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The Gays & Tennis: post-USO Fall Asian swing 2019

we almost made it to 600 in the last thread but just got payrolled

Clijsters has announced her return to the game in 2020!!

Let's see who qualifies for the YEC and WTF

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by Anonymousreply 181September 25, 2019 5:40 PM

I mean, why not? Serena’s even older and is still regularly making slam finals. If Kim can stay fit this could go very well for her

by Anonymousreply 1September 12, 2019 6:48 PM

Nadal's wedding is rumored to be in 5 weeks

Halep and Darren Cahill will reunite in 2020

by Anonymousreply 2September 12, 2019 7:28 PM

Titsy is kinda cute and sheepish meeting the Greek Prime Minister. Sometimes it's easy to forget how young he is.

If you skip to 2:34 you can see Team Greece take a photo together. Petros (Titsy's younger brother) who is also on the team, is now 19 and has really turned into a hunk. A shorter, but more handsome and strapping looking man than his brother. Hopefully he can transition into the top 100 and we can see more of him.

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by Anonymousreply 3September 12, 2019 7:35 PM

R2: In fact it's official, he is going to marry Xisca in October.

Carlos Alcaraz reached his first quarterfinals on a challenger. Next week he'll be the first player born in 2003 to reach top 500

Thanks for the new thread

by Anonymousreply 4September 12, 2019 7:49 PM

By the way, there's some scandal with Mischa Zverev. It seems he asked the umpire if he could quit the match and play the qualys of other tournament this weekend, the umpire said yes, and he retired

by Anonymousreply 5September 12, 2019 7:51 PM

uh oh. A. Zverev, come get your brother M. Zverev!

by Anonymousreply 6September 12, 2019 7:59 PM

Omg saving women’s tennis. I hope she destroys Serena‘s ass.

by Anonymousreply 7September 12, 2019 8:03 PM

it really shows the competitive spirit of the likes of Serena, Venus, Clijsters and others who keep wanting to play professionally well into their 30s. They know they don't have all their strength and speed of their teens and 20s but they still have above average strength, speed and with their age, better tactics.

Compared to the wimpy, wounded egos of the men like Roddick and it's such a contrast. Roddick couldn't handle it that his brief few years at the top was over. He knew that not only Federer but also Nadal, Djokovic and Murray were passing him by too. He couldn't get to slam finals anymore as just a great serve and decent forehand weren't enough. He just didn't have that drive to keep improving but he still wants to play. He tries to make himself feel better by playing on the old man's tour even though he's the youngest there. He regularly loses to Haas and Philippoussis who are older and less accomplished than him. Pathetic

I think if Sampras had had any inkling that his records and status in the history of the sport would be overtaken so quickly, he would have kept playing a few more years too. At the time he left the sport, most of his accomplished rivals were 1 or 2 slam wonders. Agassi was the closest in terms of slam wins. No one would have ever thought that he'd no longer be in consideration for the GOAT of men's tennis, especially in such a short time period. Think about it-Nadal and Djokovic weren't even on the main tour in 2002 when Sampras left and Federer was that young, inconsistent promising player being labeled "baby Sampras".

by Anonymousreply 8September 12, 2019 10:37 PM

Life on the challenger circuit is tougher than I thought: they just had to wrangle a snake off the court in Cary. The snake had been inexplicably drawn to a men’s doubles match.

by Anonymousreply 9September 12, 2019 10:39 PM

Naomi Osaka has split with her coach Jermaine Jenkins after about 6 months

by Anonymousreply 10September 12, 2019 10:42 PM

La Reine de Wimbledon, Marion Bartoli, planned a comeback a few years ago too.

She gave up after about 3 weeks of training.

by Anonymousreply 11September 12, 2019 10:43 PM

and just to add, even though I'm beyond sick of the big 3's domination at the slams, I admire their competitive spirit. Federer is nearly 40 but wants to keep winning. Obviously at this point he's also driven by wanting to have better stats than Nadal and DJokovic but it's fun seeing them mix it up with the younger generation. I've been saying for over 5 years now I hope the younger guys step up so I'll say it again. Hopefully 2020 brings about a revolution at the slams for the ATP.

Sampras was so arrogant he really thought no one would beat his records for a long, long time. He could have given more of himself. We've heard countless times commentators and former rivals talking about how sometimes Sampras would purposely tank return games at the end of a match so he could serve it out in style, arrogantly but usually correctly assuming he'd never get broken. You don't see that with the top guys these days. They want to win every point.

by Anonymousreply 12September 12, 2019 10:44 PM

Which former Serena or Venus employee will Naomi turn to next? Perhaps Venus' former coach? I forget his name but the blond guy

by Anonymousreply 13September 12, 2019 10:46 PM

[quote] The snake had been inexplicably drawn to a men’s doubles match.

Its doubles match

by Anonymousreply 14September 12, 2019 10:53 PM

Medvedev for Vogue Russia

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by Anonymousreply 15September 12, 2019 10:57 PM

I think Naomi has personality issues. She seems quite introverted and hypersensitive. She probably needs to be coddled by a coach because she doesn't express emotion very naturally. Too bad 'cause she's very talented. But I think this will affect her career going forward. Would be interesting to see her play Andreescu. If she has played her, I haven't seen it. Andreescu is a natural extravert, which I think must be a great help in playing a tournament like USO and in general. Plus BA is a true prodigy with all the gifts especially great mental strength, which many women players haven't had.

Am happy to see Clijsters coming back. I always loved her.

by Anonymousreply 16September 12, 2019 11:03 PM

they made his hair look fuller haha

by Anonymousreply 17September 12, 2019 11:05 PM

Whoa that is a flattering picture of Medvedev. He has a pretty face, but yeah, the hair is distractingly bad in real life... especially the way he kinda does the hand-comb-over tic when it gets sweaty.

by Anonymousreply 18September 12, 2019 11:09 PM

OMG, does this mean that Henin may follow suit and come back too?! Oh please oh please oh PRETTY PLEASE!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 19September 12, 2019 11:17 PM

[quote]Am happy to see Clijsters coming back. I always loved her.

I mean, what could possibly go wrong!

by Anonymousreply 20September 13, 2019 12:03 AM

Venus and Kimberly should concentrate on doubles . They can still play great doubles play Can won ,many grand slams and earn more than singles

by Anonymousreply 21September 13, 2019 10:43 AM

Has anyone seen this? WTF? Mischa Zverev asked the umpire in the third set if he can retire so he can play qualifiers somewhere else.....

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by Anonymousreply 22September 13, 2019 11:04 AM

Hong Kong WTA event is cancelled due to protests. First cancelled tournament in a long time.

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by Anonymousreply 23September 13, 2019 12:17 PM

R22: I commented that yesterday, it's absurd and not only for Zverev but for the umpire too.

I was reading about Carlos Alcaraz reaching top 500 at 16 and 4 months and they post the age some players reached top 500:

Nadal at 16 and 1 month, Djokovic at 17, Roger at 17 and 2 months, Delpo 16 and 6, Hewitt 16 and 9, A Zverev 17 and 3 months, FAA 16 and 5 months and Richard Gasquet at 15 and 10 months.

Richard Gasquet reaching top 500 with just 15 is simply amazing. I still think the french federation put too much pressure on him and he was unable to endure it, but the potential was amazing

by Anonymousreply 24September 13, 2019 1:24 PM

Tatiana Golovin is also coming back. Expecting to come back in October which is very soon actually! She really tried to snatch Clijsters' wig with this announcement lol.

I have a feeling Jelena Dokic will be next. She's in the gym desperately trying to get rid of that enormous weight gain.

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by Anonymousreply 25September 13, 2019 2:09 PM

Oh Golovin, she seemed a promising player for a nanosecond

by Anonymousreply 26September 13, 2019 2:21 PM

Could you imagine if comes out of retirement next year and wins the US OPEN on first final attempt. LOL

by Anonymousreply 27September 13, 2019 2:35 PM

R25 before you know it, Dally Randrianteffy will be announcing a comeback to the WTA tour as well. Look out in 2020.

by Anonymousreply 28September 13, 2019 5:42 PM

All these ladies are looking at Serena and thinking well if this outta shape 37 year old can walk away with 2 million bucks for runner-up at USO then fuck dignity, I'm going after that too!

by Anonymousreply 29September 13, 2019 5:45 PM

Since consistency is not a thing on the WTA, Clijsters can probably win a couple more Slams.

by Anonymousreply 30September 13, 2019 6:28 PM

I hope Clijsters does well coming back but people are really blowing this up to mean shes coming back and will be a force in the game again. Maybe, but I have doubts.

by Anonymousreply 31September 13, 2019 6:30 PM

She started really well on her last come back, but she ended pretty bad, and that was long time ago.

I'm pretty sure she can do some damage to the brainless ballbashers but against players like Barty or Andreescu i don' think she has a chance

by Anonymousreply 32September 13, 2019 6:32 PM

I was never a big Golovin fan and thought she was overrated but I'm glad she's coming back. Her career was derailed by I think back injuries. It'd be nice if Szavay could come back too as she had similar issues.

2020 will be fun seeing how all the new old and current players handle each other

If only the men's game were so exciting.

by Anonymousreply 33September 13, 2019 6:34 PM

Golovin was only 20 when she retired with debilitating back injuries. She said in her interview with BeIN that modern medicines and therapies have allowed her to manage the pain much better, that weren't around when she was in the peak of her career. I wonder how many others out there whose careers were cut short might have been okay with today's improved medicine and physiotherapy...

Clijsters still has nice strokes but she played a VERY physical game, that will be hard to get back to. Yes she already came back after giving birth the first time but she was 26 then... I don't really expect anything more than what, say, Azarenka has been able to do since coming back... but I wish her well!

by Anonymousreply 34September 13, 2019 6:39 PM

I realize medicine and recovery methods have vastly improved over the decades but its incredible to me that players are playing so long, well into their mid-late 30s. The game if a lot more physical than it was 2 or 3 decades ago.

by Anonymousreply 35September 13, 2019 6:43 PM

That's true R35. The slowing down of courts has made the game more physical, more long rallies, a focus on movement even more so than groundstrokes, etc.

by Anonymousreply 36September 13, 2019 6:47 PM

yeah remember a few years ago Vaidisova attempted a comeback but could not get back into the top 100

she's a mental case though

by Anonymousreply 37September 13, 2019 6:55 PM

R37 yeah once she realized it wasn’t going to be easy she promptly gave up. She did play the likes of Halep and Ivanovic pretty close though.

by Anonymousreply 38September 13, 2019 7:00 PM

[quote] Yes she already came back after giving birth the first time but she was 26 then.

Alas becoming a mother and its effects on returning to competitive play in tennis have not changed in the past few years. Sigh.

by Anonymousreply 39September 13, 2019 7:13 PM

R15 is Medvedev + computer-enhanced hair.

by Anonymousreply 40September 13, 2019 10:23 PM

Kim and I are a month apart in age and, considering how I feel after playing a four-hour match, I’m curious how this will go for her. Glad to see Kim back, though!

by Anonymousreply 41September 13, 2019 10:42 PM

America’s former sweetheart, Melanie Oudin, is now a coach.

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by Anonymousreply 42September 14, 2019 12:39 PM

Who's next? Hu Na?

Who's he? Patricia Hy?

by Anonymousreply 43September 14, 2019 1:45 PM

Osaka and Seoul draws out

Osaka has a nice field. It features Osaka, Bertens, Stephens, Kerber, Keys, Sevastova, Muguruza, Mertens, Vekic and Garcia

In Zhengzhou Pliskova and Martic will face off in the final.

Hiroshima final will be between Hibino and Doi! Both are seeking their second title. Is this the first all-Japanese final? especially in Japan? fans must be pumped there

In Nanchang, Rybakina and Peterson will play the final. Rybakina won her first title earlier this year. Peterson seeks her first

by Anonymousreply 44September 14, 2019 5:50 PM

[quote] Osaka and Seoul draws out. Osaka has a nice field. It features Osaka,

Is Osaka playing or not? I’m so confused.

by Anonymousreply 45September 14, 2019 5:54 PM

The stands in the recent Asian swing matches have been nearly empty.

by Anonymousreply 46September 14, 2019 5:55 PM

I bet the stands in Osaka will be packed to see Osaka play

How cool to play at a tournament that in a city that has the last name of 1 of your parents

by Anonymousreply 47September 14, 2019 6:03 PM

All of these comebacks are going to be trainwrecks. Get your popcorn out.

by Anonymousreply 48September 14, 2019 6:14 PM

R48: Half of the top players on recent days are trainwrecks right now, at least Clijsters and Golovin have an excuse

by Anonymousreply 49September 14, 2019 6:26 PM

Thiam lost with Ruusuvuori 63 62 on the Davis cup

by Anonymousreply 50September 14, 2019 7:43 PM

[quote]Thiem lost with Ruusuvuori

was it a doubles match?

Karen Khachanov and his wife had a baby! It's a boy

by Anonymousreply 51September 14, 2019 8:14 PM

No, it was a singles match. Austria was on the verge of elimination because Novak was ill, and he had to come back in his match to defeat Heliovaara.

Ruusuvouri won his two matches

by Anonymousreply 52September 14, 2019 8:17 PM

Thiem is a useless person

by Anonymousreply 53September 14, 2019 9:45 PM

Kiki doesn't share your opinion

by Anonymousreply 54September 14, 2019 9:52 PM

The comeback queens might surprise us. Vera Zvonareva came back to some doubles titles and the top 80 (with a limited schedule, and se has been injured a lot in her comeback). Kimiko Date obviously did very well, winning titles and giving us some fun slam matches. I think Clijsters and Golovin can at least try outdo Vera Z.

by Anonymousreply 55September 15, 2019 1:19 PM

Lol if you don’t think Clijsters is at least coming back to some QF and SF results you’re crazy. Tennis is between the ears. If she gets in shape, which she says she is going to do, then she is going to be just fine. You’re talking about someone who reached a TON of GS SFs and Fs and won 4 slams. We aren’t talking about Golovin here. Also, mechanically Clijsters has a very sound game compared to most. This is how she was able to win the USO first try back. Not saying that’s gonna happen but top 80? Lol no

by Anonymousreply 56September 15, 2019 4:31 PM

Zhengzhou: Pliskbot sweeps Martic for her 4th title of the year and is now very close to the #1 ranking sadly.

Hiroshima: Hibino sweeps Doi for her second career title

Nanchang: Peterson destroys Rybakina for her 1st title

draws for St. Petersburg, Metz and Guangzhou are now out

by Anonymousreply 57September 15, 2019 7:38 PM

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina won his first challenger. He needs to reach semifinals next week to finally reach the top 100.

Hopefully he'll fix his crazy brain soon because the guy is talented and his style is really fun to watch

by Anonymousreply 58September 15, 2019 8:11 PM

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?..

by Anonymousreply 59September 15, 2019 9:00 PM

If Graf hadn't retired at 29 she would have surpassed the Margaret Court record I think and she was so close I'm always surprised she didn't hang on a few more years. On grass and clay she would still be the best.

Martina Navratilova was just a few games from winning Wimbledon at age 37. Great athletes at 40 still beat mediocre athletes at 25.

by Anonymousreply 60September 15, 2019 9:12 PM

R60. Coulda woulda shoulda. If Seles hasn’t been stabbed she wouldn’t have been close anyway. Also - In 1999 it was clear Graf was mentally exhausted from tennis and was somewhat “over it.” She had lost the hunger really

by Anonymousreply 61September 16, 2019 6:22 PM

R61: Graf was not mentally exhausted, he was simply far from her peak. She spend two years with injuries and 1998 was a really bad year for her. The fact she was able to win RG and being a finalist at Wimbledon was a surprise.

If she was healthy she had at least a couple of good years ahead, but she was not so all it's speculation. I don't think she could last too much longer, unless Serena in her thirties, Graf should had face a strong competition from solid and hungry young talented players

by Anonymousreply 62September 16, 2019 6:45 PM

unlike Serena in her thirties (in fact Serena won less GS on her peak years than she did later, just because the top players were less consistent)

by Anonymousreply 63September 16, 2019 6:46 PM

Sinner was the player Italy chose to play the next gen finals.

It was quite obvious he will be the chosen one

by Anonymousreply 64September 16, 2019 7:10 PM

By the way, someone watched a match of Jaume Munar?

I only know that his style is the old spanish style of pushing the ball to the other side of the court but some people commented that his behaviour on the match against Davidovich was pretty bad yesterday. It seems he made everything and even more to distract Alejandro, asking the umpire to give his rival a warking, complaining about the crowd support on his rival (even the challenger was in Seville and Alejandro is from Malaga and there are some rivaldry between the two cities).

Well, he is a next gen but i thought his behaviour on court wasn't that bad (but i have to admit i barely watched any of his matches)

by Anonymousreply 65September 16, 2019 7:37 PM

What are your thoughts regarding Jack Sock's ass in this short video?

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by Anonymousreply 66September 17, 2019 4:47 AM

Muguruza has not won a match since Roland Garros. She just lost to Hsieh in the Osaka tournament even though she had a match point in set 2.

by Anonymousreply 67September 17, 2019 5:51 AM

Muguruza absolutely collapsed under the psychological pressure of it all. She gets so distraught so quickly and once that happens, she crumbles.

by Anonymousreply 68September 17, 2019 5:58 AM

are y'all ready? #3daystogo

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by Anonymousreply 69September 17, 2019 11:23 AM

Couldn’t care less.

by Anonymousreply 70September 17, 2019 10:41 PM

Team Europe selfie

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by Anonymousreply 71September 18, 2019 2:11 PM

Fabio. <3

How about Team Scrub? Did they even bother taking a photo?

by Anonymousreply 72September 18, 2019 2:27 PM

wait lmao is Nadal playing? I thought he's so injured and tired now from the USO and can't play other events in the fall?

but a big money exho is OK for his body I guess!

by Anonymousreply 73September 18, 2019 5:31 PM

Nadal issues more fake injury withdrawals than most players combined. Hes so full of shit.

by Anonymousreply 74September 18, 2019 5:49 PM

Rafa just wants to be with his bae Roger ;)

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by Anonymousreply 75September 18, 2019 6:00 PM

It is an exhibition....I am sure they are not going to get very tired.

by Anonymousreply 76September 18, 2019 6:18 PM

R76 that's the point...it looks bad if a player claims he/she can't play much during the fall but has the time and energy for an exhibition while those events are all going on. If Nadal was going to play in Beijing and Shanghai after this OK but he likely won't. It just shows he's doing this for the easy money when he's already rich enough.

by Anonymousreply 77September 18, 2019 6:32 PM

Fabio looks Mexican to me.

by Anonymousreply 78September 18, 2019 6:54 PM

[quote]It just shows he's doing this for the easy money when he's already rich enough.

Who are you to comment his schedule.? Who are you to determine that he is already rich enough? How very pompous.

by Anonymousreply 79September 18, 2019 7:36 PM

R79 hi Xisca

as a tennis fan it doesn't look good when top players whine about the long schedule but always have time to play high-paying exhibitions. Even worse during the middle of the season. Too bad if you don't like my opinion

I don't want to read about him complaining oh I can't play Beijing or Shanghai and maybe not even the WTF but oh I can play the Laver Cup!!

by Anonymousreply 80September 18, 2019 7:41 PM

But they do that all the time (not only Rafa) they complain about having to play too much and then they go to exhibitions (generally on countries not known for their respect for human rights). But money is money, no matter how much you have you always want more

by Anonymousreply 81September 18, 2019 8:51 PM

Naive to think that any top level player wouldn't schedule according the top prize-money events. Happens in every sport. After all, that's where your best competitors will be, and that's where the best paycheck is.

by Anonymousreply 82September 18, 2019 10:03 PM

[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.]

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by Anonymousreply 83September 18, 2019 11:47 PM

[quote] Djokovic is currently nursing the left shoulder problem

Perhaps if he hadn’t done the boobs out gesture so often he wouldn’t have an injury.

by Anonymousreply 84September 18, 2019 11:53 PM

[quote]Novak Djokovic spent the recent US Open with his own private hyperbaric chamber parked up next door to Flushing Meadows.

lol, this is Michael Jackson level stuff

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by Anonymousreply 85September 19, 2019 12:10 AM

Was Djokovic even legitimately injured, or could he just not take Wawrinka making it a full-fledged 4-0 in their last four Slam meetings?

by Anonymousreply 86September 19, 2019 12:11 AM

I think r86 is closer to the truth.

by Anonymousreply 87September 19, 2019 12:18 AM

so I guess the tennis authorities are allowing that hyperbaric chamber? I remember several years ago when the press learned he was using it, there was controversy. It's practically cheating since lower ranked players couldn't afford something like that

by Anonymousreply 88September 19, 2019 1:17 AM

Gulbis could. Besides, is it much different than just wearing an oxygen mask?

by Anonymousreply 89September 19, 2019 1:19 AM

Yes, R89--obviously Gulbis and other spoiled brats are the exception.

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by Anonymousreply 90September 19, 2019 1:29 AM

maybe if Djokovic ate more his body would be stronger

by Anonymousreply 91September 19, 2019 1:31 AM

R86, he talked about his injury prior to the match, I believe. He said he’d been carrying an injury for about 10 months.

by Anonymousreply 92September 19, 2019 1:31 AM

Why Gulbis?

by Anonymousreply 93September 19, 2019 1:34 AM

[quote]He said he’d been carrying an injury for about 10 months.

and yet managed to win 2 slams in those ten months .... verdict: didn't want to lose in the 4th round to Wawarinka.

by Anonymousreply 94September 19, 2019 1:37 AM

If you could win slams with an "injury," you don't get retire losing in the final set to Stan for said injury. It shows your true colors as a petulant brat.

by Anonymousreply 95September 19, 2019 1:39 AM

R93 Gulbis' daddy is very very rich. He's been flying in private planes his whole life. He's 1 of the few lower ranked players who could afford a hyperbaric chamber

by Anonymousreply 96September 19, 2019 2:30 AM

Gulbis could afford a hyperbaric house.

by Anonymousreply 97September 19, 2019 3:48 AM

He retired when he realised he couldn't *win* the match.

You are supposed to retire only when you realise you can't *play* the match.

He should have been fined. But of course he wasn't. Just like he should have been fined (and defaulted) when he decided to stop play during the RG semi final because he was pissed off he was losing and walked off the court refusing to continue. Everyone seemed to forget about it because Thiem won anyway but it's still illegal...

by Anonymousreply 98September 19, 2019 5:13 AM

Khachanov's slump continues! Ousted by Sousa in St. Petersburg which of course is indoors!

Medvedev continuing his summer form with a win today

Coric got a retirement from Fucsovics

Berrettini crushes Carballes Baena

by Anonymousreply 99September 19, 2019 7:45 PM

Holger Rune was chosen to be sparring in the NITTO finals, i suppose it would be a good experience for him. He is three years younger than Alliassime (and did exactly what Felix did, winning a junior GS at 16)

by Anonymousreply 100September 19, 2019 8:41 PM

Djokovic is an old hand at weaseling out of Slams when he's "injured":

Australian Open: 2009 (Roddick) Roland Garros: 2005 (Coria); 2006 (Nadal) Wimbledon: 2007 (Nadal); 2017 (Berdych) US Open: 2019 (Wawrinka)

Is there any other multiple Slam singles champion who's retired with "injuries" from as many GS matches?

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by Anonymousreply 101September 19, 2019 11:22 PM

God, I want Henin to announce a return to tennis, just so Serena's head would explode.

by Anonymousreply 102September 19, 2019 11:43 PM

But, R101, what's in it for anyone to "weasel" out of a Slam?

by Anonymousreply 103September 20, 2019 1:58 AM

What's in it, R103, is an asterisk in the history books that the great champion was injured and not at his best, thus had an ostensible reason for losing the match to a lower-ranked player. That would only apply to the last three injuries. The prior three might be part of his early pattern of retiring when things weren't going his way.

by Anonymousreply 104September 20, 2019 2:52 AM

Shapo

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by Anonymousreply 105September 20, 2019 4:09 AM

A dream of exo $...

by Anonymousreply 106September 20, 2019 5:16 AM

Is it my imagination or is Sock even fatter?

by Anonymousreply 107September 20, 2019 2:23 PM

Oh, he’s fatter all right, R107.

by Anonymousreply 108September 20, 2019 2:53 PM

I didn't see his match against Fognini but I'm surprised Sock won

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by Anonymousreply 109September 20, 2019 3:02 PM

Well, Fognini is able of the best and the worst. He said he was injured but then he plays here. Sock is out of form because he was out of the circuit for long time, but even with that he was able to win very clearly the first set.

Given how different is the level between the two teams, this is being surprisingly tight

by Anonymousreply 110September 20, 2019 4:15 PM

As if the match wasn't fixed so Team Scrub could get a win and the first day could end 1-1. Whenever Fogna actually ran to the ball he was winning the point (outside a few good Sock forehands and aces). Sock hasn't won a singles match all year, first time someone loses to him is when there are no ranking points or prize money on the line. You do the math.

He is indeed fatter though, I couldn't believe how much sweat was dripping off his hat. Like someone pouring a bottle of water.

I can't stand Kyrgios and his loud commentary in support of Sock, but he excitedly fell out on the bench after a Sock winner and from the angle (near his crotch), his dick looked huge.

You can tell Sissypants (Tsitsipas) isn't fitting in with the others. :( He looks so awkward on the bench, poor guy. RBA too is just sitting there quietly minding his business.

Also since when are RBA and Jordan Thompson (of all players) on the squads? Are they just there to fill in? This event is such a mess.

by Anonymousreply 111September 20, 2019 4:23 PM

[quote]Are they just there to fill in?

yeah, they're alternates...probably get a nice bonus $$$ too for just being there

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by Anonymousreply 112September 20, 2019 4:39 PM

yeah Sock is definitely the fattest player on tour

by Anonymousreply 113September 20, 2019 4:57 PM

Wuhan draw is out!

Venus took a WC

Serena, Sharapova and Andreescu aren't playing

I think everyone else is

by Anonymousreply 114September 20, 2019 4:58 PM

R114 Osaka is not in the draw either, she pulled out (prob because she's still alive in Osaka tournament). Sam Stosur was given Osaka's wildcard as a slam winner, but she plays in the Guangzhou final against Kenin tomorrow and will be spent by the time she gets to Wuhan. Kenin also took a medical time out in her SF win today.

Interestingly Keys is still in the Wuhan draw despite just retiring to Kerber in Osaka. They still haven't even played all the QFs in Osaka either... Pavlyuchenkova has to finish her match against Doi (she's 2-0 up), there's Mertens v Giorgi, and Osaka vs her nemesis Putin. Only Kerber is through.

Can Putin make it 4-0 head to head against Osaka? Already two wins this year.

And what happens when most of the players in Osaka have to play two matches in one day AND potentially the SF and F before heading to Wuhan? Funnily enough in Wuhan Kenin (still in Guangzhou) has drawn Pavlyuchenkova first round in Wuhan, Keys has drawn Giorgi (bring a helmet to this match) with Mertens in the next round.

No way all the girls still in Osaka and Guangzhou play Wuhan. There are going to be a LOT of lucky loser spots. I'm expecting Chinese scrubs and doubles specialists galore. All in the same sections of the draw, given the way things have happened above. A lot of undeserving players getting ranking boosts and deep runs.

by Anonymousreply 115September 20, 2019 6:01 PM

I hope Pierre-Yves Hardenne will hook up with Kenin. So that the WTA Tour will soon have a Kenin-Hardenne, like in the good ol' days.

by Anonymousreply 116September 20, 2019 6:33 PM

And Medvedev defeated Rublev 64 75, meanwhile Berrettini lost his match on two tiebreaks

by Anonymousreply 117September 20, 2019 6:47 PM

How come journeywoman Svitolina is playing Wuhan ? Because just 2 days back she retired due to a "heavy injury " in Guangzhou WTA 280

And why the hell a world No 3 was playing a WTA 280 tournament just 1 week after US open when she managed to reached in US open semis ?

Does these shameless grifters care nothing except appearance fee and bonus fee?

No wonder she has been no 1 and never reached a grand slam final and she never will

by Anonymousreply 118September 20, 2019 7:10 PM

How come journeywoman Svitolina is playing Wuhan ? Because just 2 days back she retired due to a "heavy injury " in Guangzhou WTA 280

And why the hell a world No 3 was playing a WTA 280 tournament just 1 week after US open when she managed to reached in US open semis ?

Does these shameless grifters care nothing except appearance fee and bonus fee?

No wonder she has been no 1 and never reached a grand slam final and she never will

by Anonymousreply 119September 20, 2019 7:10 PM

R119 Yes, the Zhengzhou appearance was just for the $$. It's a new WTA event and they wanted to launch it with big names so they spent a lot of money guaranteeing top 10 players with big appearance fees.

BUT she's also desperately trying to rack up enough points to guarantee her spot in the YEC. She went undefeated on her way to the title last year so the points she'll have to defend are MASSIVE. At the moment she's ranked 9th, just behind Bencic and only ahead of Bertens by 12 points. Bertens is defending SF points from last year's YEC and will be desperate to make it in as well. Serena (currently #5 in the race and not playing Wuhan) may withdraw, but she can't promise that and if she's 9th and the top 8 in the race play, she'll lose her biggest point haul.

The finals are being held in SHenzhen and the prize money is a record for tennis, mens/womens (plus they get a bonus) so you can imagine the last minute scrambling that's going on, especially from Svitolina, Bertens and Bencic.

It seems Elina has learned from last year's mistakes where she didn't put herself on any entry list and couldn't take the top 10 wildcards because Pliskova etc. were hogging them in their last minute rush to qualify. She basically had to go to China and desperately hope the other top 10 players would withdraw from the events so she could guarantee her spot. Pliskova overlapped her, luckily Bertens didn't (prob tired from winning Seoul), and Simona withdrew so they all made it in anyway. This year she's not taking any chances though.

by Anonymousreply 120September 20, 2019 7:21 PM

unless Stephens does really well the next couple of weeks, her ranking will plummet after not defending her YEC finalist points

by Anonymousreply 121September 20, 2019 7:23 PM

and I don't mean defend as in playing YEC as that's probably out of the question. I mean simply replacing those points with the Asian swing points

by Anonymousreply 122September 20, 2019 7:24 PM

Sloane totally deserved her bad results.

She is talented but even Muguruza put more effort. Garbiñe at least cares while she is playing, Sloane seems indiferent most of the time

by Anonymousreply 123September 20, 2019 7:41 PM

Guangzhou final:

Kenin def. Stosur 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2 for her 3rd career title and 3rd title of the season

it looked like Stosur might win in straight sets but it was not to be

by Anonymousreply 124September 21, 2019 7:18 AM

R124 Stosur did much better against Kenin than I expected. I think it helped having Rennae Stubbs as her coach all week. I know Kenin's father is probably forcing her into all these events but she REALLY needs to cool her schedule down. She plays almost every week, vulturing internationals with weak draws... does she know that Shenzhen and the Olympics in Tokyo only count the 16 or so best results anyway? She's going to ruin her body like Buzarnescu last year.

In Osaka: Naomi Osaka def. Putin and Mertens on the same day, to set up a final against Pavlyuchenkova (who def. Doi and Kerber on the same day). Pavs is working with Sam Sumyk after he and Muguruza finally ended their dysfunctional relationship.

In Seoul: Magda Linette and Karolina Muchova will play the final tomorrow after defeating Alexandrova and Wang Yafan, respectively.

by Anonymousreply 125September 21, 2019 9:36 AM

WHAT are these poses... Nadal has me rolling. RBA is thinking 'get me the fuck out of here.'

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by Anonymousreply 126September 21, 2019 10:01 AM

Anna Wintour doing the coin toss at Laver Cup in Geneva?? Tennis is an elitist sport again, lol.

Also isn't it a little questionable to have regular season umpires like Aurelie Tourte and Mo Layhani show up for this exhibition, run by one of the players? They are supposed to have no extra contact with players outside of matches, no special privileges (to avoid bias). Now they're getting extra work from one of the game's top players? And don't think they're not getting baskets and special gifts from him and the sponsors as well...

by Anonymousreply 127September 21, 2019 1:11 PM

They look like they're joking around. I never thought Nadal was gay but there were times watching the Laver Cup where he was being interviewed, legs crossed and hands gesticulating where I thought, maybe DL is onto something?

by Anonymousreply 128September 21, 2019 1:20 PM

I knew Kyrgios was going to win that tiebreak. Fed allowed him to stay too close and nerves get the better of him (and Serena) these days.

by Anonymousreply 129September 21, 2019 2:07 PM

Who would you most want to fuck at R126 and why?

by Anonymousreply 130September 21, 2019 3:34 PM

That's a tough one R130. I think Titsi. I'm not R126 BTW. I think Titsi would be super sensual and attentive in the sack.

by Anonymousreply 131September 21, 2019 3:45 PM

I'm going with Fabio just for looks. Handsome face, big shoulders and a great butt. But I also have a sneaking suspicion that RBA could give one a good hard pounding.

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by Anonymousreply 132September 21, 2019 4:45 PM

R130:

1. Tsitsi

2. Fed

3. Fognini

4. Thiem

5. Zverev (Sascha)

6. Bautista Agut

7. (if forced to) Nadal

by Anonymousreply 133September 21, 2019 5:16 PM

Chengdu, Zhuhai and Tashkent draws also now all out

as someone who was never a Murray fan, I'm now cheering for him to get back into the top 20. Unfortunately he's drawn Sandgren again. Hopefully Andy's level will be higher than in Winston-Salem

Some good players in all 3 draws actually

The biggest surprise is Ostapenko slumming it in Tashkent rather than Wuhan but I guess she realizes in her current form she'd have no chance at the much bigger event

by Anonymousreply 134September 21, 2019 6:02 PM

The St. Petersburg final will be between Medvedev and Coric which should be interesting. Neither has had an easy time. Medvedev has had tight straight setters in each of his matches while Coric predictably has had all 3 setters

Metz final will be between Tsonga and Bedene who's still seeking that first title

by Anonymousreply 135September 21, 2019 6:23 PM

Tsitsipas’s ass is definitely bigger and looking huge and delicious at the Laver Cup

by Anonymousreply 136September 21, 2019 7:53 PM

My god but Sock’s so fat!!! How does he lug all that weight around on court?

by Anonymousreply 137September 21, 2019 8:05 PM

Nick K. said he lost his concentration coz he spotted a hot chick in the crowd. smh

by Anonymousreply 138September 21, 2019 8:10 PM

And knowing him maybe it's even true

by Anonymousreply 139September 21, 2019 8:32 PM

No matter how bad Tsonga's form is, he always seems to be able to pull rank and beat his fellow Frenchmen, especially at home. He is 9-1 against French players this season alone.

by Anonymousreply 140September 21, 2019 8:54 PM

It's nice they came up with something so Roger could get a win this year.

by Anonymousreply 141September 21, 2019 9:40 PM

Zverev looks better with shorter hair.

by Anonymousreply 142September 21, 2019 10:54 PM

Do Domi and Sascha not get along? There is a lot of real estate between them in that pic.

by Anonymousreply 143September 21, 2019 11:17 PM

Osaka wins Osaka!!

sweeps Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-3 completely overpowered her. Pavlyuchenkova's aggressive court positioning was of no use as she couldn't control Osaka's power

nice to see Naomi finally win another title and something that isn't huge like her 2 slams and IW. She also has shown she can deal with Japanese pressure to win a home event.

Japanese tennis fans have to be thrilled. 2 straight weeks of Japanese players winning Japanese events

by Anonymousreply 144September 22, 2019 4:28 AM

Confident Collins also won against Venus. Granny should retire gracefully

by Anonymousreply 145September 22, 2019 6:52 AM

R130:

Rafa (doggy-style, with his head in the pillow)

Fabio (missionary)

Titsy (freestlye)

Domi

by Anonymousreply 146September 22, 2019 10:06 AM

R145 That match was so weird. Venus had two set points in the first set, but couldn't convert and lost I think 8 games in a row. She was down a set and 5-0, but somehow got back to 5-5 and the tiebreak where she just wasted it with two double faults in a row. I love me some Granny but all her matches are such emotional rollercoasters. Collins just shouted at the umpire after every point. Hopefully Sabalenka can routine her in the next round.

Does anyone else find Fritz really annoying to watch? Everything is such an effort. You would think he's just run a marathon the way he reacts to moving two steps to hit a forehand on the move. He never looks comfortable on court. He will win a routine point and fist pump like he's just won a slam. I'm not explaining it well but it's just miserable, like a constant stress to do even the basics on court. Nothing looks smooth.

by Anonymousreply 147September 22, 2019 1:37 PM

Yes R147 Fritz is the male Sloane Stephens...seems kind of lazy and everything seems to be an effort.

by Anonymousreply 148September 22, 2019 1:54 PM

Lol.

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by Anonymousreply 149September 22, 2019 3:39 PM

Also enjoy this group of pictures of Farah

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by Anonymousreply 150September 22, 2019 3:50 PM

[quote] Osaka wins Osaka!!

Yay! (For the symmetry)

by Anonymousreply 151September 22, 2019 3:59 PM

Rafa not playing...left wrist

by Anonymousreply 152September 22, 2019 4:32 PM

Tsonga wins Metz in 3 seats over Bedene

Medvedev beats Coric 63 61 in St Petersburg

by Anonymousreply 153September 22, 2019 4:32 PM

Medvedev really is on fire this season.

by Anonymousreply 154September 22, 2019 4:44 PM

I'm not shocked that Coric got just 4 games in the final. He hasn't been playing well this year. He almost lost some of his matches this week

by Anonymousreply 155September 22, 2019 5:24 PM

If only, R154...

by Anonymousreply 156September 22, 2019 8:41 PM

@R149

You know Roger wants summa dat

by Anonymousreply 157September 22, 2019 8:57 PM

Some threads ago someone wondered if Gambill was still with that Malek guy as he wasn't featured in his social media lately. Guess the answer is yes

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by Anonymousreply 158September 22, 2019 9:37 PM

What do DL tennis threaders think of Jack Sock’s ass?

by Anonymousreply 159September 22, 2019 9:43 PM

one for the gurlz

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by Anonymousreply 160September 22, 2019 10:36 PM

who is next to Björn Borg?

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by Anonymousreply 161September 23, 2019 12:37 AM

Thomas Enqvist R161 ...a fellow former player from Sweden

by Anonymousreply 162September 23, 2019 12:43 AM

In Seoul:

Muchova wins her first title

by Anonymousreply 163September 23, 2019 4:39 AM

Muchado about nothing.

by Anonymousreply 164September 23, 2019 4:45 AM

Enqvist is still hot

by Anonymousreply 165September 23, 2019 5:11 AM

Enqvist is still hot

by Anonymousreply 166September 23, 2019 5:11 AM

Wuhan 'upsets' galore:

Mangelique Kerber loses to Monica Puig for a 3rd time (remember their Olympic Gold medal match?) to avoid yet another lashing from Alison Riske in the next round.

Caroline Wozniacki loses to Hsieh Su-wei again this year (7-6 1-6 2-6), she led 5-1 in the first set before Hsieh almost stole it.. Woz defends 50% of her ranking next week.

Sevastova also defends most of her ranking from the Beijing final and she lost in round one to McHale.

Anisimova squeaks past Sam Prehistosur in three sets. Her first match back since her father died, Sam obviously still tired from Guangzhou final. Should probably have just taken the rest of the year off instead of coming to Asia for two bum weeks.

Creative Tunisian player Ons Jabeur defeats Donna Vekic in 3 sets.

Putin's daughter and Camila Giorgi both retire from matches, Sveta Kuznetsova and LL Rebecca Peterson (respectively) benefit and are through.

Petra Martic beat Mladonna for the 3rd time in just a few months. In the gif below she gives either Kiki or Sasha Bajin (hard to tell) the middle finger partway through the match.

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by Anonymousreply 167September 23, 2019 10:33 AM

Longer clip with Mladonna being a snitch afterward.

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by Anonymousreply 168September 23, 2019 10:35 AM

U mean a snatch

by Anonymousreply 169September 23, 2019 10:39 AM

Puig!

by Anonymousreply 170September 23, 2019 1:09 PM

ouch Sabalenka really put a beatdown on Collins dropping just 1 game

by Anonymousreply 171September 23, 2019 6:49 PM

Are we tired of Collins winning yet?

by Anonymousreply 172September 23, 2019 6:51 PM

R171 it was an invisible double bagel too, Collins won the first game and lost the next 12. A true beatdown... Sabalenka looked vicious.

She also won her first match 6-2 6-1. The next match (most likely Bertens) will be a test to see if she's truly back in full force though.

In other news, Muguruza won her first match since the French Open (against doubles specialist Peng Shuai coming back from a ban), Kenin beat Pavlyuchenkova, and Petra Kvitova defeated Polona Hercog.

by Anonymousreply 173September 23, 2019 7:00 PM

Murray defeated Sandgren 63 67 61 and is on the verge of being a top 500 player again

by Anonymousreply 174September 24, 2019 2:40 PM

Wow what a level of men's tennis . A guy who is rank in top 70 almost got bageled in third set by a guy who is rank out side 400 and has just returned in singles after hip replacement surgery .

will not be surprised if Misery returned to top 10

These ATP people are good for nothing .

by Anonymousreply 175September 24, 2019 2:52 PM

[quote] Murray defeated Sandgren

Yay! Misery team!

by Anonymousreply 176September 24, 2019 3:27 PM

R175, Sandgren was clearly hurt and out of sorts in the last set. Murray didn’t look like his old self but his level of play was pretty good.

by Anonymousreply 177September 24, 2019 3:31 PM

Isn’t he always out of sorts?

by Anonymousreply 178September 24, 2019 3:43 PM

Medvedev withdrew from Beijing.

by Anonymousreply 179September 25, 2019 2:08 PM

Sabalenka’s inner tiger is back so she claims. Will be interesting if what was expected of her at the beginning of the year finally comes to fruition. THe focus and look in her eyes the last 3 matches (demolitions btw) is scary. She could win slams

by Anonymousreply 180September 25, 2019 3:46 PM

I want to see Andreescu vs. Sabalenka

by Anonymousreply 181September 25, 2019 5:40 PM
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