The Gays and Tennis Part 64: RG men's final and fall tournaments

Team Rafa.

I feel an intense loathing of Djokovic and NEED him to lose.

what r1 said.

St. Petersburg draw is out.

Medvedev is top seed and opens against Gasquet

Sinner vs. Opelka!

Coric vs. Lopez!

Rublev vs. Pospisil!

Shapovalov vs. Querrey!

Cologne draw interesting matches

A. Zverev is top seed

Verdasco vs. Murray!

Millman vs. M Zverev who I guess is back playing

Simon vs. Fucsovics

Sardinia draw

Fognini is top seed

Tiafoe vs. Moutet

Cuevas vs. new phenom Musetti

Hmm I think Novak’s bum is looking better. It’s perhaps shallow to observe that for the longest time that his ass has looked like two poached eggs.

Rafa will win, of course. He's going to keep winning the French Open for the next 10 years at this rate.

Rafa team or Nole/Novaxx team?

Rafa for 20 in '20.

I would like Rafa to win but I am not optimistic. Novaxx is a beast but he has been a drama queen this summer. I know, I know...he has always been a drama queen but lately bitch is unbearable. And the boobs out needs to stop. Where are his agents?

Who's he boobs outing to now that the audience is limited?

The bald man will lose.

R9 exactly

r9, it's now an all-organic pan-galactic love fest when he wins. He yanks down whatever it is from the skies, bends to touch the red clay, then yanks something else down from the heavens before he starts distributing whatever it is from his boobs to at least three areas of the crowd. With each tournament, it seems, this quasi-religious ceremony takes on extra permutations, and has now reached levels of complexity that can only be compared to Nadal's jock-strap yanking, ear twitching and nose-and-forehead touching before each serve. I'm sure that virgins and volcanoes will soon feature in the display.

Go Djokovic! I love a villain. Slay the OCD freak!

I hope it's a good match. I don't really care who wins, but I will tune in to see Pam Shriver eat Rafa's ass at the trophy presentation.

yesterdays match was shit, what the fuck was that? tennis? Today we have tennis. Who is able to watch that stuff is beyon d me..

pussy tenis is boring as hell. Swiatek lost in rome in first round , halep won overall and week later she is a genius? Maybe weather condituions were suitable for..her balls were wery slow , it was weird to look at. If that argentinian got to QF, it says a lot about that tournament. She was afwul.

It's curious that Nole has reached the semifinals more in the US Open and Roland Garros than on Wimbledon and the Austrlian Open.

I think Rafa will win, but i won't be surprised if Nole ends winning. Generally he was very anxious on RG, but now he has the title he should be more calm

Carlos Alcaraz won his second challenger against Damir Dzumhur 46 62 61 and he reach 158 in the rankings. If he keeps progressing he'll be top 100 before his reaching 18

Glowering skies over Chatrier. It's just as well; it was sunny yesterday, and there were odd shadows on the court.

Now they are closing the roof.

mcenroe claiming swiatek is a "CHAMPION" now and could win multiple majors? up to 6 or more! oh brother! just shut up 'johnny mac".. with your past you should have been banned from the sport and that includes your non stop your opinion isn't opinion but fact about everything motor mouth commentary! and take your nepotism thank god my last name is mcenroe brother patrick with you and while your at it, take i was in the right place at the right time years ago and success by association to you john mary carillo!...

It's time to bring new blood in the NBC booth. Carillo and McEnroe are tired. The ass kissing sent Mac's way by Mr. Hannah Storm and Carillo is sickening.

Well, it's too soon to take conclussions but Rafa is destrying Nole right now

The Dropshot ain’t gonna work today sis. She may need to rethink her strategy !!

Is something the matter with Djoko? I am rooting for Nadal but, not even in my wildest dreams, I could have predicted 6-0 to start things off

I’ve seen Rafa playing in Paris and his butt is stunning. Add his sexy voice and it is extra pleasure. Team Rafa.

Novax's plan to lull Rafa into a sense of security is working well.

R27 Yes, losing 0-6 does it

compare THIS with wta match from yesterday lol

nadal has broken Novaxx again....something's up with Novaxx

Mac is a motormouth, but I give him props for the protest he and Martina did at the Australian.

Novak must have a fever.

Enough with the drop shot!!!!

Novak plays very good, only nadal is amazing

I have to go - tell me what happens.

Who do you think Federer is pulling for?

damn, rafa got fat in the lockdown!

Rafa is humiliating Novak so far, and I am lovin' it!

omg wtf is she wearing?

On a personal level, Roger probably wants Rafa to win. Though if Nadal ties in GS, a case can be made that Rafa, not Roger is GOAT.

FINISH HIM!

probably rigged. he's taking big bucks to tank the match. i wouldn't put it past him.

Roger is definitely pulling for Rafa, no questions asked. There's no way Roger is clinging to a GS record at this late time in his career., he' s gotta know that will be snatched from him.

And Novak made it easy for Roger turn dislike him for infinity early in their careers.

Novaxx looking like a deer in the headlights now.

Novak is making simple mistakes. So far easy 2-0 for Rafa. This might be one of the shortest finals. Rafa to win!

Evil has been winning in so many categories around the world for so long now. Please Rafa, flip the karma.

J'adore Rafa.

R39 She looks like boy in dress

I’m very happy.

My OCD would like to see 6-0, 6-2, 6-4.

C'mon Rafa, finish this in the third. I've a got a thanksgiving dinner (Canada) to pull together today.

Marry me r50!

Nadal will have 25 GSs when he retires.

Iga is not exactly Anna K. The dress at least shows some personality.

Novak breaks back (finally). Will we get a match?

Jeez, tennis is an expensive sport. None of you have $18 to post?

Go Rafa! 3 Championship Points!

Match point. buh bye!

ACE!!!!!!!!

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Now who's your GOAT?

I know, I know....

I jinxed it! Oh well...

Go Rafa! Lucky 13!

[quote]Now who's your GOAT?

They're a cute couple. Let them have it together.

Let the Rafa/Roger GOAT debate begin:

Roger has the overall wins edge, but has played much longer.

Both finished number 1 five times, but Roger leads in over all days at number one.

Rafa has a singles gold medal; Roger has tons more YEC.

Each has the career grand slam.

Rafa destroys him head to head overall, on clay, and on hard courts. Rafa also wins in grand slam head to head and finals head to head. This is what, for me, gives Rafa the very slight edge.

Rafa will be my GOAT irregardless of GS wins

Null!

I agree R62. Rafa, as of now, is the GOAT.

The GOAT debate will be between Nadal and Djokovic. No one will talk about Federer 2 years from now.

Rafa's wife is pregnant

Happy for Rafa and Xisca!

Get back to us when Djokovic reaches #20, R65.

Which wife is pregnant - Xisca, Mary or Maria?

Who is GOAT - clay specialist or the Swiss?

Nadal is a clay specialist so he can't be the greatest of all time.

[quote] I’ve seen Rafa playing in Paris and his butt is stunning. Add his sexy voice and it is extra pleasure. Team Rafa.

What does his ass look like in person? Did you hear him speak in Spanish or English, because his voice certainly isn’t sexy in English? He sounds like a muppet. Penelope Cruz sounds fine in Spanish but in English also sounds like a muppet.

[quote] Nadal is a clay specialist so he can't be the greatest of all time.

Nadal is clay specialist but not journeyman.

[quote]clay specialist

7 GS titles and an Olympic gold across hardcourts and grass aren't chump change.

[quote] Who do you think Federer is pulling for?

Not me.

[quote] omg wtf is she wearing?

Bath robe, duh.

Rafa leads in the H2H AND in GS Finals. Clear edge to Rafa.

Only moronic non-tennis fans call Rafa a clay court specialist. He's won 2 Wimbys and been in 5 finals. His 4-1 at the Open. 1-4 at the Aussie. Sure, a clay court specialist who has 15 finals appearances and 7 wins in the the 3 non-clay Slams.

Those 7 wins? Just as much as McEnroe and Wilander. One behind Agassi and Connors. And ahead of Edberg and Becker.

[quote] 7 GS titles and an Olympic gold across hardcourts and grass aren't chump change.

[quote] Only moronic non-tennis fans call Rafa a clay court specialist.

"Clay specialist" is a DL "gays and tennis" meme. People aren't serious when they write that.

Not convinced by the significance of overall heat to heads. If Fed does better on clay than Rafa on grass (which I think he does), for example, there will be more h2hs on Rafa's best service.

r80 huh?

R80 Rafa leads in their outdoor hardcourt H2H (8-6). Fed does lead overall on hardcourt (11-9), which is very close considering the fact that Fed should destroy Rafa on HC - which is basically just grass these days in terms of speed. Fed leads 3-1 on grass.

So Fed leads 14-10 on his two best surfaces. Rafa leads 14-2 on his best surface. That sort of says it all to me. Rafa is incredibly competitive on Roger's best surfaces. Roger doesn't stand a chance on Rafa's. Also, just think if Rafa had two Slams that were on clay? He's have about 30 Slams. And Roger has three Slams!

Rafa also leads Fed H2H in:

Slam wins: 10-4

Slam Finals wins: 6-3

It's simply Rafa by just about every metric, at least in terms of H2H.

I once was watching a video of Medvedev with the close captioning on because it was hard to make out what was being said, and the close captioning had his last name as "Papa Devil".

Rafa has perhaps the greatest male achievemnt of the Open era and no one mentions it. In 2010 he won French, Wim and US - 3 majors on 3 different surfaces. Not a Grand Slam but damn the other two never did that.

I agree R84. Not to mention the fact he's one one major 13 times! Every player has a preferred surface and no one has ever come close to that. It's remarkable.

Its doubles match

[quote]Rafa's wife is pregnant

been there, done that

R72 It is bubble butt and easily seen through his shorts. I meant the sound which comes out when he hits the ball, it sounds erotic. He spoke French with very heavy Spanish accent. People yelled lots of support to him and when he changed his shirt there were screams around the arena.

R72 And I think he changed his shorts and had towel around his waste. Nevertheless some people sounded hysterical. He knows how to entertain.

R87 he is the daddy?

it's nauseating how a lot of the tennis establishment keep rooting for Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. I like Martina but when she said Nadal vs. DJokovic "is the final we all wanted" I was like, uh no. There are a lot of people who aren't just fair weather fans and want new guys to finally step up and win slams. Men's tennis has been incredibly boring for a decade now with only the occasional surprise.

For the last couple years there have been a bunch of guys who've come close but then fail at the end.

Thiem has shown he's "the best of the rest" but we need some major change next year. I'm tired of writing this.

The simple fact is, R91, no one is as good. Thiem won when Rafa and Fed didn't play and Nole got kicked out. Thiem is fantastic, and may have won regardless, but no one can do it consistently. Not yet, anyway.

At some point the Big 3's reign HAS to come to an end (perhaps Fed's chances are finally finished), but until then? I say we just enjoy Rafa and Nole and Fed. As we saw at the Open, the next gen don't seem to have the same game as the Big 3. That Thiem/Zverev match was boring AF for the most part.

Babosh

nadal may have a nice ass, but the rest of him is blah... one would think he would have ripped abs and muscular arms/shoulders/back (when not in motion) with the style he plays but he doesn't....

I've never liked his face (it's monkey like), R94, but his ass is very nice.

There's a kid on Instagram, DopeyJoey, who is the subject of a DL Instaho-type thread. He looks a bit like a young Andy Roddick (sans his major title and International Tennis Hall of Fame membership).

DopeyJoey

Shirtless DopeyJoey

You know what's also tiring, R91? Annoying people who complain about the Big 3 winning everything.

Instead of enjoying the level of tennis the Big 3 produce, you moan about it being boring that there's no new winner.

Thiem-Zverev final is the definition of exciting to you?

Yeah today's match was real exciting. So competitive, right?

So happy Rafa won! He is humble. Unbelievable shot-making and tactics. He's a thinker.

He's also hot AF.

Diego Schwartzmann also very cute.

Yes, because Nadal delivered an incredible out-of-this-world performance, R100.

The same could never be said for either Thiem/Zverev. Or any NextGen, period.

I can't imagine that the Big 3 will continue with Fed's return next year. He'll be turning 40 and is likely to lose a lot of 2019's ranking points in just in the first quarter of 2021 alone unless he's gone bionic. With Nadal and Djokovic farther into their mid-30s, how much longer before time takes its toll on their level of play?

I think hardcourts will be more of a neutralizer next year.

Djokovic's defense and drop shots beat Tsitsipas. A lot of Tsitsipas' shots would have been out of reach on a hardcourt

For as shittily as Djokovic played today, he still made the final. Tsitsipas, Zverev, Thiem all took a seat.

If you want to complain about the Big 3, take a seat until someone beats them. Boring or not, these 3 actually win big matches, and don't hide from match points against them (and think about that shitfest US Open final if you want to watch the "next gen" who can't be bothered to find some mental toughness and fight for a title).

I personally loathe Djokovic, indifferent to Nadal, and admire Federer, but I appreciate all 3 as actual fucking champions. Shoot me dead if I have to watch Thiem-Zverev fight to see who shits the bed least.

Nadal has never won the World Tour Final or Miami so he can't be the GOAT

But Nadal has the Olympic gold medal, R107!!!

Djokovic should be ashamed of the way he played today.

R107? Miami? Sorry that doesn't matter for GOAT status.

As for the WEC, it's definitely a hole in his resume. (Just as Fed and Nole not having Olympic Singles Gold is for them.) But he's only played it 8 or 9 times and it's on his nightmare surface. I believe he's made it to the final a couple of times so he's been competitive for sure.

Did either papist Nadal or Federer ever win a Virginia Slims tournament?

I thought not.

The Olympic gold medal doesn’t matter.

R112, ask any player and most would totally disagree with you. Hell, even Granny Williams is continuing to play so she can play in Tokyo.

I want new winners, but i want them to rise the level not the big 3 lowering theirs.

Right now only Thiem seems regular on GS (i'm pretty sure he would do better at RG is he had the time to prepare it well).

The moment Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Zverev and Thiem became consistent at GS the probabilities of a big 3 winning will be lower because they will have to fight on early rounds to get to the final, and at that age is not that easy to have the energy to do it.

I think on hard courts they will be fight, there are more players that are able to put them in trouble than on clay or even grass

By the way, the rumours of Rafa's wife pregnancy are very very long, the kid should be born and have a couple of months by now (sooner or later the rumours will be right i suppose).

By the way, Nole's wife show she has way more class than his parents and Ivanisevic (i still don't understand his words, he puts a lot of pressure on Nole for no reason) and congratulated Rafa

Tiafoe wins in Parma

I'm curious about next gen finals. The first 7 on the ranking qualify and then the italians chose one of their youn players but with Sinner being the 5 in the race they will chose another italian or they will go with the ranking?

They canceled NextGen finals, didn't they?

[quote]They canceled NextGen finals, didn't they?

Yeah, I think it's been postponed until November 2021

The ATP Finals will still take place at the O2 Arena in London from 15-22 November

Nakshima on clay is not that good

I'm guessing if Xisca is pregnant, they're a passionate couple, indeed!

[quote]they're a passionate couple, indeed!

Siiiiii

La Pareja Feliz

R120 you are mean

I THINK some of the "variables" that hurts nadal in the goat talk are 1) none of the others claim to goat status (roger and novak) have lost as many times in early rounds as nadal has at the greatest slam wimbledon 2) 13 of his slams are now at 1 slam... 3) he seems to "duck" more than the others in regards of won't play a tournament because of the surface or pulls out saying he's injured when he's not playing well.. 4) his particular style is NOT all time how should i say "classic" what i mean is his style of play, the way he holds the racket, the way he strokes the ball, his stroke production is a TOTAL product of today's out of control racket technology and strings... roger and novak could play with any racket and strings, with their style of play and stroke production, whether it be a 1950's wood racket with cat gut or a early 1980's heavy graphite racket, i suspect nadal could not.... so perhaps this bias hurts rafa in the goat talk...

just saying... p.s. i still think sampras is the greatest fast court player of all time at his best and given today's rackets and strings...

Sam Querrey tests positive for Covid.

His style of play is unique, i don't think that plays against him at all.

And yes, nobody dominates ever (or it's going to dominate) a GS like Rafa dominate Roland Garros, even without all the rest of his GS, he will be fourth on the number on GS won.

But without RG, he is even ahead of legends like Becker and Edberg.

I think his main flaw is the fact that he never won the nitto finals.

Losing at the early stages of Wimbledon is not a problem. He was never born to be a great grass court player (i remember Muller saying he would never win Wimbledon), but he has two wimbledons , was a finalist three times and a seifinalist two more and those numbers are better than some grass specialist have.

The debate about the goat is something difficult to solve (unless one of the three ends with more GS than the rest) because all of them have pros and contras. For example it's difficult to argue that Federer is the best ever when he has negative h2h against his two main rivals

R126... well that's a knock of federer his head to head with rafa and novak.. although arguments can be made that 1) most of nadal's wins more than half i believe came on clay, if they had played on carpet or grass, the head to head would be quite different... 2) that if it wasn't for nadal, federer would be and was the greatest clay court player, the same could NOT be said for rafa being the best grass court player, hard court player or carpet player if it wasn't for federer.. 2) in regards to novak, some have suggested that the head to head is still close and that novak overtook roger head to head only after roger had passed his peak...

off topic, but one could go round and round in discussing martina vs chris head to head.. so so many variables and pros and cons.. personally while the head to head numbers was 43-37 martina, i think a 6 win differential over 80 matches and 18 years is pretty much a statistical tie..

towards the end, it really depended on what surface they were playing on, the faster martina won, the slower evert won, which one has to take into account when martina lead 12-7 in their final matches (and at their best?) from 1985 to 1988.. they played more on surfaces that favored martina (grass and indoors) thus martina won more.. in actuality if one took into the most "neutral" surface that being hard courts, evert actually had the 3-2 edge from 85 to 88... what hurts evert were those 13 straight losses to martina, than again, one could argue, that it was because evert was still playing with wood, which than again isn't martina's fault, so as i stated one could go round and round and round until doomsday....

personally i think it's non-sensical and ridiculous to name ANY 1 PLAYER the greatest of all time in a individual sport that has literally countless variables known and unknown... at best only a top 10 list should be made male and female of all time greatness and NOT in numerical order...

[quote] Sam Querrey tests positive for Covid.

Thoughts and prayers.

Do you guys like Grigor's outfit?

R129.....well, it was coming out day yesterday. Read between the obvious-sodomite lines?

R125, thoughts and prayers, but it is what it is. I hope he doesn’t let it dominate his life.

[quote]The Olympic gold medal doesn’t matter.

Tell that to Novak, 2008 Olympic BRONZE medalist.

All the big names were there to compete. They all wanted it.

Someone at LPSG posted a picture of PCB in cycling shorts

Four new players have been elected to the ATP Player Council: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jeremy Chardy, John Millman and Andy Murray. They were elected by the existing members of the Council to fill the roles vacated following the resignations of Novak Djokovic, John Isner, Vasek Pospisil and Sam Querrey prior to the US Open.

Are all the player forming the new “union” right wingers?

Didn't Felix also join Novaxx's breakaway?

R133 for the win. HAF.

That pic of Pablo is almost porn.

Sinner became a new top 50, he is one of the youngest players in the last two decades. I think he could have reach that mark sooner if it wasn't for covid (and his bad luck on GS draws)

FAA entered the top 25 when he was only 18 but seems to have plateaued. Rooting for him to reach the next level soon.

FAA had a very different path, unlike Sinner he was a top junior and received tons of wc. He was on the verge of top 100 for a good while, but then he had some very good months and he went very fast top 50, even top 30.

Unfortunately his progression stopped there (but with this crazy 2020 is understable)

FAA hasn't left the top 25 since he entered in May of last year, has reached as high as #17.

Yes, but he didn't have to defend most of the points he won last year

The rankings are really weird this year because of COVID and the best of 2019/2020 system. Ash Barty will be the year-end #1 even though she only played for the first two months of the year. Andreescu will stay in the top 10 even though she hasn't played any matches this year.

It amuses me how all talk of the PTPA just vanished once they realised it didn't get the reaction they wanted.

Which is also true of anyone else on the ATP tour, R142. ATP should have only carried over 2019 results for those tournaments that were cancelled in 2020. The way they've reconfigured makes no sense.

R124, Rafa has made 5 Wimbledon finals! And lost his three to Fed and Nole - two of the best grass court players ever. He's played in 11 hardcourt Slam finals! And, again, lost five of six to Nole or Fed! He never loses to lesser players in Slam Finals. And some may think Wimby is the "best" Slam, but a Slam is a Slam. I personally think the US Open is the best. As far as Rafa's style? That's purely subjective. I love watching him whip that forehand in a way no one ever has done. That stats say it's either Rafa, Fed, or Noval for greatest of all time. I pick Rafa.

Racquet tech is no players fault. And, for the record, Agassi DESTROYS Pete if they played with wooden rackets. Pete was good not great once a point got passed his serve + first forehand.

R146... chris evert won wimbledon 3 times and reached 7 other finals losing mostly to the greatest grass court player of all time martina, is evert thus considered the 2nd greatest grass player of all time? no...

the idea that only because the points would last longer with wood rackets and so agassi being the baseliner would destroy sampras is silly..

plenty of serve and volleyers with wood rackets destroyed baseliners with wood rackets.. you forgot to mention sampras also has the best overhead, best second serve and was one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game....

you conveniently forget how many early round losses nadal has had at wimbledon, regardless if it's wimbledon, the french, or the aussie, this IS a strike against him that he has lost a number of times in early rounds at this one particular grand slam, something a person claiming to be in the discussion of all time greatest does not do...

rafa probably has the ability to have been a all time great in any era, but NO WAY NO HOW could he play the way he plays, stroke production and grip with rackets of the past... the ball would never ever stay in the stadium, much less the court... he would have to change his stroke production and grips with rackets and strings of the past, so how good he would be is conjecture..

The number of early round (3rd round or earlier) GS losses between Fed (14), Nadal (12) and Djokovic (10) are roughly commensurate with their career tenures.

That's not it at all, R147. Agassi was a better tactician. He has every shot in the book. Pete was a mediocre player in rallies. Racquet tech helps bigger servers, that's undebatable. But I hate talking racquet tech because all players have the same access to it.

Who cares if Rafa lost a few times in earlier rounds? I've never, ever heard that being a detriment to any player. And I'm a big tennis dork. If it's Wimby? Ever think it might be that he plays the Finals at RG every freaking year and is exhausted two-three weeks later when Wimby starts? There's a reason winning the Wimby/RG double is so rare.

Also, Wimby and the Open come after the clay season. Again, he's constantly in the finals for all of those. Of course wear and tear would hinder his mid to late season results.

Let's look at his Aussie Open results since it's the first Slam and, presumably, gives players the best chance to be healthy and fit. From 2006-2020 he didn't play twice, and was knocked out before the QF exactly ONCE. And the Aussie is his worst Slam.

Btw, at the Open from 2006-2019 he made the QF 9 of the 12 times he played.

So I think your theory on Rafa being knocked out in early rounds a bit suspect.

R135 seems like it

RE: Chris v Martina. The 1st tournament they played together was Ft. Lauderdale 1973. Mar lost in the qualies and Chris won the title. If you count ALL the tournaments they entered together from 73 to 89, Chris comes out WAY ahead. Martina's bad losses over the years were numerous. At CE's peak, Martina lost to Newberry, Turnbull, Shriver(twice) and Mandlikova while Evert wad dominating the USO in the 70's/early 80's.

St. Petersburg

Wawrinka survives 3-6 7-6(3) 7-5 over Evans

Bublik survives 2-6 7-6(2) 6-4 over McDonald

Karatsev def. Sandgren 7-5 3-6 7-5

Norrie upsets Fritz 6-4 4-6 6-3

Cologne

Johnson upsets Krajinovic 3-6 6-4 6-4

Otto upsets Struff 6-4 6-3

Albot def. Herbert 6-2 4-6 6-4

Hurkacz def. Polmans 6-2 7-5

M. Zverev def. Millman 6-1 6-4

Sardinia

Paul def. Martin 5-7 6-3 7-5

Musetti upsets Cuevas 7-6(4) 7-5

Agassi also had better hair than Pete... then.

Agassi wasn't even out of his teens when he started losing his hair.

R151... evert was overall more consistent than martina for sure in the 70's and early 80's (before she went past her prime and then suffered bad losses) but EVERT DID have the occasional bad loss too, players like greer stevens, dianne fromholtz (a good player, so perhaps not a bad loss), turnbull once (her only to turnbull in 1979).....

R149... maybe it's only me, but I DO consider consistency in all the slams over years and years and that INCLUDES bad losses and early losses in any of the slams when one is being considered in the argument of GOAT...ESPECIALLY if it occurred during their prime, NOT before their prime or after their prime...

agassi had every shot in the book? really? very mediocre volleyer for starters, to me, he was a improved jimmy arias with a 2 handed backhand bolletieri product nothing more... sampras was the better athlete that is indisputable... and just because one is a baseliner doesn't mean that AUTOMATICALLY they are a better tactician than a serve and volleyer... tell that to martina when she played evert......

at the end of the day however you want to see it, sampras finished with the head to head over agassi, had more slams and was simply a better player. p.s. i'll take sampras body wise and sexually over agassi anyday....

To change the subject completely, type "Djokovic impressions" in the Youtube url.

Djokernole gives some truly hilarious impressions of Rafa, Fed, Sharapova and others.

That's back when Djokovic had a sense of humor. The current Djokovic believes in weird stuff like purifying water by thinking positive thoughts.

[quote]That's back when Djokovic had a sense of humor.

... belittling others hardly qualifies as a sense of humor...

yeah I enjoyed younger Djokovic. He's beyond tiresome now and a real egomaniac

R149, Rafa HAS been consistent in three of the four majors! And even at Wimby, he's made seven SF or better in the 12 he's played since 2006.

Eh, you're just a Fed fan. I get it.

Just imagine what an impression of the current Djokovic would look like.

[quote] Just imagine what an impression of the current Djokovic would look like.

Sieg heil! Boobs out!

R161 I'm sure Kyrgios would have no problem doing one at the 2021 AO

that's a match I'd LOVE to see. Kyrgios vs. Djokovic with the Aussie crowd vehemently rooting for Nick

Novak has jumped the shark to be a living caricature of himself at this point.

Novak was a lot more fun before he went crazy. Yes, the impressions were a bit offensive to players that were a bit touchy (I think Sharapova and Nadal at the time?), but they were also super funny. The whole boobs out thing is waaaaaay worse.

and Djokovic had a nice body until he went hardcore quasi anorexic looking

Novak is still good looking, now that he has gained some weight back after that anorexic spell. He has great legs. I feel sorry for him as he just seemed to lose his way as he got to the top. Maybe it was more about getting older and getting married, etc. He just seems like a little boy who really needs approval.

I wonder if Kyrgios is serving a "silent suspension" for something. Everyone that is healthy is back playing, and yet he's out galavanting with his chick on a boat.

R168 Barty skipped the USO and RG too

wow Evans had 6-3 6-5 and 0-40 on Wawrinka's serve lol but went on to lose

R170 The effect of coke probably wore off.

Djokovic has taken a wildcard into Vienna.

When did Djokovic lose his sense of humor? Was it triggered by the "they love Fedal more than they love me"?

During one of those lockdown Instagram interview things, Djokovic was asked what’s the first thing he does in the morning. He said something along the lines of “I kiss my wife, I meditate and say a prayer of thanks to God”.

Andy Murray was asked the same question and replied “I go for a piss”.

R173 He changed when the reaction of fans changed.

He was the new funny guy who played very well, but after a while he was the guy who was beating their beloved Rafa and Roger.

It's nothing new, people loved Seles when she appeared but when she started to dominate suddenly eveyrbody found her grunting annoying

Oh please, R175. He's always been overfull of himself.

I suppose Travaglia was one point away from being thrown out by the umpire when he withdrew from his match against Pellegrino in the Sardinia tournement.

R176 you are describing Queeny Roger Federer.

Two blokes, one stone.

Today's results

St. Petersburg

Coric finally gets a win over Lopez 6-3 7-6(2)

Khachanov def. Duckworth 6-4 6-4

Raonic def. Wolf and his mullet 7-6(5) 6-1

Kecmanovic def. Kukushkin 6-3 7-6(7)

Rublev def. Pospisil 6-2 6-4

Cologne

Verdasco def. Murray 6-4 6-4 Murray now on 3 match losing streak

Harris def. Edmund 7-5 7-6(1)

Davidovich Fokina def. Ruusuvuori 7-5 6-4

Cilic def. Giron 6-2 4-6 6-3

Laaksonen def. Altmaier 3-6 6-3 7-6(5)

Simon def. Fuscovics 6-0 6-3

Sardinia

Carballes Baena def. F. Coria 7-5 6-4

Delbonis def. Seppi 7-5 7-6(6)

Andujar def. Kovalik 7-5 7-5

Cecchinato def. Mager 5-7 7-6(7) 6-2

Sonego def. Zeppieri 6-2 7-6(4)

Djere def. Nagal 6-3 6-1

The 'rona sure loves the ATP:

Grigor Dimitrov Borna Coric Novak Djokovic and wife Jelena Kei Nishikori David Goffin Sam Querrey Fernando Verdasco Seyboth Wild Benoit Paire Frances Tiafoe Viktor Troicki Goran Ivanisevic Patrick McEnroe Alexander Zverev’s parents

I watched some of the Murray match and it's painful watching him hobble around the court. He actually looked better a year ago than he does right now. I was really hoping that his comeback would gain steam after 18 months or so, but now I think he is going to retire (again) soon. Hopefully, he can stay on the ATP council even if he does retire.

Murray needs to retire ASAP.

Murray did show some life before the USO though. He did get a win over Zverev and then of course 2 weeks later Zverev reached the USO final

I was shocked that Murray did come back to the tour. Artificial joint replacements are not meant to withstand heavy athletic use. If he grinds this hip down he may have trouble getting a second replacement.

DopeyJoey (aka young Andy Roddick doppelganger) blowing his lips.

[quote]Khachanov def. Duckworth 6-4 6-4

Damm, Tammy must be fast in that wheelchair.

Fognini tested positive to Covid at ATP Sardinia

Taylor Townsend is pregnant.

[quote] Taylor Townsend is pregnant.

How can they tell?

i worry murray is going to have to use a cane and then a wheelchair in the not too distant future and for what?...

Misery team

Flopos team

I prefer when Murray tweets his own dick pics.

[quote] He did get a win over Zverev and then of course 2 weeks later Zverev reached the USO final

A. Zverev?

Ha. Sam Querrey's 'ordeal' is wild. He, his wife and baby all tested positive for Covid in St Petersburg so they left the Four Seasons hotel (which probably isn't the worst place to have to self-isolate), got on a private jet and left Russia for an undisclosed country that didn't require a negative test result for entry.

ATP is investigating and if found guilty he could be suspended for up to three years and fined $100k.

[quote] ATP is investigating and if found guilty he could be suspended for up to three years and fined $100k.

Let us hope he is.

[quote] so they left the Four Seasons hotel (which probably isn't the worst place to have to self-isolate),

apparently they were called by Russian Health Authority telling them they would send a doctor and if the Querreys had shown some symptoms they would have been hospitalized. The fear of a Russian hospital...

but I wonder...why did he take wife and little son to St Petersburg. in the middle of a pandemic?

More players tested positive in Sardinia. Unconfirmed number so far.

I wonder whether Stan is one of them, R199? He’s there is he not?

There are reports it's up to 20 players who've tested positive in Sardinia.

Meanwhile..... Novaxx at the pyramid of the sun, by his friend Semir Osmanagic.

From the article R202 linked:

[quote] During his visit, Mr.Dokovic stated: “If there is a paradise on earth, then it is here.”, adding “I’ve seen many energy spots on the Planet, but this was the strongest’ and ‘Bosnian Pyramids are home for my soul’.

My, Novaxx is quite besotted with himself!

lmao Querrey is a deplorable so not surprised he did something stupid. I wouldn't mind seeing him suspended 3 years

The Querrey saga is crazy. What an asshole. Who brings an 8 month old baby to Russia in the middle of a pandemic? Answer: A Trumper.

I wonder if there really are 20 poz players in Sardinia? That’s practically everyone!

[quote] “The Querreys, who were experiencing what they considered mild symptoms, feared any or all being hospitalised in Russia

So it's fine to cozy up with Putin and allow him to influence U.S. elections, but it's not fine to expose ourselves and our child to Russian medicine?

And of course Querrey was partnered with Sandgren for doubles. Birds of a deplorable feather stick together, until it's time to flee.

He so ugly surprised he is married

R209 = Jannik Sinner

In Sardinia they are playing as normal

The reporter who "broke" the news of the 20 players testing positive is being dragged on twitter.

Even Musettti who played double with Fognini 2 days ago is playing right now

She is now free to enjoy all the bagels she wants!

R201 Fognini direct contacts were all tested and none of them was positive

R201 At Roland Garros they would not cared

R200 Stan is in St. Petersburg. Med is out.lol

Thanks, R217.

Med lost to Opelka!

Medvedev totally tanked his match. Not a surprise because he played pretty bad against Gasquet.

Gasquet should at least try to be in good form, he still has his talent but he clearly run out of gasoline even if the match is not that long. He had a nice career, but underperformed big time. Right now it's impossible to even thing he was considered to be Rafa's big future rival, but it was not absurd back then, both had stellar junior careers, both showed a lot of promise when they started as pros, they even had some close matches on the challenger tour, but Richard never was up to the challenge. And i blame the french federation that put a lot of pressure in every young promising player just too soon.

Davidovich eliminated Cilic. A good victory for him who never had won a match on hard indoor before this tournament.

Rublev defeated Humbert in a close match

Virgin Mery (Xisca) is praying for an immaculate conception

stick a fork in Cilic's career I think he's done.

Where is Querrey now?

Nole

I'm really curious about Russian reaction to Davidovich Fokina. His name is quite unusual. First of all, in Russian, "ovich" is more often the ending for a male middle name and follows the name of the father. So Russians might assume his father's name is David but actually his father is Edward Davidovich. Additionally, his parents gave him 2 last names as is common in Spain but the female ending of his mother's maiden name. So Russians would think his name should be Alejandro Davidovich Fokin with Fokin as the last name, not Davidovich. Instead they see Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and must be quite confused.

I is named Shapo. Den is Shapo.

TsiTsipas' best friend....

Shapo and Titsy would make beautiful babies together.

Stan lost to Shapo.

Porna won vs. the giant

K. Hemsworth team or Porcine Raonic team?

Pork team!

I love Bacon!

Stan drank too much with Med?

Pork also!

Milos!

Djokovic will not play the Paris Masters.... surprising indeed.

[quote]Djokovic will not play the Paris Masters.... surprising indeed

He will play the Vienna tournament instead

[italic]"Being the defending champion in Paris, Djokovic cannot gain any points there. Conversely, the Serb stands to earn 500 points in Vienna, which could potentially cement his place as the World No. 1 for the year."[/italic]

I still think that, points aside, he could easily win as he did in "Cinci"

Hurkacz is so cute. He lost the first set in a tiebreaker but he is playing very well right now.

wow so Djokovic is playing the ranking system

since they're taking the best result of 2019 and 2020 he's going to skip Paris. I hope he loses early in Vienna

How ironic and twisted is it that Novaxx, ATP maverick and host of a superspreader tennis exhibition, is manipulating a ranking system loophole created to accommodate the COVID situation, to his benefit.

Now, Nadal should enter Paris and London

I'm not sure Rafa cares so much about ranking.

R242 he's a sociopath

I wanna see TsiTsipas nude

Titsy's hair at R227 made me cum

omg when Shapovalov yells during matches after missing shots he sounds like an adolescent whose voice is just starting to change. He doesn't sound like a fully grown man. very odd

but he's hot

I iz hot.

If you go for the Bamm-Bamm Arrested Development type.

....

Yet another reason Novak will never be Fed or Nadal. At least be more stealth in your gaming of the system. Sheesh.

I'm glad Novak is neither the fag phony Roger Federer is, or the closet case 'husband; Nadal is.

[quote] the fag phony Roger Federer is

Posted on a gay message board.

Tone deaf like all Djokovic fans.

Rublev vs shapo now on. Both dressed the same.

Musetti had to retire in semis against Djere on the third set. He reach 123 on the rankings.

Alcaraz will play his second final of a challenger in a row (fourth of the year), right now he is 144, if he wins he'll be 135.

Both are the youngest players in the top 200 and had a really great progression this year, specially under the tough circumstances

Shapo is inspired so far. He broke Rublev once and rublev ended up smashing a water bottle with his racket

Shapo out in three sets in St. Petersburg.

R259 How?

Porna is so beautiful. Third set vs. Raonic.

The toilet has magical features. I dont know what they are doing there

What are Porna’s and Shapo’s respective skin colors?

The best part of the Cologne semi between FAA and RBA, other than Felix winning, was when the live band sang PYT to Felix.

What's PYT?

Pretty young thing, R266.

Nice.

From LPSG

Zverev and Melo are always together?

Bad link, R269.

R271 now?

Shapo working with a sports shrink now...

Happy weekend everyone!

Shapo was really angry with someone of the audience

R258 Why do you have such a hard-on for Carlos Alcaraz? He's 17 and 150 in the world. SO what? Call me when he's in the top 50 and actually a contender.

Very bizarre match between Coric and Raonic

It was icky, R277,

Coric and Raonic? Talk about beauty and the beast!

R276 He is 17 and 150 in the world. The next 17 yo in the rankings is Holger Rune who is 548 in the world.

I don't understand why the mention of Alcaraz upsets you but not about Musetti who is 18 and 123. He is not top 50 either or a contender to anything.

By the way, people talked about Felix here way before he was top 100

draws for next week out (Antwerp, Cologne again and for the ladies Ostrava)

I'm guessing covid is the reason why there's back to back tournaments in Cologne?

And double spanish victory on challengers this week.

Munar defeated Sousa (76 62) on Lisbon. Alcaraz defeated Martinez (76 63) on Alicante

I think Felix is going to lose his sixth consecutive final

Zverev wins 63 63.

Felix won zero sets in his six finals. Something he should improve as soon as possible

Zverev won a tournament. Gross.

Rublev won in St. Petersburg

WTF is with this bizarre trophy ceremony in St. Petersburg? They had a useless dance number and a silly concert with a Kylie lookalike. Was the ghost of Allan Carr involved?

I saw that R287, Cheap Eurovision-like trash.....I have never seen anything like that.

Djere won in Sardinia

mmmm, Laslo Djere

Who's hotter than Borna?

What is Borna’s skin color?

he has an outie...eww

R287... i know, i know i was laughing my ass off! totally WEIRD-A-RAMA! i would have been crying tears if i am been there in person! lol!...

Djere

Poor Borna lost the final and had to stay and watch the entire silly show. Last year they had Anastacia! (the singer)

The director of Saint Petersburgh made a "joke" hopeing Borna (who lose his second final there) don't do like the loser of Cologne who just "lost his 8th final". Apart of the obvious mistake (Felix only played six finals), the joke is not funny for several reasons. Making fun at someone who is not there is bad taste, second Borna already has 2 titles.

The 40 minutes ceremony was enough torture without the need of bad jokes

[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.]

Fortunately they skipped the cringe-inducing trophy ceremony when they replayed the St. Petersburg match on Tennis Channel.

R280 You're the only one who seems to be talking about Carlos on this board. Are you into teen boys?

I'm way late to this thread - and that's as someone who has played tennis since I was 8 and am a huge fan.

Anyway, have Rublev gay rumors been discussed. For years I've participated on the Talk Tennis forums and someone posted something today suggesting Rublev might have outed himself during the St. Petersburg trophy presentation.

Page 39 (the link should take you right there) and the poster "phl92."

here's the next thread in advance for when this gets paywalled, probably happening soon

R301 that's interesting but how do we know he's not just joking?

I don't know enough about his personality except that he loves heavy metal music

We don't R303. I honestly have no idea and had never heard anything about Rublev - though I only started paying attention to him in the last year. The Talk Tennis poster seemed genuine in his curiosity - wasn't saying he was absolutely gay; wasn't being homophobic if he were.

Rublev reminds me of a shorter Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth.

He's not remotely gay with hair like that!

[quote] Rublev reminds me of a shorter Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth.

My thoughts carried me elsewhere.

Rublev looks fine in the link and the hug is sweet. Medusa arrives though when he scowls and his hair is in a sweaty mop.

I don't mind Rublev at all. He's feisty and has a beautiful FH and is a good mover. I don't think he's hot, but hes' got game.

Rublev, looks best with straight shorter hair and bangs like in R307 posting.... funny how he can look so "blah" on court while playing but in photos off the court he can look almost male model handsome....... never seen such a huge contrast in this matter of any male player in recent years....

R300 I am spanish, he is our best prospect. I talk about Musetti too and i talked about Sinner when he was in challengers.

The thread is about tennis, i found interesting to see who is going to be the next big thing (or the next overhyped fail).

If you have a problem with that there's a block buttom and you can skip all my posts

And i don't know a thing about Rublev, but even if he was more open (he is living in Spain most of the time) i doubt any russian will come out on any sport with the way thing are in their country right now.

Anyway, he seems to be religious (like Coric and some other youngsters)

OK, I watched that video and Rublev just says "I love you" to his coach during the trophy presentation. I also watched the end of the match and Rublev collapsed and cried on court like he had won a slam, so I think winning the title in Russia was just very important and emotional for him.

Rublev's grandma died friday, so i suppose that was a big part of the emotions he felt

Antwerp:

Lopez def. Paul 6-3 6-2

Tiafoe def. Lajovic 6-3 7-6(6)

Humbert def. Coppejans 6-4 6-3

Cologne 2

Kecmanovic def. Nagal 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1

Mannarino def. Popyrin 6-2 6-2

Simon def. Thompson 6-3 7-5

Nishioka def. Edmund 6-4 6-0

Gerasimov def. Altmaier 6-1 6-0

Johnson upsets Cilic 7-6(3) 6-4

Ostrava

Sakkari def. Krystyna Pliskova 6-3 6-3

Krejcikova def. Martincova 7-6 6-1

Kontaveit def. Alexandrova 4-6 6-2 7-6(6) saves 2 match points

Sorribes Tormo def. Linette 6-1 6-3

There's suddenly a whole bunch of youngsters I really enjoy watching. Don't know why this group excites me, as where the mid 20s-30 group (Thiem's peers) never really did much for me.

Rublev

Medvedev

Sinner

Tsitipas

Rudd

Berretrini

Cecchinato

Auger-Assilame

Zverev

Shapovalov

Coric

Fritz

Opelka

JUST OUF OT CURIOSITY: SO WHAT EXACTLY is wrong with andreescu and on the men's side, south korean chung?

I'm a bit mystified by Andreescu. Did she have some big surgery? Or does cray run in the family?

What happened with Andreescu?

R315, some of those guys are closer to Thiem's generation or even older. Cecchinato is 28. Medvedev (shudder), Zverev (gag), Coric and Berrettini are in their mid-20s now, a couple of years or so within Thiem's age. FAA, Tsitsipas, Sinner and Rublev are the most exciting of of the 19-22 crowd, at least from my perspective. Shapo can't be discounted, but he seems to be all serve and blast.

Andreescu. Explanation please.

You're right, R318 - Medvedev and Berrettini are 24 now, so mid 20s.

Checchinato - I thought there was ANOTHER young Italian. Maybe he's just new to me and that's why I thought he was younger.

Everyone else is 23 or younger, though birthdays could be soon for some. Zverev and Coric and still 23, at least according to the ATP rankings webpage.

Musetti

Andreescu is taking the year off. I think she's smart to do so, and I love her attitude.

Good player, but I don't like Andreescu. She's done; she won't win another Slam,

Musetti needs to get that nasty chin mole removed.

There's a good bunch of young italians, Zeppieri, Gigante or Nardi (who lost today against Giron in three set). Nardi is the youngest (he is 17).

From the ones who are high enough in the ranking to play a GS, Musetti and Sinner are clearly the ones to watch. Musetti will have a lot of fans for his classical style, his game is easy on the eyes.

And i don't agree about Andreescu, If she returns healthy (and it's a big if given her previous problems) she will win a good bunch of GS, she has game and attitude for that

Nadal has announced that he is going to Paris--Bercy. Does anyone know if he is going to London?

[quote]Does anyone know if he is going to London?

According to Spanish sport newspaper MARCA he is

He'll be a fool is he doesn't play the nitto finals.

He usually ends the year exhausted and with some minor injuries. This year he is healthy.

His chances are not that big, it's an event in his worst surface and everyone is a threat, but this will be probably his last chance to win the tournament and that would be a great win if he is able to do it

I still can't believe Nole is going to play Viena instead of Paris-Bercy. It's obvious he wants to end the year as number one, but skipping a masters 1000 to play a 500 it's ridiculous and even more when he has a lot of chances to win points at the nitto finals (because he was pretty bad last year)

Novak could be getting a big appearance fee for Vienna.

I think Nadal could take a break and rest for the Australian Open. A win there is more important than a win at the WTF.

Yeah, I dunno. I'm canadian and I enjoy watching Shapo play and I root for him but.. he's not superficially very attractive. He's kinda got all the worst kinds of russian features and none of the best. R252 is a VERY flattering photograph.

He's sexy. Like Rafa is sexy. They can't help it.

Results today:

Antwerp

Giron def. Nardi 4-6 6-4 6-1

de Minaur def. Gasquet 3-6 7-6(5) 6-3 Gasquet served for the match in the 2nd set

Andujar def. F. Coria 6-2 6-3

Norrie def. Ruusuvuori 6-3 7-6(4)

Evans def. Caruso 6-2 3-6 6-3

#528 21 year old Zizou Bergs upsets Ramos-Vinolas 7-5 7-5 his first main draw win

Harris def. Moutet 7-5 6-2

Cologne 2

Millman def. Verdasco 6-4 6-2

Herbert def. Sandgren 6-3 3-6 6-3

Sinner def. Duckworth 6-1 6-2

Davidovich Fokina def. Dzumhur 6-2 6-3

Otte def. Novak 6-3 6-2

Ostrava

Jabeur def. Strycova 6-2 6-2

Muchova def. Zhang 6-1 6-1

Gauff def. Siniakova 7-5 6-4

Kastakina upsets Rybakina 6-2 3-6 6-3

Brady def. Yastremska 3-6 7-6(6) 6-1

Kudermetova def. Vekic 6-2 6-4

Zizou Bergs is kind of adorable. I watched the game and he reminded me of Andy Roddick with his mannerisms and bravado. Highly enjoyable.

R333, I don't think Shapo is physically attractive, but there are flashes of joy in the way he plays, and that's rare.

[quote]there are flashes of joy in the way he plays

That's nicely said.

Zizou...

PGB and his indomitable crotch have lost to Humbert in 3 sets.

PCB?

PCB....sorry! Andújar is looking mighty fine vs. Dimitrov. Andújar makes me want to sing "What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man."

I love that we have our contingent of tennis gays!

I used to love Alejandro Fall from Columbia . Thick bodied and and musky. Lol. There's a lot of nice eye candy in tennis, and even if they're not lookers, there's some nice bodies, particularly asses and packages to look at.

Well, Andújar lost in three. Dimitrov looks like such an eager bottom.

FAA shitting the bed against a qualie

Felix gets broken at 5-5 in the second. He lost the first set 6 -4

FAA "has potential" as if often said. I mean he's ranked 17 and is only 20 years old. So in a way he's already fulfilled a lot of potential. The issue is whether he can make that next-level jump - Top 10, deep Slam runs, beating top players. He's up and down to some degree, as would be expected for a youngster.

Does any find Raonic to be the weirdest, creepiest looking dude?

oh, okay, Felix breaks back now, off to to a breaker, don't be a mouse Felix!

[quote] Does any find Raonic to be the weirdest, creepiest looking dude?

Yes. I’ve referred to him as the “porcine Milos Raonic”.

Felix takes the tiebreak, hope that lit a fire under him for the third

Raonic isn't classically good-looking but I find him rather beautiful. Also he seems to be a really good bloke.

Raonic reminds me of the “pig people” from The Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder”.

Raonic is solid. Well liked on the tour. So grounded. A good person. Greatly improved movement; disappointing about his injuries keeping him out of so many matches that he could do well in. I'm liking the "I don't give a fuck hair; tennis is my job and my life right now, call me a freak I don't give a fuck" look.

He does seem like a good dude, R351. So I probably shouldn't be ragging on his looks.

Maybe Canada can get a Davis Cup victory out of FAA, Shapovalov, Raonic, and Popisl.

That said, Davis Cup really doesn't require depth. One top player can essentially win it for a country along with a decent doubles team. Or back in the day the star player would play doubles as well - so really just two players - the star and his doubles partner could bring home a title.

But having depth helps in terms of having options for specific matchups and using different players on different surfaces if need be.

3 match points for Felix (holding breath) .... oops, two match points now ... oops, one match point ....

... and deuce ... and advantage quallie ....and Quallie breaks Felix ( awww, sad face)

Does anyone else think Reiley Opelka has an insane big dick face and big dick "head"*

*the head on this neck, not his dick head.

FAA pulled it out, making it needlessly difficult for himself.

Good for him. Confidence is a weird, important thing and he doesn't seem to have it consistently.

He's 0-6 in finals.

You can look at it as he's only 20 and has made 6 ATP finals already (that's what I choose) - a positive. Or you can interpret it as a burgeoning problem with closing - a negative. Granted he had to close all the matches to make the finals. Plus, he really wasn't clearly favored in them, except maybe one. He was the clear underdog multiple times. Those six finals were across all surfaces - hard, grass, clay.

Yeah that's tough. Enough to give you a complex ... most players aren't Lendl.

FAA can also take comfort since Gerasimov is no slouch either. Egor's pulled out two big wins this year, over then-top-10 Goffin in February and over 24th-ranked Lajovic at the USO.

Lajovic is kinda dreamy

....

Rog agrees

[quote] If his [Milos'] manager doesn't respond, you might try his dad.

Nah. He's the most average looking player ever. Not objectionable by any means, but "dreamy"? Not even close.

To each his own, R369. For me Lajovic is one of those players who can look ordinary one day and extraordinary tne next.

[quote]And callipygous all days

and that's a DAMNED good thing

Well, Shapovalov has lost against Simon (oui, my crotch is still delicious) in three sets. Surprising. Consistency is not a quality that the younger players possess.

Especially Shapovalov who hits huge and can often be too high-risk. Don't get me wrong, he's an aggressive player, so some errors are to be expected. But, he sometimes has poor shot selection and really chooses the wrong time to go for high-risk shots.

I just watched the last part of the third set and I do not think Shapo gave a damn. He lost the first set 6-1. I wonder if he is okay. And this is a surface that responds to his game.

and Zizou just won the first set against Karen Katzanov!

Zizou Pitts?

Beautiful Giron won!!!!

Felix and L'il Diego semi-final. All kinds of sexy in Cologne!

Felix is developing some mins thighs.

Felix stays cute.