping Med can beat Rafa tomorrow.

That’s her mom? I legit thought it was a drag queen.

I know it's been said many times, but it's amazing Bianca wasn't even born when Serena first won this tournament 20 years ago.

Bianca looked like she didn't have a clue as to Tracey Austin is, lol

Holy backfat, Serena.

I wonder what BA's mother hides under her wig. It's so spectacular, it kind of reminds me of Mars Attacks.

Where is that poster who said Serena would lose?

You were so right!!

C'mon Rafa!

she didn't kiss the cup!

Markle, your broom is waiting at Laguardia

I hope Serena never gets #24.

Let's see if Serena can get 24 in Court's territory. That would be cool if she did.

She will, r144.

Laugh while you can though.

R67 A newcomer who is happy to play, willing to do the work and won’t throw a temper tantrum about having to do press after receiving a 3.75m dollar check, no less! (Cc: Sloane)

Delighted for Bianca. A fierce competitor who doesn’t fold under pressure.

The biggest factor was Serena's serve. She didn't get in enough first serves. When she did, Andreescu often had no chance (though a few times Serena nervously made awful errors). Andreescu is 1 of the players who is not bothered hardly at all by Serena's usually difficult second serve. Only a few times did the kick affect her return.

Andreescu served well as she had a high first serve percentage. She doesn't have the same amount of power on it, but she places it well with good pace. Her second serve is a mess but she avoided having to defend it most of the time today. The biggest surprise to me was how Serena was not able to attack Andreescu's first serve but that's because it's very decent.

Off the ground, Andreescu was winning most of the rallies. She's literally half Serena's age so she's moving better. Serena wasn't able to dictate play point after point. We did see some signature knockout punches from her but that's only when she hit to the open court. Andreescu won most of the down-the-middle rallies.

I hope Andreescu gets to #1 by the end of the year. She's leagues better than Barty and Osaka is having a slump now.

Serena will have a chance next year to win a slam but that's it. If it doesn't happen in 2020 it never will. I hope she can tie that evil witch Court's record

It's entirely possible that she won't be able to win another Slam. The Osakas and Biancas are just going to keep coming.

and damn I am so fucking sick of Meghan Markle and Anna Wintour. They annoy the shit out of me. I wish Serena had better celeb friends

I never understood how Serena could be so agile despite her formidable bulk. Those huge boobs, that massive butt. Sheer power I guess.

I hope to see Andreescu double bageling Sharapova sometime soon. I'll be pissed if they never play before Meldonia retires

Did Tracy Austin want to hug and kiss Andreescu? It seemed like she was trying to but Andreescu didn't notice and moved the other way.

R112 Too much to hope. He must have compromising pictures of her

I have to pull for Medvedev since Nadal defeated Berrettini

Genie must be weeping now. She'll be totally forgotten by Canadians in a year's time

When Serena and Federer retire we'll never see Markle or Wintour at another tennis match.

I'm still the Queen, forever and always.

I agree with the calls for Serena to fire Patrick. He did help her several years ago but she's stalled now. I doubt she'll make any big chances at the end of her career though. IMO he's vastly overrated.

158 fuck you homophobic pig!!!

Patrick is all over the tv, doing interviews more than coaching, clearly. He needed to go last year after he casually said on camera that he was coaching her during the final.

OMG Tracy Austin pointed out HER NAME to Bianca on the trophy!

God, I hate Serena but this bullshit about Court’s record is unbelievable. It’s a phony record. Graf’s was what mattered.

Sad for Serena (I'm South African so I really hate Margaret Court after her homophobia and apartheid comments - and wanted Serena to surpass Chrissie's 101 wins here too lol). But thrilled for Bianca. The serve really let Serena down today, it was like a D- level. Backhand was a C. Forehand maybe a B. On the other hand even if she brought her A game, Bianca may still have won.

Amazing that in her first ever slam final her 1st serve was something like 25% higher percentage than the rest of the tournament, she was hitting way less unforced errors etc. and not going on quite the same walkabouts despite all the pressure. Not only does she have the mentality that Barty/Osaka/Help/Kerber/Sloane/Muguruza don't have, but her game is genuinely more pleasing to watch than all of the above too. She's a killa. Has a chance at year end #1 but I hope she doesn't overplay.

Ban Markle and Wintour from Serena's box in future.

What did the hateful bitch Margaret Court say about apartheid, R164? I'm guessing the cunt said it was a good thing.

[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.]

So did Reebok have to scrap that entire Call Me CoCo ad campaign because the little shit lost in the 3rd round?

R165 Yep, the racist hag praised the apartheid policy in the 1970s.... a direct quote is “South Africans have this thing better organised than any other country, particularly America”. “I love South Africa. I’ll go back there any time.”"

Of course by "this thing" she means 'black people'.

BJ King and Bitch Evert also played in South Africa during the apartheid years. Most of them are money hungry, glory seeking cunts.

F151, have you seen Serena's legs? They are bigger than Rafa's and Medvedev's!

Serena needs to lose more weight. So fucking fat, a real pro would have lost all the baby weight by now.

Psst, R171. Name another woman who has been in more grand slam finals than Serena in the last two years.

I’ll wait.

You fucking cunt at R158, know that Margaret fucking Court, just like Mariah, has a better side and of course you had to ignore it. Thank God, I'm here to make it up for it...

Also, yes, we all know that Serena will stall at 23 GS titles, one GS title below the actual GOAT (Greatest Of All Tortoises) but Bianca will get 25 GS titles and will come out as Martina N. and Gaby Sabatini's fiancée, so who cares?

[quote]Name another woman who has been in more grand slam finals than Serena in the last two years. I’ll wait.

Hasn't won a set in any of those finals. lol

R174 mic drop

I'm not saying Serena is past her prime, she would have a better chance if she was in better shape, that part she can control. She is not helping herself and she wilts the minute she's in trouble, I also think she should fire the coach.

He must guilt her about his failed marriage...although I checked his insta and he's now remarried to a new woman and even has 2 new babies.

Yes, suddenly, after winning six matches in a row in four different Grand Slams, Serena’s weight becomes an issue. It’s never an issue before then. Just in the finals.

Serena has always gotten nervous and broken down when it comes to grand slams with special meaning. It’s why she lost to Roberta Vinci. It’s why she lost several grand slams before making it to 18. it’s why she’s losing now. It’s mental and nerves.

But you keep focusing on fat jokes cause it makes you feel good. Whatever you need to feel better about your life. Must be bad.

There's no harm in stating she is past her prime; I'm betting even she would say that. Doesn't mean she's dead.

No its not fully about her weight but winning 7 matches in a row and being up to compete at a high level day after day is going to get harder for her with each passing year.

R177 I mean the woman has rolls of back fat going on. That can’t help her game, especially at 37 years old.

With the end of 2019 slams for ladies, here are the active slam champs and their finals records:

Serena: 23-10

Venus: 7-9

Sharapova: 5-5

Kerber: 3-1

Kuznetsova: 2-2

Azarenka: 2-2

Kvitova: 2-1

Muguruza: 2-1

Osaka: 2-0

Halep: 2-3

Stosur: 1-1

Ostapenko: 1-0

Stephens: 1-1

Wozniacki: 1-2

Andreescu: 1-0

so there are 15 in total. I don't think we've ever had this many in the game at once. There are still a few slamless players who'll be in the mix next year too so not sure if Andreescu will be the last new winner for a while or not

R181 at least half of the wont win another either due to age or inconsistency.

I know Andreescu will take a break but I hope she does play a bit in the Asian swing. I want to see her mix it up with the other top players she hasn't faced. Remember most of the players she's facing will be for the first time.

I want to see her take on in particular:

Sharapova, Halep, Svitolina, Keys, Osaka, Bertens

I think that if Serena didn't have that baby, she'd already have won more than 24 GS titles. Unfortunately, Jehovah said no, if you abort you'll go in hell, so she had that baby. In other words, what I mean is that if she hadn't been raised in a religious family, whatever the religion, she'd probably be counting 25 or 26 GS title by now and the homophobic tortoise would be a thing of the past.

Also, really, I don't think that having either Anna W. or princess Meghan in her box is going to help us. Moratoglou said as much, and for once, I'll have to agree with him.

R183 shes scheduled to play in Japan in a week and a half, but she could pull out.

watch Medvedev's quad magically be strained again in the final tomorrow and Nadal will win 6-1 6-0 6-3

[quote]princess Meghan

Don’t think she’s a “princess” officially, is she?

R185 given her injuries this year and that she's only 19, I'd be shocked if she didn't pull out. She has to keep her body healthy

Bianca should skip Japan and wait to play in China.

it'll be interesting to see how Andreescu deals with the expectation and pressure of being a slam champ now. Remember last year Osaka was fearless winning Indian Wells and the USO but had a dismal fall season.

Andreescu is about to get a ton of endorsements and will likely be the second highest paid sportswoman after Serena now. It won't shock me if she becomes highest paid next year no matter how well or badly she does.

She hasn't lost a match since March. She has now gone from being the hunter to everyone's target. All the other girls will want to be the one to end her streak

Older players have lost weight to stay in their sport longer...less painful joints.

And she kept getting fatter and fatter. It is a factor, you need to be able to chase down balls, can't do that if you're not in shape.

R184, you speak the truth. Pregnancy can permanently alter a woman’s body—that must harsh for an athlete, in particular.

You know that in her head, she's a princess R187. It's too bad her son didn't get to get breastfed for 3 days because she, the RBF Princess, thought she would help her distant celebrity bff by showing up in her box. And seriously, princess Meghan is nothing: I was shocked to know that Kim fucking Kardashian was the only one to share Serena's last minutes before she entered AA's center court and crashed and burned to what's her name again? er, Roberta Vinci back in 2015.

Will we get Tommy Boy Cruise or Ivanka Trump in Serena's box in 2020 for her 9th defeat in a row in a GS final? Hmmm...

The worst thing is the "princess" flew commercial to the USA to try to improve her PR/image by cheering for her bestie Serena, using Serena for her selfish gain.

Backfire! She's a curse, just like how Mick Jagger is a curse too when he shows up to all the soccer games, they fucking lose!

I'm confused about the Megan hate... she seems like a bit of a non-entity? Pretty, though. And I'm all for having a black-ish person in the British Royal Family.

Bianca's parents are earning my respect - no tears or histrionics. A bit nervous, then expressing moderated joy.

R195 I'm anti-monarchy and don't understand the US love for that welfare family. Meghan is a famewhore

R196, same here, I don't care for officials who are not elected.

Will this light a fire under Bouchards ass to start getting results? Lol

Serena, Patrick M and Markle have become a Grand Slam sideshow.

Patrick M will be moving on with Coco. Just my guess.

Eugenie who?

[quote]Don’t think she’s a “princess” officially, is she?

She is a commoner who married in to the Royal family. The Queen granted her son the title Duke of Sussex, therefor by default, Meghan is the Duchess of Sussex. Likewise because Harry is 'Prince Henry' I believe she can go by the name 'The Princess Henry', again only by marriage. She is not in any official way 'Princess Meghan'.

[quote]Patrick M will be moving on with Coco. Just my guess.

Isn't he already "consulting" with her current team? Plus he's glommed onto Tsitsipas. He's gotta find another winner otherwise no one will want to interview him anymore.

I still think Serena will win next year at Wimbledon. If she gets her serve actually working and loses a little more weight? I don't think her nerves will matter *that* much. The field on grass is pretty hopeless. It's highly unlikely Halep will play the best match of her life again, and Bianca missed all of grass season this year.

P.S. Hi Tennisation!

We haven't seen Bianca on grass yet, and because she missed this season doesn't mean she'll miss next grass season. She might be sensational.

Last year, it was all about Osaka. This year, it was all about Ash Barty. But wait! Now, it’s all about B.A. It will be fun to see who has the ultimate staying power.

Halep had been working on her grass game. That wasn't just dumb luck, she decided to be better. Serena couldn't take a set off of her, or off of Kerber the year before. I wouldn't describe the field as hopeless, personally.

Bianca is going to be even better on clay I have a feeling

Bianca is everything.

Evert and Navratilova would have easily beat Serena back in the day.

I think Serena knows 24 is going to be a lot tougher now that Bianca is here. Watching the final, you see that Bianca is kind of the next evolution of women’s tennis. Like a mind of Hingis and power/athleticism of Serena - basically the ultimate player. I predict the dominant player we’ve been waiting for in the women’s game for the past decade other than Serena

If Bianca is healthy she'll be in all the slams, so if Serena is in the final then there's a pretty good chance that she's going to be meeting Bianca again, and again, and again ....

Bianca's game seems perfect for clay. She can really build a point if needed and she mixes it up well.

Stop acting like Osaka and Barty on done for. They've had a dip in their results but are still in the top 5 and in their early 20s. The second players dont go deep in every tournament snobby tennis fans act like they are done forever.

I dont need to see the same players win every tournament. That's why the ATP is so fucking boring and sucks.

Who is acting like they’re done for? I’m just pointing out the obvious. Most players have ebbs and flows, even ones who have been anointed as the new dominant force for the next decade. We will see who has long term staying power. Osaka has two Grand Slams which gives her the lead.

R216 I agree with you but so often i see people online in various mediums saying Osaka is done for. Shes 21 years old. If she stays healthy she will probably play for another near decade. Plenty of opportunities to add to her 2 slams.

Absolutely, R217. Once you win a Grand Slam, the pressure to perform at that level becomes immense. It’s why it’s remarkable that anyone is able to win five for more slams.

I wish Serena would play a few more tournaments. She needs to get used to winning titles again.Not only was the 2017 AO her most recent slam, it was her most recent TITLE of any kind. So yeah the pressure of slam finals has gotten to her since her comeback but also I think it's finals pressure. If she would just play 1 tournament during the Asian swing and then the YEC that would help her rhythm. Obviously I'm not saying she should be playing weekly. If she doesn't play again until Australia she'll be rusty again and not match tough. She played very well until the final.

Rafa!

Extraordinary era for women's tennis. Someone will eventually grab hold of things and win a few of these, but for now, who knows? Every time we think the new person is here, they flop or get injured.

You know, all week here we've been saying how possible it was for Medvedev and Andreescu to win based on form this fortnight. I'm still betting Rafa tomorrow, but let's just give our peers some credit for how we see the tournament unfolding. Serena was always a dominant character but Bianca showed the mettle of a champion. Medvedev, who may be a racist thug, is also charging through this draw with the patina of a winner.

R219 I think she needs to play the YEC too. Those are the players she's eventually going to meet in the deep end of slam draws (Halep, Barty, Andreescu, Osaka, Pliskova, etc.). Might as well get some practice against them in a tournament where she won't feel as much pressure, but it's still a big stage and an important title up for grabs.

It's impossible to predict how many slams the young will win (I hear people talking about Coco as a multi slam champ lol). Ostapenko looked like the future of womens tennis after RG and then following it up with good tournaments at Wimbledon etc. Of course she has plenty of time to right the ship, but it doesn't look *super* likely she will win many more. Sloane won the USO, Miami, and made the final of RG... a lot of people thought she would start racking up the slam total too.

Osaka has won two slams and Indian Wells, but look at someone like Venus, who, at Osaka's age and on a limited schedule even then, had FOUR grand slams (plus another final), two Olympic gold medals, *twenty one* titles (mostly big ones like Rome, Miami x3), and a winning rate of more than 90%. She pretty much looked set to dominate the tour for a few years. Nobody would have believed you then if you told them she'd only win another 3 slams.

Osaka, Barty, Andreescu, Ostapenko, Vondrousova, Sloane... all these ladies have plenty of years and who knows, they might win huge amounts. But it's so unpredictable and you never know what is going to happen to the tour. I agree with R218 that it's amazing anyone can win 5+.

draws for next week WTA are already out

Zhengzhou is for $1 million. Wow right after a slam too. and LMFAO look at the playwhores who are entered: Pliskova, Svitolina, Bertens. Sadly Pliskova can become #1 again this fall I think if she plays well enough. Let's hope not. A lot of other top players too including Sabalenka, Kerber, Kenin and Garcia

Hiroshima is headed by Hsieh and Kudermetova.

Nanchang is headed by Zhang and Y. Wang. Canada's real #1, Bouchard was originally entered but she pulled out the other day. That would have been a good place to possibly win a second title. If she's not injured then wtf gurl

What a mess Zhengzhou (a new event!) already is. I see there are players like Jakupovic and Paquet who are outside the top 130 and are in there directly. And this is a Premier? The tour is going down the drain by selling it all to China. So many nobodies will be getting huge ranking boosts, and you just know there will be nobody watching.

Hsieh hasn't been in the best form lately but I hope she can defend her Hiroshima title against a weak field. I'd like to see her remain highly ranked so she can keep making little mini runs in the slams.

Sam Prehistosur vs Aussie doubles specialist (and aggressive pyscho) Rodionova is a first round match in Nanchang. Maybe the 2011 US Open champ will actually win a match!

As much as i root against Serena and her nasty attitude i think it's silly to compare her record and that homophobic cunt Court. Who was Courts competition back in the 60's beside King, i think it's fair to say Serena has faced much stronger opponents.

R130 I have NEVERTHELESS understood that. Does she shave them off just to wear fake ones? Glue dead caterpillars to her forehead? Why not just style the ones that grow out of her head? They can’t possibly look worse than the fake ones.

R228 “never” not “nevertheless“ 🙄

Serena continues to be a cunt who makes excuses for a loss from more than a year ago and plays the "But but but I had a BABY!!!!!" card yet again. What a rancid cunt she is sometimes.

[Quote]Williams said her successive falls at the final hurdle were "truly frustrating" but vowed to keep going.

[Quote]"Kerber doesn't count because I was exhausted," she said. "My baby was eight months, and that's tough.

She wasn't "exhausted" when managing to reach the final and somehow, as if by magic, her baby was eight months and she was exhausted in the next match? She's turning into a frau who uses the "I'm a MOM" excuse for everything.

Perhaps, Serena was generally exhausted by the time she got to that final, R230. She was willing to excuse herself there and for that you’ve called her a cunt twice.

You’re a disgusting excuse for a human being, R230. Truly vile and pathetic.

R231 the Serena haters are often pathetic.

I don't hate Serena. I think that even at age 37, she's probably still the best player on the tour. If she stayed healthy and committed herself to winning she'd still wipe the floor with the rest of the tour. Right now anything she achieves just adds more luster to a glittering career that ranks among the very best in the game.

I do however hate fraus who play the mom card all the time. I hate it when fat cubicle frau bitches in the office do it and I hate it when world class pro athletes like Serena do it. She's too good and too accomplished to be resorting to the tired old excuse.

I think the only way Sharapova or Bouchard get a win over Serena is if they meet her in a grand slam final. Other than that, tough luck...

How is Drug Cheat Cuntapova's "heart problem" these days?

Bouchard beat Serena at the Hopman Cup a few years ago, so there's hope for Eugenie.

It's amazing Serena reaches these finals but what a sad indictment on the WTA rank and file if she were to win against a Millennial generation of choke artists and low achievers.

Clearly nobody in Serena’s camp has the balls to tell her the truth - that’s she’s too old and out-of-shape to win anymore major titles. She’s had a damn good career but it’s time to let go.

R237, she has reached four Slam finals in the last 15 months. She can't be that far from contending for titles if she's able to get to the finals consistently.

Great looking ladies dub final. Glad to see Vika and Ash feeling it.

I think Daniil will show up today. I think Rafa will grind him down, but I think the first couple of sets will be a battle.

R238: Age is not a problem, she is is reaching finals, but she needs to be fit to really have a chance. She was crushed by Halep, who is not exactly good at GS finals, on grass, that's a big red sign

Serena is also a baby...she just looked so defeated and flummoxed by BA, until she finally broke her but then she started serving shit again. Her movement sucked and I doubt it was nerves..more like a bad attitude.

Regardless, how difficult is it to laud your opponents winning play when you get beaten. Serena should realize that it makes her look small and diminishes her own accomplishments to invariably attribute her opponents victory to her poor play.

Yeah that was unsportsmanlike with the "forget Kerber" thing.

For Serena, it's clearly nerves. As other posters point out, she had trouble getting over the hump of Evert/Navratilova's 18, and then Steffi Graf's 22. Now she's struggling to get to 24, although at 23, she already has the record because Margaret Court's 11 Australian Open wins are diminished because most top players didn't play the tournament while she was winning it.

I could see it yesterday. She relaxed and started coming back in that second set, but then when she realized she may win, suddenly the serve went away and the errors built back up. Andreescu is a great player and I'm a fan, but Serena served something like 44% first serves and had a ton of errors. Much of that match was given to Bianca.

I think Serena will figure this out like she did the other times. But she has to know this is her nerves and acknowledge that. She's holing herself back. With her 23 Slams, she has nothing to lose really, and she's getting older. She should just stay relaxed and believe she can do it. If the other player has a great day and is just too good, there's nothing you can do about that. But Serena could have won the last four Slam finals she's lost. She could have even won Australia this year if it weren't for the ankle injury against Pliskova. But time is not on Serena's side. I think she only has another year or two to accomplish her goal.

I'm curious to see if Andreescu has staying power or if she'll go the way of Stosur, Kvitova, Muguruza, Wozniacki, Kerber, etc, and maybe win just a couple. Andreescu seems to have more talent and drive than all the other players listed, as well as mental toughness. But will injuries derail her?

She's no Frankie Durr

well it was very clear how nervous Serena was. The first things to go on nervous players are footwork and your serve-2 things a player can control on his/her own.

Serena had 40-15 in her opening game, then it went to deuce then she hit 2 double faults to lose that game. That set the tone for the rest of the match. Andreescu handled Serena's second serve better than the majority of players. I've seen Venus and Sharapova do that but not too many others, especially someone who wasn't over 6'.

When Serena hit her first serve, she almost always won the point. There were a number of them that just flew by Andreescu and she had no play on them. The first serve points she won were mostly when Serena made a mistake.

You could see Serena's very poor footwork as she lost of most the down-the=middle rallies. You need to quickly adjust your feet constantly during such rallies depending on how shallow or deep the ball lands, and also decide if you're hitting a forehand or backhand. Andreescu won the majority of those

[quote]Clearly nobody in Serena’s camp has the balls to tell her the truth - that’s she’s too old and out-of-shape to win anymore major titles. She’s had a damn good career but it’s time to let go.

Good lord, people are naive to think that "passion for tennis" has much of an influence over and above $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

'Fat' Serena picked up just under $2,000,000 USD yesterday. For losing. She is the family cash cow with Venus not far behind. Sure, she's married to major money on top of that, but I bet Alexis isn't dying to slip her mother and members of her entourage a few million or a a few hundred thousand here and there.

Both Serena and Venus know nothing else but tennis and will play until either they are not bringing in the major cash, or their body cannot be maintained by the myriad of drug and diet regimens they have to follow.

It's rare that a top 20 that will walk away gracefully from the hand that feeds them.

"Patina", R222? How about "rank stench"?

[Quote]Both Serena and Venus know nothing else but tennis and will play until either they are not bringing in the major cash, or their body cannot be maintained by the myriad of drug and diet regimens they have to follow.

Drug and diet regimens? Nice try, R247. It's your Cuntapova who is the PED cheat. Not V and S.

[quote] For losing.

I take that back. It was just under $2,000,000 for winning 6 matches, and it is entirely deserved. But premise remains the same, walking away from that kind of earning ability must be a very difficult decision.

R250, I’m sure that the money is a draw, but the thrill of being a star athlete goes far beyond that. The fame, the adulation, the chance to set more records—that must be close to impossible to leave.

Money at this time of her career is the less important thing, she is filthy rich since more than 20 years ago.

And she is married to a millionaire

Its doubles match.

Daneel is much nicer than Daniil.

John McEnroe is commentating on ESPN and holy shit he looks OLD. When did that happen?

Also he says he loves Medvedev’s attitude especially since he backs it up with WINNING.

Because that's what it matters, till now most nextgens have a big mouth, they talk about beating the big 3 all the time and winning GS, but most of them didn't came close.

Next year should be the year of change, most young promising players have the apropiate age to start winning big, and the big 3 are a year older, but i'm not sure if they youngs have what's needed

That's a left-handed compliment if ever there was one.

well all the top players and the promising young ones have an ego. Medvedev does not want to be embarrassed the same way he was last month in Canada. When top players are beaten badly by someone they're out for blood next time. I expect the score to be tighter today even if Nadal still wins

a bunch of the promising younger players have wins over the big 3 but they can't do it consistently yet or in a slam

Medvedev wants to be the first today

so Patrick just said on espn that he doesn't think Serena will play the rest of the year. I expected that but still think it's the wrong thing to do. The YEC would be a perfect place to play top 8 players and guaranteed 3 matches

I hate Medvedev, but I hate Nadal even more. I'd love to see Medvedev take him out, but I just can't see Medvedev's game bothering Nadal all that much. Medvedev stands way back in the court, and any player who does that always loses to Nadal, except the occasional Thiem 2 out of 3 set victory when he blasts winners from way back. Over 5 sets, that's not going to happen. Medvedev will have to serve well, keep it close, and hope Rafa has an off day.

I get the hatred for Medvedev, which he has done so much to create, but why the hatred for Nadal?

R260: I think the only nextgen who was able to defeat the big 3 is Tsitsipas. Most of them have a lot of trouble with Rafa

I assume that some of the “haters” are Fed fans, R263.

I hate Nadal because of his boring game and his OCD mannerisms.

Villain team or adjacent team?

Nole fans don't love him either

Sabalenka/Mertens won the double title

test

I can't stand Nadal's OCD crap. It drives me crazy. His awful grunt, too. His tennis is not aesthetically pleasing to watch. I just don't like him. He does plenty of gamesmanship things, too. But I still admire a lot of things about Nadal. He's the best fighter I've ever seen on the court. He's always, always trying and never gives up. He's the best clay court player ever to have played the game. He continued to work on his game so he could overcome his rivals. I still give credit where credit is due, but I just don't like him.

It was the same for me with Sampras. I never liked him, but I admired how great he was.

10 years ago, Del Potro was the last non-European male player to win the US Open (or any Grand Slam since then)

can't stand nadal.. the ocd, the gamesmanship and the way he plays.. he is pretty much a TOTAL PRODUCT of today's rackets and strings out of control technology! it's not even "TENNIS" the way he plays and his stroke production.. i like "classic strokes" meaning put federer or a sampras with a wood racket or early graphite/steel/metal rackets they would still be great and champions, nadal? not so much! he would literally have to change nearly every stroke he has for the ball to even stay in the court or the stadium for that matter!

sorry but something is wrong with the rackets and strings if nadal or ANYONE can literally be 15 feet behind the baseline and hit screaming winners at 90 miles a hour on the run.. it's not even "tennis" anymore..

i also question nadal's "supplementation" wouldn't surprise me if he is on e.p.o. and always has been... what is nadal going to be 35, 40, 45 still winning the french open and physically outlasting, aerobically outlasting guys young enough to be his son! COME ON!

Jesus how unappealing Medvedev is. Ugly body, smug face, despicable attitude. A true Ruskie cunt.

Indeed. Has there ever been a spindlier male Slam finalist?

Rafa looks usual = hot delicious, nice arms and his sensational. I’ve seen him playing and his body with sexy sounds gave me hard on.

^^ his sensational ASS

However, when he takes off his shirt, Nadal's body is not very appealing.

yes, Nadal has a sexy ass. But he's so OCD, I wonder if he only fucks in one or two positions and it's always the same routine.

He has to sleep with light on. He's afraid of the dark.

Daniil is cute. He has a very pleasant, fine-featured, face. His face is a LOT better than Rafa's.

Are the vocals really necessary when you’re playing? Any tennis players here, do you all go “UHHHH AHHHHH UHHHH AHHHH” every time you hit the fucking ball?

No, they are not needed but some of them are used to play doing the noise, so it's hard to change that. In most cases the noise is not that important, but some (Steven Díez) are terribly annoying

Sure, R280, if you can find those features way down below that vast expanse of hydrocephalic forehead.

Do we just hate Daniil cos he's Russian or has he actually said/done something? I don't know much about him

Google is your friend, R284. Medvedev has a long list of offenses to gain his way to alienation. It has nothing to do with his country of origin.

Oh, this coming to a very predictable result

Yes Rafa!

R279 I could settle for one or two positions. It would make me very happy lover.

Welp I'm checking out. Congrats Rafa but dont need to see him win yet another one.

No one’s going to call this a classic . . .

Wow, could McBrat be any more blatant in his partiality? The only one who's less impartial in his commentary is his brother.

Nadal is losing his hair rapidly. He’ll be bald on top by this time next year.

Who is watching? I see Rafa won the first set 7-5. What's the play like?

I can't see Federer holding on to the total Slam record with Nadal still winning Slams. I'd rather see Novak beat Federer's record. I think they both may eclipse Federer in the end. Oh well. No matter what, they're the three greatest players to have ever played the game.

What's up with Medvedev's comb over? At only 23 he's already balding.

Did McEnroe just say “the whole fucking word”?

Yes, the Federer sheeple choke on the name Nadal.

R291 Yeah McEnroe is so obviously rooting for Medvedev to win, just like that female commentator yesterday was groveling all over Serena every chance she got. SO annoying when they so blatantly project their personal preferences!

And, R296, the Nadal sheeple choke on the name Federer, as well as the name Djokovic.

Anybody with Anna Wintour in their box deserves to lose. Looking at you Federer and Williams.

[quote] can't stand nadal.. the ocd, the gamesmanship and the way he plays.. he is pretty much a TOTAL PRODUCT of today's rackets and strings out of control technology! it's not even "TENNIS" the way he plays and his stroke production.. i like "classic strokes" meaning put federer or a sampras with a wood racket or early graphite/steel/metal rackets they would still be great and champions, nadal? not so much! he would literally have to change nearly every stroke he has for the ball to even stay in the court or the stadium for that matter! sorry but something is wrong with the rackets and strings if nadal or ANYONE can literally be 15 feet behind the baseline and hit screaming winners at 90 miles a hour on the run.. it's not even "tennis" anymore..

Quite.

R293, neither was playing very well, although Nadal is much more effective now in the second set. He seemed nervous and was serving poorly in the first set. Medvedev is “interesting” but has no cutting edge.

nadal has a "interesting" body in that, he has NO chest what to speak of and you would think he would have a 6 to 8 pack of ripped abs but he doesn't... his arms in action look muscular and ripped and yet when he's not playing his arms show no muscularity/musculature? he has a great ass and legs so there you go..

What is that thing on the face of Medvedev's wife? With his millions you think it could be removed.

Yes, how dare Rafa make the best of what he is given. Sheer pettiness from all of you.

From "all of" us, R304??

Is the boring, unwatchable men’s final finished yet?

r306 Too cool for school are you then?

Medvedev needs to get more aggressive with his returning. Even on Nadal's second serves he stands too far back.

Game-wise, he's like a hybrid of Murray and Cilic. He moves even better than Cilic which is amazing given how tall they are but he hits no harder than Murray. He needs to gain at least 15 pounds of muscle. Look at Murray-gaining weight did NOT make him slower. Medvedev is too weak to bother Nadal unless he gets a sitter.

Men's tennis just continues to be so fucking boring. It's beyond pathetic that no one has been able to stop the stranglehold of the big 3 on the slams. How sad that the last non-big 3 final was 5 years ago when Cilic def. Nishikori.

Nadal is 33 and still able to grind everyone down. He had a dream draw this tournament and got lucky at times when his opponents had chances to win a set (Schwartzman and Berrettini).

#NextGen continues to be #NextSuck. We all keep saying "oh next year it will happen". It's embarrassing for men's tennis. It shouldn't just be a question of injury with the big 3. One would hope for the good of the sport that the #NextGen will start defeating healthy big 3 at the slams but who knows when that will happen

Somebody drug-test Medvedev. This is his fourth final in a row and still running like a gazelle. He is Russian afterall.

I see him eating banana during break.

I don’t think that the dominance of the Big Three is a bad thing for the sport. Complaining about them is like complaining about Leonardo and Michelangelo dominating the Italian Renaissance. Their brilliance and their rivalry is a great story. If the next generation is going to happen, more than one player will have to break through, to give the public a new rivalry, a new subject to debate.

R311 it wasn't bad for the sport several years ago. It is very bad for the sport that it has gone on for over a decade. You have guys like Thiem and Dimitrov who should be at their peaks in every way flopping at the biggest moments.

You have 3 guys well into their 30s dominating. It's not a good look

the only ones who love it are the stats kweens who are only fans of champions

nadal in trouble.

Medvedev has a long way to go. Still think Nadal will pull it out.

It is a very strange game, actually.

I want Daniil to make this crowd his bitch.

This thing is going on 4 hours now.

I kinda do too, R316.

Somewhere out there, as they watch this, Roger is mulling when to retire and Novak is feeling a bit 'worried'.

Medvedev is 6’6”.

To a 5th set we go!!!

Crowd cheering Medvedev. Guess they don’t hate him tonight.

It's an interesting match.

We've moved to the psychological manipulation portion of the contest: Nadal engages in repeated time-wasting; Medvedev foreshadows some of his usual phantom medical issues.

What is this shit Nadal keeps pulling to hold things up? It’s pissing me off.

R325 he always does stuff like that. Many players do though. His is just more extreme.

God it would be great to see the crowd turn on Nadal. I do like that Daniil's wife appears calm as hell and isn't doing the normal histrionics in the box that most gf/wives do.

He's time wasting coz he's fucking tired! They both are!

What does the crowd keep chanting?

"nadal!"

But Rafa also has to take the time to go through all of his damn rituals. Hope he gets more time violations.

Russian's legs are bothering him, Nadal should make him run more.

How bout that thigh massage?

Daniil has turned into Stefan Edberg and is killing it at net now.

Tommy Hass! Still looking good.

Agreed, R335. Tommy Haas is still hot as hell.

Xisca Mery Francesca can't take it anymo'

Where is that skinny bean pole getting all that power in his racquet? I bet Federer is pulling for him though. And maybe even Nole.

Fed is pulling HARD for the Russian

RAFA!!

Finally broke M's serve

Does Nadal normally do THIS much OCD face touching? It’s creepy.

I know, that skinny Russian has a lot of endurance...can't be just the bananas he's eating.

It's not hot so they have that going for them.

Both their girlfriends are wearing pink.

He's for sure not taking meldonium. Who would do that??

This is a good match...they are getting getting their money's worth

Isn't Medvedev supposed to be a major asswipe?

I wonder how many towels Nadal has gone thorugh just in this match

The Russian's gf's mole is so fucking gross.

Russian moves very well for his height and I suspect the call to the trainer to massage his leg was just to buy time to rest a bit.

Medvedev should just serve the damn ball when Nadal starts doing that twitchy face-touching shit.

This must be it now, but Medvedev really made Rafa work.

RAFA!!!!!!!

(That second to last rally where he made him come in for the short shot was awesome)

For that last rally alone he deserved to win. Incredible. (Rafa up 30-15)

It's going to be disappointing for Daniil to lose.

Maybe not, R354; I think he made it much farther up the mountain than he thought he would.

Some great drama in this match. Crowd, broadcasters, everyone has definitely got their $$ worth.

I also watched a replay of the womens doubles final earlier which was pretty great too.

Is Daniil the Russian version of a "creatively" spelled millennial name like Brayden, Cayden or Jayden?

I mean for ME, R355!

No, R357, I know of another Russian Daniil.

Rafa is a wreck.

Nadal wins

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RAFA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes!

Medvedev looks like a melted kewpie doll.

Boo

That was enjoyable, it's always great to witness good sportsmanship.

Rafa!!!

I want to hug Carlos Moya too!

Maybe next year, young guys?

Rafa is very emotional

Aww, so emotional.

Medvedev needs to be more aggressive when returning weak second serves. Nadal was just spinning them in the last 2 games he served since he couldn't buy a first serve. Medvedev also needs to gain 15 lbs of muscle and put some more weight on his shots. His movement is incredible for his height but so is his lack of power. The rallies shouldn't have lasted that long . Imagine if you took Medvedev's movement with Berrettini's power.

Nadal did well to figure it out in the 5th.

It's still beyond shameful that no one new can win a fucking slam. Even when 2 of the big 3 are injured, the third prevails.

How long can they continue to dominate? It's strange seeing a beat up 30-something grind down opponents who are 10 years his junior

Did they boo the umpire?

by the end of September, the youngest 2 ATP slam champs will both turn 31 years old

THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE

fucking pathetic. Men's tennis is in a very sorry state with the lost generation.

#NextGen is inching closer as seen today but it's an old man's game still.

Daniil is cute. He seems to have more personality than most of the rest of them. Nice dimple.

Medvedev is very charming in his interview. His English is very good and he's very gracious to Nadal.

Win all around.

Yea, right, Medvedev is a real charmer....

He even managed to apologize and get the crowd on his side.

[quote] Did they boo the umpire?

Yes.

What did the umpire do?

R380, he correctly handed three time violations to Nadal.

I wonder if SJWs will pile on Nadal for referring to "Latinos" when he was thanking his fans in Spanish rather than "Latinxs"

Rafa, congrats on #19. But now, let's talk about how good Coco Gauff is.

For me, perfect result in both Women's and Men's finals.

well hopefully next year the ATP slams are not as boring. I'll even take only ONE new winner. This is insane

active slam champs:

Federer: 20-11

Nadal: 19-8

Djokovic: 16-9

Murray: 3-8

Warwinka: 3-1

Del Potro: 1-1

Cilic: 1-2

Since there are so few, here are the active slam finalists:

Anderson: 0-2

Thiem: 0-2

Berdych: 0-1

Nishikori: 0-1

Raonic: 0-1

Medvedev: 0-1

I will say bravo to the umpire for putting Nadal in his place about time wasting. He deserved to lose that game at 5-2 after all his shenanigans.

R374, but haven't there always been successful old duffers in tennis? Laver, for one, played into his thirties and did very well.

Excellent match. Definitely worthy of a final!

R357 it’s an actual name. Not super common, but common enough in Russia. I know of Russian F1 driver Daniil Kvyat.

I don't think the AO will see a new winner. Djokovic is too good and too fresh on those courts coming in from the off season. And the organisers pull every stunt in the book to help Federer win there (RF is a business partner of Tennis Australia).

RG probably still belongs to Nadal, even this year when he had a shiteous clay warmup season he made his way through.

But Wimbledon (where the pressure seems to be higher for the big 3, servebots can cause upsets, and new finalists always come through) and the USO (when the big 3 are all exhausted and injured) will continue to be where the new blood has the best chance to take advantage.

The longest few months of the year, the months between the US Open and the Australian.

Nadal looks like he is on his last legs. His first serve tonight was just garbage.

What Medvedev did tonight was, psychologically, really important for younger players. He showed that Nadal is not invincible in Slam finals. And he showed that Nadal's game is very vulnerable to the old serve and volley.

Thar would be true if Nadal had been defeated, R390. But yes, until today only Fed and Djokovic had taken Nadal to five sets in a Slam final.

Lots of questions for the Big 3 heading into the next season, but I feel we say that every year.

Would be stunned if Fed won another Slam, but he's going to be extra motivated with Nadal one Slam away from tying his record. His Slam total was the one thing he could count on in the GOAT conversation.

Novak always comes to Australia the fittest and most prepared. But who knows what is going on in his head and with his shoulder.

Nadal showed some cracks tonight, but he proved he is the toughest out in men's tennis. Who, exactly, is going to consistently play serve and volley in today's game?

You guys need your eyes examined, the Russian is not cute! He is fucking ugly!

Please raise your standards!

Yes, Rafa is very sensitive, according to his mommy and in an interview years ago, she even said he has stuffed animals in his room!

Some of the rallies tonight were good BUT

Medvedev did not attack Nadal's second serves often enough. It was absurd to see him standing back when Nadal just spun them in, especially the last 2 sets.

Medvedev also tried to be too cute too often and it backfired. Sometimes the most obvious shot choice is the best one!!! There were several failed drop shot attempts that weren't even close. There were NUMEROUS rallies in which he hit the ball right back to Nadal rather than to the open court. The most important one was when he had what seemed like an easy put away at 2-2 40-0. Instead of going to the open court (and Nadal wasn't going to move for it) he hit back to Nadal, lost the point and ended up going down 2-5.

R394, that’s an important point about tonight’s match: Medvedev was not playing lights-out tennis for much of the time, and yet he went took Nadal to five sets.

I cringed when Medvedev called in the trainer for his leg, because I was at his quarter-final match on Wednesday when he admitted in the after match interview that he thought he would have to quit during the first set because he was in so much pain. But then the painkiller started working.......I think he's been having problems with it all week and did very well considering.

breaking news: Young Grigor got a haircut

I think had he attacked on the return more, he would have won. Nadal really served poorly though he got that service winner on match point. Even when a player isn't making a lot of first serves due to nerves or fatigue (and Nadal seemed tired in the 4th and 5th sets), if you let them coast with weak second serves, they don't feel the pressure. Nadal was more anxious about the rallies in the last 3 sets than he was about his serve. He realized early on that Medvedev was too far back in the court to really punish him so he was able to relax and spin them in.

Hmmm, Rafa, Daniil and young Grigor all seem to be balding rather early....

ya know I really thought about 10 years ago that Haas would be joining the bald club too as his front hairline has receded but somehow he managed to maintain his hair. It doesn't seem like he's going to recede any more at this point.

The Russian looks older than 23 years old...must be the hair.

He's got a bright future ahead of him...maybe he'll win a slam before those "next gen" players we're always talking about.

Rafa!!!

He was crying while watching the video they put together of him winning all the slams...he was probably crying for all the nice thick hair he used to have LOL. just kidding...

I shed a few tears as well...very touching.

[quote]I shed a few tears as well...very touching.

oh Mary (Pierce)

I adore Rafa and I'm thrilled he won. He is not only a great champion, he's a gentleman.

Gramps Fed will be one pissed off bitch when Nadal matches his total and then overtakes him. If Rafa wins the Australian in January, Gramps will show his true arrogant, entitled self in Paris where Rafa will then almost certainly break his record.

Poor Mirka is probably dreading the hissy fits and tantrums he'll be throwing at home.

Gramps Fed will be one pissed off bitch when Nadal matches his total and then overtakes him. If Rafa wins the Australian in January, Gramps will show his true arrogant, entitled self in Paris where Rafa will then almost certainly break his record.

Poor Mirka is probably dreading the hissy fits and tantrums he'll be throwing at home.

Grigor looks hot but needs to beware of the buzzcut, it really accentuates his baldness.

Can't believe what a massive impact TayTo (Taylor Townsend) has had on tennis this open. Andreescu who? Rafa who? Coco whom? Ever since she fucked Halep in the ass by coming to the net over 100 times it seems like everyone else is trying to serve and volley, especially in the long matches to shorten points. Medvedev, Serena, Nadal, Dimitrov, and several others have attempted it way more than they usually would, since her run.

While it is getting harder and harder, I do think Rafa feasibly has two more slams in him. Even if they are both Roland Garros. Whereas for Fed i'm not sure. He needs all the help he can get in Australia because Wimbledon has been miserable the last few years for him and they keep slowing down the grass.

Rafa is so damn good. I hope he at least ties Fed. Fed is such a brat.

Doesn't Roger have a back problem? I think he's done.

R405 I agree a hot gentleman

Gramps is thrashed, Djokovic is going to crumble into a fine dust of emaciation, Nadal is PEDed out with maybe a couple of Slams left in him. New decade, new blood--but please, someone other than Medvedev.

Medvedev was smart to employ the drop shot with how far back Nadal stands. He just wasn't effective enough. I liked the serve and volley too. It was a great match and was torture to watch for this Rafa fan. Vamos!

It was a great match. Daniil showed a lot of variety, he's surprisingly good at net, and he could hang with Rafa in many of the baseline rallies. That was very impressive. Rafa is Rafa and just outlasts and outgrinds everyone.

If more nextgen rise the level like Daniil, the big 3 will be toast. One thing is to have a tough match on the final, and other very different tought matches from qtrs.

Nadal was very emotional, and i think he deserved to win, but i was very impressed with Daniil, i though he will give up after losing the first two sets and he even recovered from the break in the third and kept trying. With that attitude his first GS is a question of time.

And he was very charming, very nice with Nadal and even end on a positive note with the crowd. Maybe he is low key, but he has personality

NADAL WAS VERY VERY lucky he didn't play a "fresh" medvedev! end of story! nadal had no tough opponents, no tough matches (except 1 4-setter against cilic) and came into the open relaxed and fresh.. meanwhile medvedev played 4 hard court tournaments, and had tough opponents in nearly every round at the open including defeating wawrinka, and then federer's conqueror dmitrov back to back in long tough matches...

glad that SOMEONE SOMEONE FINALLY is learning how to play nadal! berrettini and medvedev both did it dropshotting him non stop, berrettini off nadal's return of service and not letting him getting away with just pooping the ball high and deep with topspin returning serve and then restarting the whole point again! only thing more would be some of these players learning how to volley and take the balls out of the air when they don't wait for them to bounce and hit the drop shot!

ALSO, i've always wondered why NO PLAYERS (except krygios occassionally with his underhand serve) ON PURPOSE hit the ball short in the service box? LITERALLY with the same service motion like a drop shot serve! i mean nadal stands what 15 feet behind the baseline! no one is that fast he can run up to get a serve just dropped over the net!....just to keep nadal "honest" and give him something to think about and if your leading your service game like 40 love... their are so many various tactics players could use against nadal in fact, MORE then can be used against novak or roger, and yet 95% of the time the players not only can't do this, but don't even TRY?...

SHAMEFUL the crowd was booing the umpire for RIGHTFULLY PENALIZING NADAL as other umpires should have for every match nadal has ever played for the past 20 years! (and his box and team had the gall to get upset!) anyway,makes me think HOW MUCH OF THAT U.S. OPEN CROWD are TRUE TRUE knowledgeable tennis fans? how many are just plain idiots and drunk including or not including the celebs who get their free tickets!.. the crowd was ALSO clapping on double faults.. it's SUPPOSE TO BE A KNOWN tennis etiquette that you don't clap someone's faults or double faults!... has lack of etiquette in our culture gone out of the game of tennis too?

and yes, true to form, nadal started his gamemanship at the start of the 5th set...stalling returning serve, when EVERYONE KNOWS that it's the server's speed that the returner had to adjust to, NOT the other way around! saying he couldn't "hear".. what does HEARING (TOO bad if the crowd is too loud for you!) HAVE TO DO WITH returning serve or being ready to return serve??! stopping to jog over to the sideline, holding up medvedev changing his racket at the start of the 5th set when both players were on their baselines already(what was nadal doing on the changeover?)

R416 thank you for calling Nadal out for his bullshit tactics. Hes regarded as so sportsmanlike yet he does these things.

ALSO, i've always wondered why NO PLAYERS (except krygios occassionally with his underhand serve) ON PURPOSE hit the ball short in the service box? LITERALLY with the same service motion like a drop shot serve! i mean nadal stands what 15 feet behind the baseline! no one is that fast he can run up to get a serve just dropped over the net!....just to keep nadal "honest" and give him something to think about and if your leading your service game like 40 love... their are so many various tactics players could use against nadal in fact, MORE then can be used against novak or roger, and yet 95% of the time the players not only can't do this, but don't even TRY?..

Agree with this 100%

Nadal is such a mixed bag. He seems so charming, yet he is the one member of the Big Three who consistently cheats. The deliberate time-wasting and gamesmanship are only a part of it. For years, he accepted coaching from his team (Toni Nadal, in particular) during matches. Apparently in the first edition of his autobiography he actually admitting to doing this during his Wimbledon final against Roger. And then there are the doping rumors. During the 2007 US Open, word got out that some of the clippings from his hair had been kept by a hair salon’s workers. Rather than laugh about this, his team tried to retrieve all of the clippings. Why do that unless they feared someone would test his hair for drug use? There is a cloud over him no one really wants to discuss.

R419.. personally i've always suspected NADAL was on e.p.o. like the tour of france bicyclist use and get busted over.. i refuse to believe that a 33 year old nadal whose body is more like 43 with all of his injuries and the grueling way he plays EVER SINGLE MATCH is that much more conditioned and in better shape then guys 10,15 years younger then him! i don't know if the ATP tests for e.p.o. of how regularly they test nadal at all throughout the year, each year?.. it's actually getting kind of ridiculous! i mean what, is nadal going to be 35, 40, 45 outlasting guys in 5 sets matches who are young enough to be his sons!?!... people might say look at federer whose 38, the difference is plenty! federer plays a total different type of game and has not had as many injuries as nadal over the years..

Nadal was last man standing again, but he didn't really have to play anyone tough like he did last year. It's not his fault his draw fell apart again, but it is annoying to see him cakewalk to the final. At least Medvedev made it interesting unlike Thiem this year at the French or Anderson in the 2017 US Open. I wonder what would have happened if he had to face a healthy Djokovic or Federer?

R421 read the idiotic ignorant comments on youtube.. either nadal worshippers or plainly trolls who are ignorant of the game of tennis!

the fact that medvedev had tougher matches, tougher opponents and came into this final physically compromised seemingly mean nothing to them or they don't "get it".. no one is saying that nadal wasn't better in the end, but their were extenuating circumstances!

i swear PEOPLE ARE GETTING DUMBER AND CAN'T UNDERSTAND CIRCUMSTANCE, REASONS, NUANCE, UNDERLYING CAUSES, EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES AND SO ON! critical thinking skills? what's that!..

Medvedev had a grueling summer..he did it to himself and Rafa destroyed him in Montreal.

The same could be said about Serena. When was the last time she was tested? It doesn't matter anyways...they would just cover up for her if they found anything...Agassi did drugs but got away with it.

Rafa is an honorary member of Real Madrid...I do think the players there do something...Remember the doping case in Spain where the doctor had hundreds of blood samples of pros? I wonder what happened to that case? A cyclist was the whistle blower but he said he saw many familiar faces when he went to the clinic. This doctor has even said he helps teams prepare for champion league games.

I know this is a great run for Medvedev, but before saying others need to step up like he did, let's not forget that he only had to play ONE of the big 3.

It's worth noting that the task which seems to be especially tough (probably because they have such different game styles) is going through one, then the next, then the next... which in most slams is how you would have to do it. Tsitsipas played awesome in Australia to beat Roger, but couldn't adapt to Nadal in the next round. Same with Thiem beating Djokovic and then folding completely against Nadal's spin.

As Medvedev proves, it's hard enough to beat one of them, let alone two or (if you make it) all three. Still a little while away from seeing that, I fear.

Plus the Russian likes long matches. He like to play "chess". He's gonna have to eat more.

R425: perhaps, but he did have to beat a coming into form wawrinka and he also did beat federer's conqueror (although fed was not at 100%) and yes that is the difficult thing to beat not 1, but perhaps 2, even 3 in 1 tournament, much less back to back and maybe back...

MONUMENTAL polar opposite when you compare this problem to the women's tour!...

While on the subjects of PEDs, does anyone else find it weird that paperclips like Daniil and Novak can pound from the baseline for 4 or 5 hours? At least there's some meat to Rafa and Nando that helps to explain it.

R428. i would say you have a point, perhaps MORE of a point if novak and medvedev were playing with the heavy rackets of the past... the rackets do most of the work as well as the strings and it's about how FAST you can swing the racket, not how STRONG you are when doing so, so in this case, having "spindling" but super conditioned bodies like novak and medvedev actually WORK FOR THEM in generating pace and pounding the ball...with today's rackets and strings, being bigger and more muscular is not necessarily a good thing or needed. guys like stan and women like serena are the exception not the rule..

You have to remember, the Russian is only 23, the has youth on his side. He ate bananas during the Nadal match.

Novak, is he still eating Gluten Free? Nadal doesn't eat ham, tomatoes or cheese.

This was a thrilling match and the Wimbledon final was another, let so many here want the great players gone and middling lightweights to take over the men's tour as well as the women's.

Marathon runners are all skinny, so I don't really think muscle mass etc. is that important in an endurance sport, R428.

Bianca in an interview after her win said she always dreamed about beating Serena, she kept imaging herself lifting trophy and winning...and even wrote a check to herself. She believed with her "body, mind and soul".

Gosh, I certainly am glad I'm not sitting beside many of you through these matches.

R421: He faced the best player during this summer. Roger and Nole were on the competition and they didn't reach the final, that's not Nadal's problem

And i really really want new GS winners next year, i don't mind the big 3 winning one or two, but i need new champions

R425: True, but Medvedev defeated Nole the last two times they played. He lost with Federer the three times they played, the last two, very clearly.

On paper, Nadal was the worst opponent for him, but he was able to give a great fight.

Daniil really rose his level during this year, it was not a constant climbing but for sure he is on a totally different level now

Re: about testing players for PEDs. Is this really just random or is everybody got tested regularly. I don’t want to believe that top players can just evade it. I mean, i always thought Sharapova was the darling of WTA and look what happened.

some of the rallies were amazing yes but tactically Medvedev was not "great".

As already stated, he should not be standing so far back when returning Nadal's second serves!! Especially in the last 2 sets Nadal was simply spinning them in. Since Medvedev was not 100% physically, one would have thought he would have wanted to shorten points. Nadal's second serves were there for the pounding. If not hit outright winners on them, Medvedev could have gotten a good crack that would have let him come in and finish off the point quickly at the net. By standing so far back, the return wasn't as effective.

Medvedev is tall and fast but he's not that powerful for his height. He doesn't have to be though if he takes a more aggressive positioning on the court. Stand closer to the baseline. Federer is not the biggest hitter on tour but he robs opponents of time by his positioning.

Nadal should not have been allowed to win the final with that kind of poor serving.

Also Medvedev hasn't won a 5 set match yet so he needs to get physically stronger. Yes he came close but still lost

They get tested. Serena was complaining that she was being discriminated against and was picked on to be tested all the time last year...when she was not playing, she was on break with her baby. She complained on twitter and even called someone to talk about it. Mind you, she had called 911 and hid in her safe room when testers came to test her one time...before she was married (very fishy if you ask me...she was not tested that day).

But since she came back, I'm not sure if she has been tested. The top 50 players have to give their locations so the testers can show up unannounced to test them.

If you ask me, all winners of grand slams should be tested after their matches, even the runners up.

In Champions League football, random players are picked on to be tested after the matches.

Shania Twain is a B. Andreescu fan!

I see the Fed fans are out in force this morning. ESPECIALLY THE ALL CAPS FED FAN.

Bianca isn't exactly slim either.

She is not thin, but she looks totally in shape

At least her legs aren't bigger than Nadal's or any of the men on tour.

As long as we aren't forced to hear her music again during the USO, R440. Whoever chooses the music during commercial breaks, opening ceremonies, etc., each year invariably makes it rough as hell on the ears.

It must be really tought right now for a young player to get high in the ranking because the number of under 20 players in the top 300 is really low.

FAA (21). Sinner (126). Molleker (169), Kuhn (186), Brooksby (270) and that's all (Sebaskian Korda is 302). Only five teenagers in the top 300 is really low

Someone on here really doesn’t like Nadal. I hope anyone popping in isn’t listening to what they’re saying about “cheating” tactics and PEDs. Ridiculous.

I am not that poster R447, but I am not naive to think athletes don't cheat. I'm sure they do, esp with big money involved...and gambling...etc.

It happens in all sports, probably even tennis.

Genie Bikini had a 'steamy beach date' with new beau Connor Davis

So has Genie retired?

Completely ridiculous, R447! Unthinkable! How dare they?!?

Serena pigged out after her loss.

Serena Williams didn’t let her stunning US Open loss prevent her from partying with her family and friends.

After losing in straight sets to 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu in the final on Saturday, Williams, husband Alexis Ohanian, sister Venus and 12 more of her nearest and dearest rented out the entire top floor of Mexican restaurant Vida Verde Sunday evening, we’re told.

Williams and her guests arrived at 9 p.m. and ordered the restaurant’s entire menu, a spy told Page Six. They paired their feast with the spot’s Forteleza margaritas and partied until 2 a.m.

“Serena was in good spirits,” our source shared.

The group ended their late night with dessert.

Williams’ close pal Meghan Markle, who flew to the Big Apple to watch the match, didn’t join the party.

Great crowd here...

Not much better here....

Sorry meant to link this one above instead...

....

Caroline W. is attending Harvard....retirement must be very close.

Good for Serena. After making $1.9M in two weeks, I’d celebrate, too.

Is Bianca's mom in Witness Protection program?

At the moment, tennis in Asia is like when Wham! first played China. They have no idea what to do with it.

[quote] guys like stan and women like serena are the exception not the rule..

What is meant by “guys like stan”?

R461, I suspect that poster meant players who seem stocky and well-muscled. Stan, of course, is not actually hefty, just a bit furry.

So Markle, who looked coked out of her brain during the final, is such a ‘close friend’ of Serena that she didn’t attend Serena’s Losers Party at the Mexican restaurant.

The party wasn't televised, so...

Wolfsong.

Is this where we talk about Asian Swing?

R466 until the thread gets payrolled, yes

[bold] Post-USO rankings news:[/bold]

[bold] WTA: [/bold]

Barty back up to #1,

Pliskova pathetically up to #2 and less than 400 points away

Svitolina up to #3

Osaka falls to #4

Andreescu soars to #5

Bencic cracks #10

Konta up to #11 Q. Wang up to career high #12

Stephens and Keys fall out of the top 10 but still top 20

Townsend jumps 33 spots back up to #83

Ahn soars 48 spots up to #93 career high

Gauff up to #106

Sharapova tumbles to #135

Bouchard falls to #151

[bold] ATP [/bold]

Djokovic stays #1, Nadal stays #2 640 points difference

Medvedev up to #4 career high

Berrettini vaults to #13 career high

Schwartzman back inside top 20

Wawrinka back to #19

Dimitrov biggest mover up 53 spots to #25

Andujar jumps to #50

Del Potro falls 55 spots to #71

Koepfer new career high 32 spots up to #86

Tomic crashes out of the top 100

fuck djokovic

I guess there are alerts when on message boards some things are mentioned, like PED, some of these messages then are I guess also automatically generated. And of course many posters just repeat what the PR minions and bots tell them. I do think there is a lot of doping in Pro sports and e.g. the doping from childhood and youth is not shown in these tests, even the doping from more than a few months ago, it only shows more recent doping. Since there is a lot of doping on all sides in the top sports there is some parity though. The posters regarding the age of Federer and others are annoying, though, people age slower now than they used to and these athletes don't have to work after their career, which hasn't been like that also for the top athletes in the top sports in many cases in the past.

I read about the doping doctor Fuentes who told in an article, shortly before he was on trial, how he would treat Nadal with doping, indicating that he had treated Nadal with doping before. I guess this and similar articles and his knowledge and evidence of so many things helped him get around prison, which I think he did, and of course TPTB and organized crime, which is part of TPTB, also go after their children and partners, having been witness can also save your and your family members' lives. I don't think Nadal relies on doping more than other top athletes, e.g. I have read he has also been an beast in his youth, lots of doping happens in chidhood and youth, I'm sure, but he seems to have been a force of nature from the beginning. The privileged background of the Big Four and others, like Zverev, Tsitspas and Medvedev certainly helps to be secretive as well. Mallorca is also pretty important for the elite.

Novak's parents ran a small restaurant. I don't think he was particularly privileged.

And went through war, R470!

R469 =

R467 even if Pliskova somehow manages to take over #1 briefly in the coming weeks you aren’t going to have to worry about an undeserved number one ranked player for long. Andreescu will most likely end year number one if she plays a tournament plus the finals - and if not, very soon next year - and she’s going to stay there for awhile.

R461 and R462.. what i meant is that "guys like stan" are NOT the norm in tennis, he is built like a rugby player that is compared to nearly every other tennis player ESPECIALLY the top of the game... he is solid, naturally wide up on top and physically very strong.. the guy could probably be a bodybuilder if he wanted to with his natural bone structure and build...

Thanks, R474.

I'd rather them change the rules and give any random girl like Alison Riske or Zhang Shuai #1 than see Pliskova bore her way to the top of the rankings again.

Why does it take Rafa Nadal so long to read the posts at Datalounge?

Because he has to start at Thread Post Number One every time he comes here.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Porna

Oops the photo didn't work

[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.]

I read that a lot of sponsors are interested in Medvedev who was till now the most low key of nextgens.

If someone like Borna really breaks and starts having great results the sponsors will get crazy. People tend to think that being goodlooking is what matters but for an athlete being goodlooking is just the ace of the cake. Kournikova got millions on sponsors but that was when she was supposed to be the next big thing after the wimbledon semifinals, the same for Genie (who has a lot less sponsors now).

Maybe leaving social media for a while helps Stefanos (at least will prevent him to post anothing pretentious sentence on twitter for a while)

In Zhengzhou, Riske wins a 2 hour 50 min match that ended in a third set tiebreak over WC Kerber

Tomorrow, the very in need of match wins Garcia will play the also very need in match wins Mladenovic. Let's see if they still get along since their truce last year

Kerber is struggling. Retirement soon?

Serena lost in straight sets in 3 slam finals in a row, yet her loss to Bianca is still labeled stunning. It wasn’t stunning it was expected. I think only casual fans, Serena Stans, and Spike Lee expected Serena to win. Bianca’s record and game/talent made it obvious that she was going to beat Serena.

Kerber will come back, r483. She struggles in odd years for some reason but she’s no flash in the plan. Very smart player.

Angie should go back to school like me!

R484! EXACTLY!...

perhaps it's me but i've finally figured out who i think bianca resembles stroke wise and the way she plays... KIM CLIJSTERS perhaps? but with more variety..

on another note, in all seriousness, as i see serena attending some media event, i wonder what EXACTLY does she do behind the scenes to empower women, all women and be a social global warrior for women? ...

R483: Kerber always has ups and downs. Unlike other top players who play well one week and bad the following, Kerber has very good periods and very bad ones. When she plays well she is consistent. She will be back

Serena also sells clothing on TV.

She is too busy for tennis!

Any company who sponsors Medvedev would be a company I'd boycott. And I suspect that many others would be inclined accordingly.

If Serena had served better she likely would have won. Andreescu handled her second serve much better than most of the players on tour.

At 38 years old Serena has lost some of her speed. Even if she got back to her fittest ever (and she looks better now than last year), she's not going to have her 20s movement. She still has her power though.

Wow, is it just me or does Serena look like a coked-out whore in R480?

True, R491. But Serena hasn’t devoted herself full time to tennis. I actually wonder if there’s an interesting psychological battle going on within her. Once she crosses 24 & 25, all that’s left for her is retirement. I wonder if she’s ready to embrace what that side of life looks like. There are so many odd choices she makes when it comes to these finals. I think there’s a part of her that’s fighting against it.

R493, that’s a convincing observation. For years, Serena seemed ambivalent about tennis, and now that she’s close to walking off the court for good, her feelings must be even more divided. Perhaps that’s why she seems to be physically fighting herself in finals.

Porna likes to show skin.

[quote] Porna likes to show skin.

What’s the color of said skin?

R496, I'd say "fair, with cool undertones."

Coric has unfortunately been a disappointment. He burst on tour and quickly got into the top 50 as a 17 year old but he's stalled, choked and had injuries since then. This season has been a real flop with no titles or big results at slams and masters

Nole.

Isn't Serena married to a billionaire? That makes her a billionaire. So....must be hard to get the mojo back when you have anything you've ever wanted at your fingertips.

[quote] must be hard to get the mojo back when you have anything you've ever wanted at your fingertips.

She’s never wanted anything hard.

That’s incorrect, r500. Serena’s net worth is more than her husband’s.

Andy Murray has been given a wildcard for the Shanghai Masters 1000 next month.

he's on the list for a smaller tournament before that too I think

I think Andy Murray should stick to doubles and exhibitions. I did not see it but, apparently, he looked pretty rough in Mallorca. This is a wasted WC.

I looked up Serena's husband's net worth...$70M. FWIW

Team World Captain John McEnroe has named Jack Sock and Taylor Fritz to his team for Lave rCup Geneva 2019. Fritz replaces Kevin Anderson who has withdrawn due to the knee injury.

#507... jack sock??? presumably strictly for doubles of course!...

i wonder how OUTRAGEOUS THE TICKETS WILL BE in geneva for the laver cup? even MORE ridiculous outrageous then they were in Chicago?... the sport for the wealthy becoming even MORE so and more of a "niche" sport and the powers that be seemingly don't care as long as money is coming from somewhere..

I mean... the Laver Cup was literally just invented to bring even more $$ in to the Federer Empire, and more sponsors circling him and the other top players.

Notice the event doesn't shine a spotlight on any smaller names or up and comers unless they're already stars. The tickets are already sold on the bigger names, why not add in more representation from Eastern Asia or an African player instead of Kyrgios,, Isner, Sock, etc. The usual suspects.

R498: Borna reached top 50 at 19 and a half, very good but for sure not as impressive as 17.

In fact we probably have to go to Hewitt to find someone who was top 50 at 17.

Nadal reached top 100 at 17 but then he got injured so i think he didn't reach top 50 till he was 18 (just in the great clay season he made before his first RG)

Not 19 and a half but 18 and a half.

His progression is a dissapointment, or couse Medvedev was very inconsistent till this season (but Daniil needed a lot more time to reach top 100 and top 50)

[quote]Tomorrow, the very in need of match wins Garcia will play the also very need in match wins Mladenovic

Mladonna won...and there was an awkward kiss at the net

I'm glad Rod Laver is Roger's idol. He must have marveled at all those Laver victories as a boy.

The Laver Cup can be fun to watch, but I refuse to watch matches with Kyrgios and Sock, and I can barely tolerate Isner.

Why don’t you like Sock, R514?

Sock likes to showboat and he comes across as a douche-bro. He's a watered down Kyrgios. Also, his political leanings are not what I respect.

R512 lol nice screenshot

I honestly hate the idea of the Laver Cup because IT'S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEASON!!!!

all the top players bitch about how long the schedule is but they're always more than ready to show up for a big payday exhibition whenever, wherever!! Remember Nadal and Djokovic almost played in Saudi Arabia too.

If the Laver Cup were held during the off-season I'd be fine with it. I don't like the idea that the top players are doing this while live tournaments are going on. It's a slap in the face to the tour and the guys who don't have that name recognition (either on their way up or just not famous vets).

Not gonna lie, I love that Rafa won 2 slams this season.

R517 They do that all the time. Oh it's a gruelling schedule but suddenly you put a big check and they have no problem to play in the middle of the desert of a non democratic country known for their lack of respect of human rights

I want Rafa to catch Fed just to watch Fed fans (aka all the broadcasters) lose it!

Me too R520

I hope Rafa surpasses Roger through time too, just to watch heads ASPLODE!

R509, you’re boring. Go away.

R523 Sorry Mirka!

hopefully this is Nadal's last year winning slams especially outside of RG

his grinding, weak serve style is not a good look

R525 it gets the job done. I look forward to the next French open he doesnt win. Which will probably be in like 7 years.

yeah, nadal will be 40, 45 outlasting guys young enough to be his sons! on clay! 3 out of 5 sets!.. RIDICULOUS!....and no one thinks this is suspicious? the way nadal plays, all of his injuries and he's still outlasting guys 10 plus years younger then him?

well I bet you now Nadal is "injured" and cannot play except maybe Shanghai and the WTF (and those exhibitions)

McEnroe already started the campaign for "well, Slams are important, but not THE only measure for the GOAT," prepping the way to still uphold Roger as the best ever, even though they always relied on Slam total as the measure for greatness until now.

R529.. whose "they" in regards to judging the greatest of all time SOLELY based on grand slam titles? anyone, i repeat ANYONE WHO DOES THAT does NOT know the game and/or the history of tennis!...

in this regard, i do wonder why most of the so called tennis "experts" including mcenroe (and he's a tennis historian expert because??? he played the game?!)... call serena THE GOAT without any reservation or doubt, that this is NOT opinion but FACT?!.. IN all seriousness WHY?... the ONLY record serena has is her 23 grand slam singles titles in the open era.. that's it!... most time as #1? no.. most tournament wins? no.. won any 1 grand slam tournament more then anyone else? no. (she's tied with evert for 6 at the u.s. open). most singles, doubles, mixed doubles titles whether regular tournaments or grand slams? no.. ..

so WHY is serena the goat? as i stated, grand slam singles totals is NOT the ONLY or even perhaps the MOST important factor.. SO SO SO MANY factors go into this, and then you have to consider are all the factors equal? if not, why not! that is why it's stupid and folly for ANY ONE PLAYER to be called the greatest of all time in a individual sport much less deem that person as the best not as opinion but as FACT!.. so so many variables in a sport like tennis, that just in itself has had so much technology changes that it's pointless of a argument...

AT BEST? THEIR SHOULD ONLY BE a top 10 list of the greatest male and female players of all time and NOT in numerical order either!that's the best and the ONLY thing that can be concluded..

No one cares about the French Open; it shouldn’t even be a major.

[quote] whose "they" in regards to judging the greatest of all time SOLELY based on grand slam titles? anyone, i repeat ANYONE WHO DOES THAT does NOT know the game and/or the history of tennis!...

I disagree with you most vehemently. You will have to answer to our Lord for your foolishness and ignorance.

Slam totals are the firs thing commentators trot out when discussing the greats.

It's the only metric really. Beyond that you can have personal favorites.

You're an idiot R531.

R535 more of an idiot than r530??

Ooh the Fed fans are out in force tonight! Fed is great. So is Nadal. Nadal beat Fed more than the other way around. Nadal is on Slam away from having more of those. He already has more Masters. He has a singles gold. He does NOT have YEC, Nadal's only blemish. But Fed doesn't have singles gold medal, a much bigger gap in the resume. Nadal will win one more GS. Fed most likely won't. Tied? With the H2H in Nadal's favor? With the Masters 1000 in Nadal's favor? Come on. Except reality. I loved Agassi as a kid. But Pete was better. And I hated Pete's game.

The whole GOAT argument is pretty ridiculous. How many would Laver have won he'd been able to compete his whole career? And how do you compare players across time, with different equipment, etc.? And how the surfaces have changed on the US and Oz? It's a bit OCD to keep hammering away at it.

Right, R538. Laver said that in his era, rackets couldn't generate as much topspin as technology allows today.

Also, I'm not convinced that a gold medal is more important than YEC? Is it? Didn't some top stars skip the last Olympics?

Usually players only skip the Olympics cause of injury. Most try to play then.

What is YEC? Year End.....

Kim Clijsters announces 2020 comeback

AS I STATED ABOVE, their are so so many unknowns and variables that it's POINTLESS, RIDICULOUS and plainly wrong for anyone, including the so called tennis "experts" (because they played the game professionally, they are experts on everything regarding tennis including it's history? i don't think so!) to declare that their opinion is NOT opinion but fact! that ANY one person is the best of all time in a individual sport like tennis...

racket and strings technology have changed (the equipment) more then any sport over the decades... not to mention shoes, conditioning, coaches and trainers and physios and so on

different surfaces...

head to head records including ON the various different surfaces..

depth of competition or lack of, including how good and in the prime or not in their prime was the competition

year in and year out consistency of greatness including or not including bad losses to lesser players both at regular tournaments and the slams

stroke production greatness, variety greatness, the use of the mind and tactics greatness..

extenuating circumstances (laver from 63 to 67) connolly and seles taken out of the game ,etc..

AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON...

that is why any true tennis fanatic (like me! lol!) and historian KNOWS in their heart, that proclaiming any one player the greatest is downright silly and unknowable.. when anyone does declare anyone the greatest, that is strictly OPINION and for the masses to digest who don't know the game and makes everyone "comfortable" in their "knowing"...

Video of Kim announcing her comeback.

I legitimately thought this was a prank lol.... good luck to her!

Hopefully Kim can physically compete at a high level again. The talent and skill probably never will leave but competing at this level is another thing. Her flexibility and turning defense to offense was always her biggest weapons. She needs to be fit to do that. If she is then she honestly should beat most of the women she plays.

She's comeback before and could compete. I thought she was looking a bit out of shape when she was commentating recently but she seems to be one of the more grounded players so wouldn't have made this announcement if she didn't think she was ready for it.

R529: The problem is Rafa and Nole have more masters 1000 than him. And Nole ended the year as number one as many times (Nadal could do the same if he ends this year as number one).

If Nole and Rafa caught him on GS, it's very difficult to consider Federer the goat because he has losing h2h against his two biggest rivals.

Federer always be the purists fave, because his style is beatiful and classis. And he is probably the most talented player of the open era, but he lacks in other important things, both Nole and Rafa are mentally stronger and they are able to adapt easily

It's curious, with the amount of mediocre players on the Davis Cup group III, you get a Greece - Poland with a Tsitsipas - Hurkcacz match. Stefanos won 63 61.

I hope Stefanos is really straight, because if not the pressure to stay in the closet will be massive. Even the president was there to watch his match

what would it say if kim could come back and win titles, even majors again? talk about a INDICTMENT of the women's game!

Well, she won her GS after her first come back.

She was always a sollid player, something not common on today's top players.

I doubt she can do it (there are some young players who seem destined to dominate the game) but she can make a Hingis return, with some good results and reaching some last rounds at a couple of GS

R549 Kim has more tennis skill in her pinkie than some of these young players have in their whole body. If shes fit enough to compete I'll be excited for her to possibly challenge them.

Did you know Clijsters has three babies? THREE!

She did win all her majors after the first retirement but 36 is getting up there.

Maybe Henin will make an announcement soon?

This thread would explode.

Ooops forgot she did win 1 us open during her first career. Has anyone noteable ever had 3 different careers like this?

Has Clijsters actually confirmed she's going to be playing singles again?

She had a successful doubles career too.

I'd assume she means singles.

HENIN? CAPRIATI? ANYONE? LOL!.. in all seriousness, i feel bad and it sucks that both henin and capriati had to leave the game before they wanted to.

Clijsters' announcement has brought out calls on Twitter for Henin to come back too.

I love Kim but she was barely keeping up at the end of her last comeback, as successful as it initially was. That was EIGHT years ago. She played an exhibition set on Court 1 at Wimbledon this year against Venus (she lost), and everyone kept saying how great she was playing and that she could come back to the tour right away (even Vee said it). I thought her strokes looked decent but Venus was injured like crazy and had just flown straight from a clay court tournament to play on grass and wasn't really trying that hard.... it didn't seem good enough for a full comeback, is what i'm trying to say. I'm concerned that all the smoke they were blowing up her ass just for one good exhibition set has convinced her to return.

Her game is so athletic that she will have to be insanely fit just to avoid injury. With some results she and Mertens might be able to give Belgium a shot at an Olympic medal in doubles. But I do hope she fares well. Even reaching the top 30 or so would be terrific, but you don't want to be that player constantly relying on wild cards and not able to do much with them (hi Sharapova). I am sure she's thought about it properly, she's not mentally unstable like Bartoli who announced her comeback a year ago.

Henin will never come back lol. She has a good gig commentating for France and Eurosport, has her academy, has younger kids than Clijsters, is a consulting coach for top 30 player Dayana Yastremska, and was likely doping for most of her competitive career.

Kim Clijsters is coming back what do we think?

Jesus Pam and Mary Jo are probably creaming..another Mom on tour. I like Kim, great competitor and sportsman but no.

Clijsters will pull the same shit she did with her last comeback. She'll enter a tourney and pull out. Over and over again.

Whatever happened to Jamie Hampton? She was talented and aggressive. Still injured?

Same with Laura Robson? Attractive Brit. So much better than Brave Jo Konta.

Clijster's won 4 slams

R563 in her last comeback she won 3 majors.

Kim Clijsters was always my favorite player. Justine Hénin was the one I loathed. But if Kim comes back and get some results, Justine Hénin sans Hardenne will itch so bad she'll have to come back too. And probably fail. I hear the reason she came back the last time was that she wanted to achieve a career grand slam and it meant winning Wimbledon.

One I would love to see back on the tour would be Amélie Momo? Am I allowed to dream?

I adored Henin for her tennis - which was spectacular. I also don't think she's as bad a person as has been made out. She's quietly doing good with her academy and coaching Yastremska. I think she was a troubled person who wanted a quiet life.

Ah, the hell with it -- I'm in, too!

Andreescu withdrew from tournaments till the China Open which I think is very smart.

Hopefully Margaret Court comes back too and all the lesbians can give her a beatdown on her own arena in Melbourne. GET HER Allison Van Uytvanck!!!

Kim actually did a podcast interview with WTA Insider Courtney (of Ben and Courtney) about her comeback, where she's at physically, what her expectations are, what made her want to return, etc. I have linked it below.

How is Asian Swing going?

A pleasant distraction from all of the women's tennis chatter, boys.

^ hoo dat? Nico Mahut?

yeah, that's Mahut

[quote]How is Asian Swing going?

it keep raining in Zhengzhou, some players who had a bye in the 1st round haven't even played yet

Didn't some top stars skip the last Olympics?

More stringent doping requirements.

I love it when top players come back to the game. I hope Clijsters stays injury free this time but her game takes a toll on her body.

I want to see if she can regain top 10 form and take on all the top players as well as her former rivals

I'd love it if Henin came back too even though I always hated her selfish personality. Her drama was entertaining

Ivanovic just gave birth to her second son....I wonder if she'd ever entertain a comeback in the next couple years. She's only 31

Did Ivanovic use a surrogate? She never looked pregnant on her Instagram though it could have been camera tricks.

Ivanovic may have used a surrogate, but she has been VERY private with her kids. Neither have ever been photographed (only the hand, or the back of them) and we don't even know her new one's name. She and her footballer husband still make a tonne of money going to events so coming back to the tour prob wouldn't be worth it for her. She is actually still sponsored by Adidas (she has a lifetime deal with them). Wonder who Kim will be sponsored by?

Also, is Jelena Jankovic ever going to come back? She was getting a facelift in Dubai this week but she never officially announced retirement. Was still playing a year or two ago.

Interestingly, Kim's comeback also throws Meldonia Sharapova under the bus somewhat. Kuznetsova recently spoke about how most tournaments have ONE top 20/slam winner wildcard to give out (and how they mostly went to Venus or Azarenka rather than her).

With the doper out of the top 100 and Kim likely to get the WCs in Australian tournaments (not to mention Stosur etc. who have also tumbled down the rankings and are eligible for this spot), will Sharapova have to play qualies at some tournaments? I assume Venus will rise a bit in the rankings because she skipped Asia entirely last year so even if she loses early in Beijing and Wuhan she will gain points (has a zero for Madrid too).

This is quite the turn of events. Are the new players not setting the world on fire? No problem, we'll bring back the beloved old ones!

I know Kim isn't Dutch but she could very easily join Team KLM with Kiki Bertens

Damn Mahut has some serious junk!