The Gays & Tennis part 44

In challenger news,

Houston winners:

Flipkens def. DL anti-fave Vandeweghe

DL fave Giron def. Karllovic

Tommy Robredo got married (to a woman!)

was Recihen there?

btw anyone else see on the Tennis Channel the other day, the Bryan Brothers announced 2020 would be their final year on tour? It was on the live show

I thought Tommy was gay?

i always win

R1, I'm trying to figure out which USA player won the 2020 Australian Open wildcard. I knew my Mmoh was leading the competition, but not sure he clinched it.

Maybe Muriel trashed the other thread cause it trashed her. Or maybe she's PMSing.

R7 it's between Mmoh and Giron. Giron needed to win Houston to have a chance but it depends on how many points Mmoh got in Houston too. Should be updated later today

is there room for me?

R2 I never heard gay rumours about him

It seems Thiem and Mdlona are not together anymore (or at least there are some speculation about the break up)

[quote]It seems Thiem and Mladonna are not together anymore

Poor Kiki, first Sascha Bajin dumps her and now Domi...at least she got to meet Macron

Right, R9. Mmoh got to Houston quarterfinals.

R13 it's official

[quote] Nov. 18 update: CoCo Vandeweghe and Marcos Giron used strong performances at the Oracle Challenger Series event in Houston to earn main-draw wild cards into the 2020 Australian Open. Vandeweghe reached the women's final while Giron won the men's title, with both players doing just enough to secure the top spot. Giron moved up to a career-high ATP ranking of No. 102 with his title; in the likely event that he earns direct entry into Melbourne, second-place finisher Michael Mmoh will get the wild card.

So Giron might be into the main draw on his own ranking so #2 finisher Mmoh would get the WC. I think usually the cutoff for slam main draws is #108 or so and he's #102 now

No fine or punishment for Mimoh ?

Thanks for the link, R14. I had just seen on Twitter that he got it. I didn't think direct entry was as high as 108. I thought it was either 100, 102, maybe 104. Either way, I bet Mmoh is probably confident, though maybe a tinge nervous.

R15: After not punishing Kyrgios is way more difficult to punish the rest

What will Rafa's excuse be for not playing Davis Cup in Madrid? That tummy tear?

Till now he didn't pull any excuse, he is supposed to play

I went to the Davis Cup website and couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Totally confusing site. When do the matches start?

R20 today was the first day. I agree the site format changes are bizarre

Russia def. Croatia

Rublev def. Gojo

Khachanov def. Coric 6-7 6-4 6-4

Belgium def. Colombia

Darcis def. Giraldo

Goffin def. Galan

Canada def. Italy

Pospisil def. Fognini 7-6 7-5

Shapovalov def. Berrettini 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 7-6(5)

Does Thiem have a womanly ass? If not him which players do?

Pospisil chose this tournament to resurrect, and Shapo is playing really well lately, so Canada moves to the next round

And Thiem has a fantastic ass, really fantastic

shirtless JMG

....

1 of the few retired players to stay in shape.

then again a lot of them don't have great players when they're active. I like that JMG always had muscle

Elton John yacht muscle.

^ hell yeah. I don't invite him b/c of his slams.

The schedule of this Davis mess is quite absurd. At what time in the night did USA-Italy finish the double match?

The one next to JMG in that pic is his long-term partner Malek.

[quote]At what time in the night did USA-Italy finish the double match?

something like 4 AM local time, yikes

after dumping Mladonna, Sascha Bajin will start coaching Dayana Yastremska

RBA abandoned the Davis cup because his father died

Poor RBA and that only a couple of weeks before his wedding

Cam this poor guy catch a break? Just last year his mom died suffering from cancer. He was really close to his mom and due to that his tennis suffered . for few months and this year when he was getting back on his feet and finally was going to get some happiness in his life[wedding ] his father died. Note that RBA postponed his wedding this year due to his Davis cup commitment and because eh was an alternate in YEC.

Otherwise his father could have at lease attend his wedding .

So sorry for his loss

De Miñaur defeated Shapovalov 36 63 75

Is Davis Cup on American TV? Didn't Tennis Channel have exclusive rights after ESPN dumped it many years ago? It's IMPOSSIBLE to follow this shit show! The official site is maddening. Great way to introduce a new DC and make it invisible. Fed knew this was going to be a train wreck.

RBA is such a gem. His tennis may not be the most inspiring, but he has had a lot of personal setbacks in his life and career. And he has always stood up for gay rights (even when not asked to, and when it wasn't popular). His career is a little 'two steps forward, one step back'. But i'm always wishing the best for him.

R36, 100 % right

another notch on CSN's bedpost!

Go Carlo!

Carlo is still pulling hotter girls than anyone on the ATP.... you go girl!

Dude looks hot there.

Good reaction from Shapovalov, from 1-4 to 5-4 and serve

wow Khachanov has been a disaster this season.

Canada through to the final

Great Britain and Spain are 1 - 1

I'm surprised Great Britain is in the semis with such weak team, and Spain, now that RBA is out of competition is basically Nadal. Rafa just won almost all spanish points at every round

Vasek "tripod" Pospisil is having a great Davis Cup. Can we get him naked?

Tripod?

Pospisil is supposedly hung, and got the nickname tripod somewhere along the way. Just a rumor.

this is gossip from 2006...who knows if all or any of it is true about various ATP player's dicks and sexual abilities/interests

Nadal's part definitely seems fake but whatever lol

R48: Nadal? Everything looks totally fake.

And i find very surprising that a supposed woman is so obsessed with the size of a cock. To be honest, the whole post looks like one of those fantasy posters on DL than anything real

Just now Sasha posted this photo and his and his ex

Is this Nando's VPL ? Just zoom this photo at his penis level

RBA defeated FAA 76 63

Spain 1 Canada 0

This looks like geriatric Spain is going to win

And Spain wins....

So according to that link at r48 just about everyone on tour in 2006 was 6" and under??

Shelby Rogers and Micheal Russel with a gay couple

R51 He's hot, but Fernando Fiasco is the BIGGEST thirst trapper in tennis. Even Eugenia Bou Bou needs to step her game up.

Thanks to year-end bonuses:

- Thiem moves into Top 15 in all time prize money, passing Tsonga

- Zverev crosses $20M mark, Medvedev and Tsitsipas -- $10M mark in career prize money

Dani Vallverdu is going to train Pliskova.

And Garbiñe is going to work with Conchita

Congrats to 2019 ATP World No 1 RRRRRRRR-RAFA NADAL!

Cograts to 2019 Davis Cup Titlist Spain, brought to you on the shoulers of 2019 ATP World No 1, RRRRRRRR-RAFA NADAL!

[quote]And Garbiñe is going to work with Conchita

at this point she needs the Red Cross

I've jerked off to that locker room groupie post more times than I care to count. The Joachim Johannsson dirt... yum.

R61 = Carlo

What are your thoughts on Stan in this pic?

Stan team

Wawrinka team

I can’t see past the fact that he’s a complete douchebag.

Stan looks like he would be a great fuck

He is a bottom

R66 No. He is a total top who would pin you on the floor, dump a load inside you and then leave.

Is the Andy Murray documentary "Resurfacing" going to drop on Amazon in the US, or only in the UK? I do not see it on amazon.com here in the US. Has anyone heard?

R68 It's being released globally, as far as I'm aware.

uggh Judy can give Kris Jenner a run for the money in marketing department.

eew Wawrinka is gross. can't believe some of you want to have sex with him

R71, why do you think Wawrinka is gross? Is it the pockmarked face?

Domi is nominated for Stefan Edberg sportmanship award along with Roger , Nadal and Diego

Why isn’t Medvedev nominated?

R74 = Medvedev

I take it Nick Kyrgios is wrapping up the Jimmy Connor award for unsportsmanlike conduct for the umpteenth year in a row.

R71 You would present hole if you meet him in person you whore

R73 it would be nice to see Domi win that

R77 he's just not my type. Other than his ass and thighs I don't care for his face or upper body. It's not even about the pockmarks

R68 November 29th is the release date.

R68 I just watched Andy Murray, Resurfacing on Amazon Prime. It’s a poignant documentary on his struggles with rehabilitation.

R81 what do the doctors think of his prognosis?

There will be an homage to Margaret Court this year. I hope she'll made one of her homophobic speeches so the AO organization will get what they deserve

Oh and it seems Sascha Zverev has a new girlfriend. Well, his downfall started with the last one so flaunting the new one on instagram maybe it's not that great idea

Girlfriend of Zverev is a few years older than him, lives in Berlin, maybe no sides German, English first name, took part in Heidi Klum's Germany's Next Topmodel, they met in Paris.

Well, if she is a model will get a lot of self promo on instagram for sure

Is Andy Murray fuckable?

Shame to see nice young, rich straight guys entrapped by older scheming hussies.

Shame to see nice young, rich straight guys entrapped by older scheming hussies.

R82 the prognosis is up to him. But the doc ends with him back on the court.

Roberto Bautista married his wife today. I suppose he didn't want to delay the weadding anymore

Zverev bottoming for Melo.

So the new girlfriend of Flopos is just a beard?

Of course not, he said it very clearly in that interview he trashed Melo, he knows how to speak to women and has no problem being with them

where is the interview?

He is pure charm

wow Brenda. I don't know anyone with that name who's under 50 maybe it's different in other countries though

R97 I am still under 50!

[quote] Roberto Bautista married his wife today.

Agut?

[quote] Well, his downfall started with the last one so flaunting the new one on instagram maybe it's not that great idea

Flopos on Court, topos in bed?

topos in bed? Who? Flopos? Nah.. He is a total bottom

The Margaret Court announcement made me puke. Unbelievable.

What announcement, R102?

She's a cunt

R87, watch “Andy Murray: Resurfacing.” He’s heartrendingly adorable in it.

R105 Would you like to be fucked by Murray or DL fav Coric?

Any predictions for professional tennis next year? Here are some from me.

ATP: 1. Nadal ties or surpasses Federer for total Grand Slams. When that happens, I don't think Federer ever catches him again. 2. Djokovic wins at least one more Slam next year, but he's still behind Federer and Nadal in Slam totals. 3. A Young Gun will win a Slam. I don't know who yet, though.

WTA: 1. Serena once again goes Slamless. 2. Coco Gauff has at least one other deep run in a Slam. 3. Ash Barty does not stay at #1. 4. Andreescu is out a lot again due to injuries.

To pass Federer Nadal needs to win two GS, it's possible but i don't think it'll happen.

And sooner or later his domination of Roland Garros will end. This year he was very lucky, he had a very easy draw while Thiem had one way more complicated and of course the semifinal in two days.

I don't know, but i think this year there'll be new champions but maybe we'll reach the Australian open and it'll be the same thing again

Roger's done like dinner, it's all a cash grab from here on in.

R107 I will go celibate for a month if Serena fails to win another GS again.

[quote] I will go celibate for a month if Serena fails to win another GS again.

Would that be a challenge?

R111 I'm a whore darling.

From the neck down Misery is very fuckable.

DL fave CSN is to retire next year.

Carlo no! Will we be doomed to now only see you on the cover of Mad magazine?

A glittering future in Sports Illustrated is guaranteed.

Jack Sock engaged. Who will be the bottom and who the top?

[quote] A glittering future in Sports Illustrated is guaranteed.

I thought the Body Issue was being discontinued?

congrats gurl on marrying an unranked in singles player!

JMG's boyfriend is getting thirsty .

I'd like to see Malek and JMG do a shoot together

I'd like to see JMG gangbanged by Delpo, Coric, Khachanov and Safin.

not sure Putin-supporting Safin would be a fan of the gays...

Then he should be the bottom

R123 Safin will fuck anything that moves. He is a total top. It's not gay unless he sucks dick.

Safin is 100% real male unlike Roger, Nadal and misery

"real male"?

you're a twat

Agree with r125, Safin is a total slut and will put his dick in anything with a pulse.

R126: It's really puke inducing reading such crap on a gay site

R129,Where else you get comments like this? L chat?

R130: In any far right forum

R131, Ohh, please. Are you new to DL? Here we worship hot masculine bad boys like Marat Safin. Ever visited one of those endless threads of Chris Watts?. And Chris Watts is not even masculine.

R132: Maybe you worship him, i find him a spineless Putin lover. He was a waste of talent as a player.

Anyway, it has nothing to do with Safin is the whole stupid he is a real man what's ridiculous. You should expect something better on a gay forum, of course DL is full of idiots so it's not that surprising

well, it's obvious the season is over lol

Popsicle and Christian Harrison would make a nice couple

It seems to be a bad relationship between Rafa and the mayor of Manacor. The mayor accused him of taking profit of his fame to buy the field where is located his academy for pennies, so basically there are a lot of press for both sides accusing the other.

It's curious he has a rocky relationship with the local press when the national press borders on adoration

Nadal is a grifter

At this late stage does it matter? I feel like Rafa is worth more than all of Manacor itself.

Woz is retiring after Aussie 2020. I know people make fun of her playing style but I'll really miss seeing her on the tour.

She has certainly made an impact on the sport, and I do (genuinely) wish her the best in her retirement. But I can't lie... I won't miss her gamesmanship, her arguments with every umpire, her hideous pushing game, her foul attitude towards opponents, her tacky Sports Illustrated photoshoots, her piss-poor sportsmanship, her delay tactics, her weird gummy smile and ratty blonde hair, her bitchy press conferences, or her vulturing smaller titles without ever really posing a threat to the legit top players...

Nishikori will not play AO, talks retirement....

Kei pass?

My boyfriend wants to go to the women’s semis of the US open next year. I’m going to pay for a ticket for him for Christmas but wondering if there’s any point in buying this far in advance. Are the tickets on the reset sites legit? There’s packages that are legit but we cannot get several days off work to make the most of them. We’re coming in for 3 nights max.

Should I wait for general sale next year? Looking to spend about 300-400 each and not end up way up in the Gods.

Do they even sell them this far in advance? I never by mine until the summer. There's never been a problem getting seats.

buy...

Thanks my only experience is getting Wimbledon tickets which is a nightmare

R135, Manacor is a small place, and must be populated mostly by families who have lived there for hundreds of years. There are probably a lot of local feuds and resentments.

Stosur 'comes out' as gay (kind of). Thanks her family, her team, and "my partner Liz" when receiving an award in Australia this week.

Lesbians. All of them!

Lezzie Liz, R147!

Woz was a boring player. Bye, girl.

R148: Yes Margaret, but that's a lesbian some people care about, because Barty did a lot of gymnastics to thank her and avoid you when she won RG.

And Woz, i don't dislike her but she doesn't seem the nicest person on the circuit (and that circuit is full of bitches). I remember when she imitated and laughed at Nadal having cramps at a press conference. It was very poor taste

They both look the same.

Taylor Townhouse is skinnier than Jack Sock

Jack Sock needs to improve his fitness as soon as possible.

And hopefully this will mean that Taylor will reach her potential. I love her tennis and it will be great to see her get some titles and a good ranking

r146

r146

r135

Manacor is in the Balear Islands which is one of the richest parts of Spain. Yes, there are fishermen's villages, but it's not exactly a poor part of the country

recently retired Marcos Baghdatis has joined Svitolina's team

Why is DL deleting and paywalling threads? Is there an alternative to this site?

Cibulkova is pregnant.

Vika is not entered to any upcoming tournaments (incl. Australian Open). Barty has partnered with Julia Goerges instead for doubles, and Osaka is being coached by Wim Fissette (not sure if this has anything to do with it, he was coaching Azarenka).

After her AO retirement, Wozniacki will play one final match in Denmark against Serena.

Conchita Martinez and Muguruza are back together.

Russia is banned from the Olympic Games again (will Medvedev and Khachanov compete under no flag? Or just boycott the event?).

I thought Russian athletes compete under the Olympic flag in this situation. Didnt they recently do that at the last winter Olympics?

R161 Vika might as well retire. Shes now in her 30s and doesnt seem like she will have an actual comeback where shes a prospective title winner.

The winners of the 2019 WTA Player Awards:

Player of the Year: Ashleigh Barty

Doubles Team of the Year: Timea Babos / Kristina Mladenovic

Most Improved Player of the Year: Sofia Kenin

Newcomer of the Year: Bianca Andreescu

Comeback Player of the Year: Belinda Bencic

Jerry Diamond ACES Award (for performing off-court promotional and charitable initiatives): Kiki Bertens

"Golden Match" in Doha.

Greedy moron s like , Stan, Fabio, Lucas ,David are playing in qatar for few Dinars . tn off season. these are same people who complain about long ATP schedule when they get injured .

I can easily forecast a dark season for them in 2020

Last week Roger and Flopos were selling their souls in Mexico . Bloody greedy people

Sharapova and Anisimova will be in Abu Dhabi also.

I actually think most players make some of their biggest $$$ in a year from doing exhibitions (aside from winning the slams or YEC). They can probably get some sort of charity write off too.

Who is ex DL fav Gregor dating these days? His beard Nicole broke up with him for hottie Thom Evans.

World No 5 and Moron No 1 Danil[who is still injured] is playing in Qatar too. dont be surprised if he flop hard in Aussie open

[quote]I won't miss her gamesmanship, her arguments with every umpire, her hideous pushing game, her foul attitude towards opponents, her tacky Sports Illustrated photoshoots, her piss-poor sportsmanship, her delay tactics, her weird gummy smile and ratty blonde hair, her bitchy press conferences, or her vulturing smaller titles without ever really posing a threat to the legit top players...

Are you talking to me?

R166: ARe you comparing Qatar with Mexico?

And no, it's not a few dinars it's tons of money. They have no shame but they don't sell themselves cheap

[quote]Who is ex DL fav Grigor dating these days?

Lenny Kravitz ! ;~)

What can I say? Young Grigor is flamingly metrosexual.

Well, athletes generally have a flamboyant sense of fashion, but if he was not famous the first thing everybody will think is that he is gay

The players (and the ATP) are way too cozy with these MIddle Eastern countries. Some of them (Wawrinka, Pouille, Goffin & Fognini) are in Riyadh this week playing an exho. Next week it's Abu Dhabi w/ Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Nadal and Djokovic. A lot of players live in Dubai because it's a tax haven. If they don't live there, they spend a lot of time training there. Plus, Zverev spent part of his vacation there last year.

The Maldives (in the Indian ocean) is the popular players' retreat during the off-season. Homosexuality is against the law there. Yet every year they flock there. So many other beautiful places they could visit.

Marion engaged! Moroccan Belgian soccer player dick get it, girl

Good for her. I always got the sense that her dad made her life miserable.

Looks like the "pay to post" experiment has finally stopped. I am shocked it took them so long to realize it's never gonna work.

R178 was there an announcement?

R179 No but they've stopped missing with the tennis threads. I also don't see other threads being paywalled.

[quote]Marion engaged to a Moroccan Belgian soccer player

I guess depending on her current weight her Muslim name will be Skinnab or Fatwa.

uh oh!! another match fixing scandal on ATP

there are 5 players who could possibly fit the description: Berrettini (hope not!!), Paire, De Minaur, Basilashvili (hope not!) and Schwartzman. That's if they're talking about current top 30 players though. Obviously more options if they mean someone who's been top 30 at some point

If i was one of the five players i would sue the shit out of the journalist. If you cover news like this you keep the things anonymous till you know the name of the guilty (in case of there's one because we have several announced scandals in tennis that never took off), or if you are brave enough you name the one, but you don't give clues for people to speculate, that's not journalism

If it's really one of the five players on that list, it's either Diego (his family was poor) or Basilashvili (small country).

R184: That's you speculating, nothing more nothing less. Both are on the top 30 for quite some time, so it's not like they don't have money

Sports betting (hence match-fixing) is a mobster-run global business. Not everyone's participation is voluntary.

R186: Specially on itfs. I remember a french girl complaining about the intimidating tactics of one of those guys who even threatened his younger brother on a itf 15k in Spain.

The club can't even do anything to protect her because it was one of those small clubs and the guy was not even in the property

Atp, wta and itf should do more to protect the players, because they seem way more interested in punished them than in protect them

well of those 5 Paire has a lot of unpredictable losses

R188 but as Basilashvilli that has a lot to do with his type of game.

Berrettini is new on the game and Swartzman and De Miñaur are known for being very combative.

I still think it's absurd to tell this kind of news just letting people guessing about the player. It's dishonest. And i remember that the last time they hinted about this or a big doping scandal it ended in nothing.

I

It’s not Berrettini. He’s too beautiful.

Sascha being cute...if only it were with someone other than Roger, haha

There are a next gen finals in Spain (in this case it's under 23) with the same format, the first day Carlos Alcaraz lost his match against Nicola Kuhn in five sets, but today he defeated Jaume Munar in three, not bad to defeat a top 100 when you are just 16

2019 ATP Awards:

Comeback of the year: Andy Murray

Most improved player: Matteo Berrettini

Newcomer of the year: Jannik Sinner

Sportsmanship Award: Rafael Nadal

Humanitarian Award: Kevin Anderson

Fan's Favorite singles: Roger Federer

Fan's Favorite doubles: Bob & Mike Bryan

Coach of the year: Gilles Cervara (Daniil Medvedev)

I'm surprised by the newcomer of the year, i thought Felix would be the winner

Tsitsipas defeated Djokovic in that exhibition, he'll face in the final the winner of the Khachanov-Nadal

oh Nadal's weary body can hold up well for the exhibition. I'm sure by the AO he'll be "in deep pain" again

R196: I don't know, he seems in way better form than Djokovic, so maybe it's his opportunity to win Australia again. Anyway, the big 3 who avoid Tsitsipas and Medvedev on their draw will get a big advantage, because i doubt any of them can defeat Tipsy or Danill that easily (in case they are able to win). I think we are reaching the time that a good draw can mean everything

R197, Greedy Danil is injured. He is doubtful about Aussie open

so Nadal played a very long final in the exho against Tsitsipas. He better not start bitching in the first few months of the upcoming season about being tired and injured.

I watched this ESPN doc this morning. A really nice shot of a shirtless Sascha Zverev.

I miss the active tennis threads.

Only a month to the AO, girls.

And before Australia we'll get the atp cup.

I just hope Australia is not the same that every year, i don't even mind a big 3 winning, but i want new players in the last rounds

Lucas Pouille won't play the AO because of an elbow injury (he reached the SF last January)

And that was basically all that he did during the whole season so he'll drop like a stone on the rankings

He brought this upon himslef. First, after US open he played a Challenger, then an ATP tournament 250 in Russia then an ATP 250 in France , then he moved across the world to play an ATP i250 in China in which he lost in first round and after that he got injured due to which he missed rest of the season including his country master in Bercy, Paris

You would think that he would learn some lesson from this mistake and would make a better schedule for 2020..

Offcourse not

Greedy Lucas decided to become a yancht boi for those Shekihs in middle-east and sold his soul for dinars to play some exhibition even when his body was not fully removed from the injury

Same thing is happening to greedy danil Medvedev

As much as I dislike Serena, she makes schedule better and keeps her eye on big prize

Offcourse

My thoughts and prayers are with little Oleg

Domi with fellow Austrian player Marko Andrejic

R208 Who's the top?

Dom is a bottom. The highlights don't lie

Thiem likes them young. Marko is 16 years old.

another picture with less clothing lol

They are both HAF.

Marko is one fine young man.

Marko was a finalist at the Eddie Herr u16, but it loses at the first round on the Orange bowl (to be fair he lost with the finalist of the tournament). The one who won the orange bowl u16 Daniel Rincón is training on the Rafa Nadal academy right now .

Marko seems a good prospect but the field of boys born in 2003 is overcrowded, and he is far from being in the top 10 of the boys of his age

Marko, call me!

Poor Pouille is pulling out of the entire Australian leg of the tour. Was looking forward to seeing him.

Is this where we talk about ATP Cup?

Yes, but not till next week

Andreescu skipping NZ

Domi has birthing hips

[quote] Domi has birthing hips

Why do you say that?

Such a cute couple

I want to be that dog between cutie Diego's legs

Clijsters ALREADY injured

she tore her MCL but doesn't need surgery. Comeback now delayed until Monterrey

Soooooooooooooooo predictable R225 - I knew it would be 'something' with KC. Loved her when she was truly invested, she must need the money.

Meldonia has withdrawn from the Hawaii event due to 'injury'. Is there even a point to her showing up in Australia? She's not on the qualifying list and ranked too low to get into the main draw, so presumably she's asked for a wildcard.

Wouldn't it be better to give it to a young up and coming player who can actually do something with it? Or at least needs the money?

I think Sharapova makes a fortune from endorsements, which she will have as long as she goes through the motions of being an active player. Yes, there’s humiliation involved, but it’s worth it for her personally.

Just wait until I win the AO then I'll get the cheater's endorsements!

R229 good luck getting past round 1!

Did Maria get her special visa denied? She spent the off-season in Dubai and in "Europe."

Maybe that's it. She's found out that she's NOT receiving a wildcard, and so she's saving face now with an 'injury' a few short weeks before the event. Like when you start fake coughing a few days in advance, to take a sick day from work.

A few weeks ago her coach said she is "fully healed and ready to attack 2020". She hasn't played a real event since her lashing from Serena at the US Open in the first round. In her interview from just days ago she said she "still has that fire".

it would be hilarious if her drubbing at the hands of Serena is her very last match

Domi and Denis

Jack Sock ass

Murray joins Clijsters on the comeback bench. He's pulled out of the AO citing a pelvic injury

Flavia and Fabio had another baby.

And I got a giggle out of this.

Tehe, R237.

[quote] good luck getting past round 1

I'm not even sure Genie Bikini will make it through the AO qualies

KLM Kiki (Bertens) received some Dutch award from the one and only Betty Stöve

I'm really curious about the homage to Margaret Court on the Australian Open this year

Dreading it.

Hopefully Casey Dellacqua comes in on a motorbike with a Mardis Gras style float attached. Rennae Stubbs and Sam Stosur can sit on the back and scissor the night away whilst Margaret looks on, horrified.

Well, she talked again which means controversy. But her opinion about trans athletes is basically the same that Martina Navratilova has.

Most australian players seem that can't stand her, so her homage will be interesting

Which of the Big 3 will win the Australian Open? I'd like to see a younger generation player break through, but I've kind of given up hope for them. Only when Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal have a permanent break down physically can I see one of them finally winning. I guess I'd lean toward Djokovic, but Nadal is likely the surer bet to get to the final. Federer could have another inspired run. He was THIS CLOSE at Wimbledon and really blew that one.

Djokovic is the most reliable in Australia. Federer needs all the help from the organisers to tip the scales in his favour, and he's too vulnerable to the young guns and the other two 'big 3' members.

Nadal looked to be in imperious form until the final last year where he came out like a wet noodle. But his health is always a concern and I could just as easily see him pull out (he did play a longer season than usual in 2019).

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we get a new finalist. Dare I say, Djokovic vs Tsitsipas? He really ended last year on a high and played so well in Hopman Cup and AO last year. If he can avoid Nadal he certainly has the 'tools' to get through everyone else en route to the final.

R244: Right now it's pretty obvious that Tsitsipas and Medvedev can beat them on a match at the best of three sets, it'll be interesting to see if they can do it at the best of 5.

I doubt this year it'll be that easy for the big 3 to dominate on GS. At least on of the big 3 will face Tsitsipas or Medvedev on quarterfinals (probably two of them), and i doubt it'll be an easy match. Right now Nole and Rafa are relying on reaching the last rounds without too much effort (they barely lose a set till semifinals) and that'll end soon.

Once they need more physical effort to reach the finals the advantage of playing at the best of 5 sets will reverse.

Federer will need a lot of the organization collaboration to let him avoid to play in the heat

I think Nole and Rafa are the favourites to win, but i wouldn't rule a next gen as finalist

greedy Danial is injured . no need to hype his chances in AO

I doubt he is seriously injured, he must have some minor problem. And i'm not hyping his chances, he showed in the US Open he is capable of reach the final stages of a big tournament. And the two matches he played in december were very clear victories.

Right now (with probably the exception of Tsitsipas and Nadal) it's all speculation, because most players didn't paly anything at all in this new season

American tennis player Bob Falkenburg wasn't bad looking in his heyday.

Dick Savitt weren't too bad either..

I want Rafa to win the Aussie so bad. Just to finally put Fed fans to bed. Rafa and Nole are both better. Any fan of the sport can see this.

Please get back to us when you have a demonstrable command of basic English, R248.

R251: In terms of technique and beautiful tennis nobody is better than Roger, but he lacks the mental strenght both Rafa and Nole have.

I think Nole has a lot of merit, he was able to believe in himself and become a dominant player against all odds. Unlike Rafa or Andy, he had a very bad record against Roger, and his h2h against Rafa was negative too. He seemed destined to be a secondary player (a very good one) and he refused. Without him the last decade and a half would be a tedious dialogue between Roger and Rafa and given that Roger only recently learned how to play against Rafa it would be a one sided one.

I really want new players in the last rounds. And i want a surprise young player at least in the last 8 like Felix or Jannik

R251 YES PLEASE

no lol NO MORE BIG 3 winning slams lol I want all 4 slams in 2020 to be won by someone who doesn't have any right now. Pipe dream I know but a boy can wish. I'm beyond sick of writing how sick I am of the big 3 winning slams

As long as big 3 and Serene don't win . I am fine with anyone else winning

Oh I want Serena's big ass to win. Just to silence the racist homophobe. And she's been the bridesmaid 4 times in a row now, it's not like she's just sleepwalking her way through draws and collecting titles like the big 3.

But also because there aren't a lot of other female names at the moment I would rather see win it anyway. Osaka is boring with her 'omg i'm so totally awkward' schtick and quite frankly a bit of a servebot. Andreescu has a beautiful game but she is constantly injured and has an annoying personality. Barty is lovely but that constant slicing puts me to sleep. If I have to watch Kerber and Halep grind and shriek and almost choke their way to another Grand Slam title i'll give up. KLM's Bertens and Svitolina seem lovely but their tennis isn't exactly exciting. Pliskova is an unlikely combination of extremely arrogant and still completely unexciting.

Sharapova has taken a WC into Brisbane

257 curious because i think women's tennis is more interesting now that in was in the last decade and that's exactly because the three players you name.

Serena has a huge problem right now, she underperformed big time in the last four GS finals she played. She was the big big favourite against Halep, a player known for tanking in finals and who is nowhere near Serena when they play on grass. In my opinion the problem is that she just doesn't play regularly so she is not in form. She is so good (and frankly, most tops are so bad) that she keeps reaching the finals, but when there's real pressure and the rival stays focused she is in big trouble. It's not only that she lost the finals, it's that she didn't have any option, and two of those finals were against newbies with zero experience in the final stages of a Grand Slam.

The homage to Court will be something to watch, i'm curious about who are going to be the players on that homage. We know that most australian players can't stand her

For the men, anyone but Nadal winning will be fine with me. For the women, meh, I kind of don't care.

Among big 3 , Roger is not that bad . And he has a very beautiful game to watch. It his nasty wife Mirka who has made him somewhat unpopular among DL

Happy new year guys from my whole family . This year is going to be my year.

Ohh I forgot to post my family pic

F. Zverev

Misha is still super hot. Where is Melo?

R261: In fact he has a very beautiful and classical game, and when he is on the mood he is absolutely amazing to watch

if the young guys don't step up in 2020 at the slams, that would be even more of a disaster for the sport. It's not a good look for 3 guys well into their 30s, 1 of whom is almost 40, ruling the sport

I am still hot

Is that his boyfriend at R268?

Australian Open update:

OUT: Nishikori

IN: Duckworth

Next: Majchrzak

R269 Yes. They've been together for ages. He's in out completely in every way except having made a press release about it.

I hope Serena loses another GS final. I can't stand this entitled bitch.

[R272] Meldonia is that you?

R272, Nah I want to see her fat ass lose in first few rounds

Team Spain

lol if you read the ATP article about team Spain, Nadal says he's enjoying the trip but just HAD to complain about jet lag lol he's such a fucking whiner about everything when he's not on his beloved clay in his beloved Europe. Really quite insufferable and spoiled he is

R276: God you must hate him to have such reaction over such tiny thing. A lot of people (actors, singers, athletes) talk about the jet lag. Australia is in the opposite side of the world to Spain, it's a very long trip

R277 he's always whining about something when he's not on clay in Europe. Even when he's playing on clay he'll whine if the conditions aren't 100% to his liking. He's an OCD nutjob who hates any kind of change. Is he a nice guy? yes but he's very spoiled and it's annoying

Davis Cup was a month ago - what is the point of the ATP Cup? Shouldn't it combine with Davis Cup and free up another week of tennis - or rest for the players? Such stupidity in the game. And don't get me started on the Fed,. er Laver Cup!

Team Bulgaria for ATP cup

young Grigor is looking fine

Team Bulgaria for ATP cup

young Grigor is looking fine

Team Croatia with Porna

I LOVE me some Pablo Carreno Busta.

The ATP Cup order of play is up. Most of the matches will be mismatches. Only a few possible entertaining clashes. I don't get why it's held in 3 different cities? Where will they play in the SF and F? weird to have tournament during which players have to travel after winning a round

Semis and finals will be played in Sydney, r284, and I think the quarters will be, too.

The whole setup stinks to high heaven, and I hope it fails miserably (even though I’ve got tickets to Bulgaria v UK).

They are handing out free tickets/ don't buy tickets

Some groups are very easy to the favourite, others are terrible. The first day you'll get a very interesting Tsitsipas-Shapovalov

I was watching Tennis Channel and I agree that the whole setup is a piece of crap. They also mentioned that there are four groups on Western Australia and then, if they win, they have to fly to Sydney (a 6 hr. flight) for the semis and finals. Very strange. And I guess it will always take place in Australia from now on? It really does not make sense.

Post your prediction guys for 20220 .The . time has come

1) Do you think there will be new a grand slam champ in ATP and/WTA

2) What about Serena? Will she tie MSC or will Jesus and Megan Marki again save MSC

3( Any other bold/safe predictions?

Poor Borna switched from Nike to Asics...

After spending New Year in Tandil, Juan Martin will not play. in AO Unfortunately the pains in his knee continue, more than six months after his operation, and there are more doubts than certainties

R290: He is lucky to have sponsors. He should be focused in becoming a top ten, he has the looks to cash on being a top player

Tsitsipas and Shapovalov about to play

Quite a bit of crotch shots of the players on the bench watching the Tsitsipas and Shapovalov match.

@TennisChannel: Thank you for the low camera angles.

Shapo seems to be playing well. His serve has improved too.

I lust after those beefy blond legs of his. I want to feel them up while I ride him.

Shapovalov def. Tsitsipas in 2 tiebreaks ends with a Stefanos double fault

Zverev firmly back in Flopos form, having watched his match against de Minaur. Up something like 5-1 and eventually just edges the first set 6-4. Up a break in the second and loses it in a tiebreak. Gets flogged in the third set 6-2.

He's back to double faulting three or four times in a single game. de Minaur wasn't even in form in this match, there was a lot of ugly pushing going on from both (which I can understand from diminutive Alex, but Flopos is extremely tall and used to have a pretty huge serve/backhand).

Luckily Zverev scraped into the ATP finals last year to keep his ranking afloat because his actual level has been awful.

Medvedev beats Fognini in 3.

Dimitrov beats Dan Evans in 3.

Kyrgios beats Struff in straights, and served 20 aces (which = $4000 in donations to bushfire relief after he pledged to donate $200 for every ace he hits).

I hate Zverev. I hope he drops out of top 10 this year.

Norway upsets the US team 2-1 in Perth

R299 It’s because Isner sucks. Until he can learn to be a better returner, he won’t be a top player with any late grand slam potential.

Alex de Miñaur is really really fast and he has the right attitude to play

Is anybody here on Shapo team?

Not me for sure. I like his game but i don't like his personality (or his lack of personality) and his body language on court reminds me of Hewitt too much (and i hated Hewitt, even if i liked his game)

Shapo be dumb, Harpo.

Venus pulls out of Auckland.

Ooops, Brisbane.

Shapo and Tsitsipas are looking more meaty than last year. Both are filling out nicely.

Shapo looks good with his haircut. TsiTsi should cut his; his face is chiseled and he needs a hairstyle to match.

I agree. I never really found Sissypants attractive but his body is amazing for someone so naturally tall and gangly. He has worked super hard to get those beautiful broad shoulders, a masculine chest, and a good strong butt. Greek God. Did anyone see Pervolarakis (the other Greek player) bulging throughout the entire ATP Cup tie? Even Stef's brother is growing into a handsome young man.

Medvedrug was getting treatment all throughout the doubles match he played. Either this is going to be another case like last year where he was winning matches despite being the walking wounded, or he's actually fucked himself up before the AO. He needs to play more aggressively again and shorten the points instead of boring his opponents into making errors.

Hopefully Granny Vee's issue isn't serious. It is probably going to be her last year on the tour - at the VERY least it would be nice to see her end it in good health. These injuries the past 2 years have taken away from the naturally regal movement she always had on the court, which is a shame. Praying for another surprise deep run from her. That 2017 AO reaction when she made the final was so sweet.

Another great moment from that AO: Mirjana Lucic's surprise run to the semi final of a slam, 18 years after she had first achieved that.

Looking forward to Borna vs Domi tomorrow.

R302 NOPE!!!

I don't understand why Medvedev played doubles, they already won and they have Rublev who is perfectly competent player (in fact he is way more reliable than Khachanov this days)

K. Hemsworth

hilarious that Isner lost to Ruud

Ruud has a solid game but no real weapons

I'd love to see Isner finally tumble out of the top 30 but not sure. It will really depend on how well the other guys on tour handle his serve. I was impressed Ruud was able to do it

Auckland draw is out. Serena plays Kuznetsova in R1.

Denis and his physio

other Auckland rd1 matches of note:

Gauff vs. Kuzmova

Ostapenko vs. Siegemund

Anisimova vs. Kozlova

CSN vs. Kasatkina

Bouchard vs. Flipkens

Garcia vs. Townsend

Bouchard easy winner.

DL faves first results of the year:

Mladenovic def. Perez in 3

Vandeweghe loses to Dolehide in 2

ATP Cup:

Monfils def. Garin 6-3 7-5

I hope Kyrgios loses quickly.

Brisbane draw out. Notable matches:

Barty has a bye but will open against Sharapova or a qualifier

Kvitova vs. Pavlyuchenkova

Svitolina vs. Collins

Kerber vs. Stosur

Bertens vs. Yastremska

Kontaveit vs. Hsieh

Kenin vs. Sevastova

Osaka vs. Sakkari

and of course Pliskova has a very easy early round section per her usual. She's the Nadal of the WTA with her frequency of easy early round draws

Saw the draw. It looks like Pliskova is going to peak before a slam once again lol. And of course they gave Meldonia a qualifier... they want to make the most out of their WC arrangement. It's still no guarantee she will beat them though, the qualies draw is quite strong.

lmfao Thiem is blond now.

Coric looks HOT

Shenzhen draw out

Bencic is top seed. Muguruza, Q. Wang, Sabalenka and Mertens are the other top players

Both Borna and Domi are in white shorts and soaked with sweat after 6 games...

I want Borna to breed me so bad.

Borna's ass looks amazing, even if he's a bit pale for someone who spent the last few days at the beach and in the sun. Thiem's blonde tips look RIDICULOUS. Is he finally trying to attract men again now that Mladonna found out his farts smell like cum and dumped him? At least Stan's frosted tips were a *little* manlier.

We have an early contender for choke of the year btw. In Brisbane qualifying, Maddison Inglis in a 3rd set against Vikhlyantseva. She raced to a 5-0 lead (and wasted 4 match points) only to lose 7 games a row. She lost the set 5-7 and thus the match as well.

On Doha next gen Davidovich and Ymer won easily their matches and they will play for a place in the main draw

Djokovic is already being a fucking pest to the umpire (Lahyani) in this ATP Cup exho. Trying to challenge the point even though he kept going with it.... telling the audience to shut the fuck up. What an ass.

Is Ymer related to Ypir?

Mmmm Denis.

Porna really is HAF.

Djokovic is having a lot of trouble with a player who just came back from injury.

Basilashivilli put some resistance on first set but it didn't last. Nadal is the worst kind of player to face when you are a brainless ballbashed (nobody hits the ball harder than Basilashvilli)

R334 Basilashvili is something to behold. Very handsome and enigmatic, he never smiles or reacts or says anything, even during the points he is so low key. But fun to watch and when he's zoning and suddenly hits a patch where he isn't missing, he's lethal.

I kind of admire the 'live by the sword, die by the sword' attitude. A bit like a male Camila Giorgi where the philosophy is Plan A: Hit the ball hard. Plan B: Hit the ball harder. I do think there are some players who can hit a bigger shot than him (at times Wawrinka, Del Potro's huge forehand, Kyrgios' slap shots, Monfils after winding up, Gonzales back in the day) but NOBODY hits as consistently hard as he does on every. single. ball. It's actually a surprise he doesn't make even more unforced errors.

He is the harder hitter on the circuit (i remember reading an article last year), but with a player like Nadal that strategy doesn't work unless you are incredibly inspired

Proposition: Tennis needs a longer off season. It would benefit the players. Discuss.

Well, well, well.... Porna defeats Thiem in 3 sets. Great match from Djoko-Anderson (2 tight tiebreaks that the Serbian won). No boobs out from Djoko (new year resolution)

The Serbian.

sweaty Porna

Hopefully this will be the beginning of a good season for Coric. He has enough game to be top 10

Croatia defeated Austria, Spain defeated Georgia and Serbia defeated South Africa.

Nole and Rafa need to improve. Thiem needs to improve way more

R341 He actually got some semblance of an off season this year, so I don't think he will be as tragic as last year. Great to win over a top 4 player and get some confidence back... I remember seeing him outplay Federer several times in big matches and thinking he'd be one of the better NextGen players but after the late end to 2018 he never really recovered throughout 2019 and was just burnt out.

R342 I agree. Rafa's serve was very vulnerable tonight and he wasn't going for his DTL shot at all. Error-prone in the big moments. Djokovic was a step slow and surprisingly easy for KAndy to outhit, considering the South African hasn't played a match since July and was leaking errors. A few points played better and he could have won that match.

Thiem's game looks a bit of a mess from someone who just made the finals of the YEC. Not enough depth on his groundstrokes, anticipating poorly, and bad point construction (frequently hitting right back to Coric).

Brilliant play by Djokovic. 7-6, 7-6 over Anderson who looked frightening at the end, as revolting as that fug Russian. I was surprised to see so many Serbian fans made the trip.

My Serbian isn't great, but I think they were chanting, "Now you can all suck my dick".

Should there be an Australian Open thread this year given that major tennis thread were blocked to non-subscribers last year?

What is Nike thinking?

I know not all their players will be wearing this (i'm sure Meldonia, Serena, Osaka, and a few others have their own kits), but what happens to their lankier players like Svitolina and Kvitova who won't be able to fill out a bodysuit like this? Taller girls like Sabalenka will look like they are wearing knickerbockers. Sakkari will probably Hulk it with her muscled body.

the players can add some (ugly) colorful items to the bodysuit

Fuck. Those things are ugly.

That is very...bright.

The only player I want to see in that is Borna. I don't know what they have for the boys but if it's anything like that I can see why he fled to ASICS this season.

Caroline Garcia and Iga Swiatek also have defected from Nike to ASICS, and Maria Sakkari left them to sign with Adidas now, reportedly. I wonder if they all got wind of this bright yellow monstrosity...

Can Porna's nude photos leak soon? Please

Teen Carlos Alcaraz signed with Nike a couple of days ago. He must be trembling watching those outfits

Doha draw out

Wawrnka top seed other seeds of note are Raonic, Tsonga, Rublev and Tiafoe

interesting first round matches:

Mannarino vs. Bublik

Verdasco vs. Andujar

Cecchinato vs. Herbert

Seth Efrica

Wawrnka

They gave a wc to Doha qualification to Rashid Nawaf. The guy was the finalist on last years Les petits as, but the guy is only 14 and he relied on pushing and some good tricks on that final (Czech Petr was way stronger than him physically) so i find a little absurd waste a wc on a kid who is not remotely ready for that stage. Of course they have no local players (the other one played against Ymer and only won two games). Maybe if they let the kid grow a bit before pushing him to play against pros he'll have a chance to develop into a good player

so Kyrgios did pushups every time Flopos double faulted

Flopos responds in his presser

Could someone explain the hatred of Chrissie? She seems alright. Not as good commentating as Paul Annacone, but not awful.

I love Chrissie and her odd commentating. She cracks me up.

R358, no one hates Chrissie. She’ll never live down championing Genie Bouchard, that’s all.

Bouchard did have an impressive year in 2016?...I can't really remember the year.

R361 2014 Bouchard made SF of AO and RG and final of Wimbledon plus won her only singles title

I hope I can catch a replay of the sweaty Borna/Thiem match.

Chrissie is a terrible announcer, but I don't hate her (not like I hate Chris Fowler, a genuinely smug dipshit). You can seriously drunk if you take a shot every time Chrissie brings up her own career, or Serena's baby, or Martina, and two shots when she takes a veiled potshot at Pam Shriver never being as good as her or Martina.

R364 SERENA HAD A BABY?!

yeah Fowler is the one who bothers me the most. Fucking arrogant armchair announcer who has the nerve to often interrupt former top players commentating on matches. NO ONE CARES about Fowler's opinions or analysis. I don't understand why he can't just ask questions and direct conversations.

Agree with Fowler. Can not stand him.

I love Chrissie too, even though she’s an old hoe.

[quote] 2014 Bouchard made SF of AO and RG and final of Wimbledon plus won her only singles title

She was penciled in for those matches.

Allie Kiick racist deplorable alert!

after a clutch victory over Isner the other day, Ruud routs Fognini 6-2 6-2 hot start for the #NextGenner

De Minaur grinds down Shapovalov 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2

R372 That first two sets were pretty fun to watch. I have high hopes for these two in the next couple years.

Ruud is very handsome, in a bit of a conventional way. Beautiful wavy hair and some 90s teen heartthrob facial features lol.

Hsieh Su-wei's brother is also hot. Great chest.

Hsieh Su-wei's brother resembles lot with Kei Nishikori

Mladonna lost in rd2 of qualifying :( :( :(

Odd that Mladonna has been so bad considering she was the hero of Fed Cup just a few weeks ago in Australia, beating world #1. Now she's barely getting past Aussie WC scrubs like Ellen Perez and losing to Samsonova (who is outside the top 130). Now that the bearding arrangement with Thiem is over, both their games are in the shit house.

Who is going to win in Greece v Germany tonight? They're a one man team, but can Sissypants beat Zverev (again) and then win the doubles to upset Australia's guarantee of winning the group?

Chris Evert is one of the greatest champions ever. As a commentator, she's very good, and among the best as well. The nonsense vitriol against her is unwarranted. Regard Bouchard, Bouchard DID have an excellent year, and she WAS an excellent bet. I don't know how recently Chris was touting her, but I doubt it wasn't THAT recent.

There are a lot of issues in tennis and plenty of players worthy of some scorn, But focusing on Evert isn't one of them.

Agree about Fowler--arrogant ass.

Serena and Woz won 6-2, 6-4

Drama queen. Osaka "almost died" in the off-season.

R381 I've lost count of how many times I almost died.

I HAD A BABY R381!

FYI this thread was paywalled for the last 2 days but it is now open. If it happens again, here is the thread we have started as backup

I can't wait to see that fat ass Serena lose today.

results from yesterday

Auckland:

Gauff def. Kuzmova 6-3 6-`

Kastakina def. CSN 6-3 3-6 6-2

Bouchard def. Flipkens 7-5 7-5

Garcia def. Townsend 5-7 6-3 7-5

Brisbane:

Collins def. Svitolina 6-1 6-1

Kenin def. Sevastova 7-6(1) 6-4

Strycova def. Konta 6-2 3-6 6-3 Konta now 0-3 against Strycova ouch

Shenzhen:

Muguruza and Sabalenka both win

CoCo's annoying mother must have been left home. Her father is an asshole. I feel for that poor kid. I bet she's pregnant by 17 to get away from the pressure. Her game is NOTHING and Andrea Jaeger at 15 was beating ALL the top players (except for Evert) in her extraordinary 1980 season.