The Gays and Tennis Part 65: fall tournament swing

last thread now paywalled

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

Here's the previous thread.

31 yr old Julia Goerges has announced her retirement

Well goodbye, Goerges!

she was OK at her best never amazing

I think she had the potential to be bigger than she was. She has a very good forehand, but tennis is more than hitting the ball hard.

Anyway, she had a pretty decent career

Results today

Antwerp

de Minaur def Lopez 6-4 6-2

Dimitrov def. Andujar 4-6 6-3 6-4

Evans def. Tiafoe 7-6(3) 6-2

Humbert def. PCB 5-7 6-3 6-4

Raonic def. Bedene 6-3 7-6(4)

Fritz def Opelka 7-6(5) 6-1

Cologne 2

Zverev def. Millman 6-0 3-6 6-3 Zverev hit 10 dfs

Mannarino def. Kecmanovic 6-3 6-3

FAA def. Gerasimov 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4) Gerasimov served for the match in the second set

Davidovich Fokina def. Johnson 7-6(3) 6-3

Struff def. Cecchinato 6-3 6-1

Ostrva

Sakkari upsets Svitolina 6-3 6-3

Azarenka def. Krejcikova 2-6 6-2 6-1

Sorribes Tormo upsets Kontaveit 6-1 6-4

Ostapenko upsets Martic 6-3 6-1

Mertens def. Anisimova 6-2 6-3

Is anyone watching Simon? Is he bulging as usual?

Gauff has a problem and if they don't work hard on her serve she'll underperform big time.

Michelle Larcher de Brito and Karatancheva made waves very young but their serve was a big no. Being inmerse on the circuit doesn't give you time to make the changes you need to improve. Coco better work hard on the off season or she will start to feel the pressure of being labelled the next big thing

Awful match from Shapovalov. He has a great backhand and a very good forehand but no gameplan at all.

The attitude was awful. The positive thing for him is he is not going to be destroyed by Sinner next round

And Shapo's bellowing "come on!" after nearly every point he wins is way more annoying than it was with Hewitt, who was already quite annoying.

Results today:

Antwerp

Giron upsets #1 seed Goffin 6-3 7-5

Raonic def. Norrie 7-5 7-6(4)

Khachanov def. Zizou Bergs 5-7 6-4 6-4

Harris upsets Fritz 7-5 7-6(3)

Cologne 2

Simon upsets Shapovalov 6-1 4-6 6-2

Sinner def. Herbert 6-3 6-1

Nishioka upsets Struff 2-6 6-3 7-6(3)

Schwartzman def. Otte 6-3 6-2

Ostrava

Jabeur def. Ostapenko 6-4 6-4

Mertens def. Muchova 6-4 6-2

Sabalenka def. Gauff 1-6 7-5 7-6(2)

Brady def. Kastakina 7-5 6-2

Kudermetova upsets Pliskova 4-6 6-4 6-3

I thought Zizou was adorable. I was hoping he’d go farther...

Wow, a lot has to change to Davidovich have a decent future in tennis no matter how talented he is.

One thing is being break the three times you serve for match and other very different doing repeating again and again the same mistakes. If dropshots are not working everybody with a brain stops doing dropshots, but not Alejandro.

And he got totally out of the match in the third set.

Diego didn't play well but Alejandro deserved to lose

Sinner stopped Simon's buldge from advancing to the semifinal

I thought Simon had it wrapped up.

Gilles IS serving some major bulge...

Nishioka looks ridiculous with his dyed orange hair and hoop earring.

Today's results

Antwerp

de Minaur def. Giron 6-3 6-0

Dimitrov def. Raonic via walkover citing abdominal strain

Evans upsets Khachanov 3-6 7-6(7) 6-4

Humbert def. Harris 6-3 7-6(2)

Cologne 2

Zverev def. Mannarino 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4

Sinner def. Simon 6-3 0-6 6-4

FAA def. Nishioka 6-3 6-4

Schwartzman def. Davidovich Fokina 2-6 7-6(3) 6-1

Ostrava

Sakkari def. Jabeur 3-6 6-3 6-1

Azarenka def. Mertens 6-4 6-1

Sabalenka def. Sorribes Tormo 0-6 6-4 6-0

Brady def. Kudermetova 6-7(5) 6-3 6-1

Evans v Khachanov was very dramatic.

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard the word fuck in a tennis match as much as in Evans vs Khachanov.

R21 "FUCKING CIRCUS!"

The commentators on Amazon Prime here in the UK had to keep apologising. I genuinely thought Khachanov was going to be defaulted. I know not all the calls were good but kicking the net and repeatedly smacking the umpire's chair deserve more than a warning? Let alone leaving the court without permission and without a mask on.

damn sounds like fun drama. I missed it

I'm looking forward to Zverev vs. Sinner rematch. That is if Zverev plays. He had a medical timeout before the second set tiebreak today. He won't want to lose to Sinner again

OK just saw the end of the second set of Evans Khachanov I agree that the behavior could have warranted in a default. I've never seen Khachanov get so angry before but he hasn't had a great yera

K. Hemsworth

Is Khachanov still married to a woman? Imagine all the bussy he could fuck. What a waste.

Why was Karen cursing in English instead of Russian?

so many younger players from various countries all have better English than Nadal who's had more practice over 15 years worth

lmfao Boris Becker is still a fucking mess!

how embarrassing

R28 For someone who's probably spent more time in Paris than any other tennis player, I think the only word he knows in French is 'Merci'.

R28 Nadal english improved a lot, it was way worse when he was younger.

If the final is Sinner-Felix, the pressure over Felix will be inmense.

Diego is not playing well, he only won because Davidovich had a massive choke (you can see the best and the worst of Alejandro's game in only one match)

R27 It's never a good idea tu curse in a language that everybody understand. I think Pablo Carreño complained about Shapovalov insulting him in the US Open, but he did it in russian so the empire didn't understood a word

[quote]I think the only word he knows in French is 'Merci'.

Not true, bitch. He gave an acceptance speech in French this year. He's no Baudelaire, but it was French.

People laugh about the english level of some players but if the official language wasn't english i think most american players will struggle big time

R33 Memorising a few words of thanks isn't particularly difficult nor impressive. Even Serena can conduct an on-court interview in French.

Nadal must have the worst foreign language skills of any top player. Even Murray speaks fluent Spanish, and we Brits are not famed for our language skills.

Murray lived and trained in Spain for many years. Rafa trained in Mallorca. I'm betting Rafa's Spanish is better than Andy's.

Anyway, Rafa has 20 majors.

Russians are very good with languages, i think Medvedev speaks 4 or 5, and Rublev has a good spanish

R36 You're willing to bet Nadal's Spanish is better than Murray's? Wow. That's some claim!

(what is your point?)

Iga Świątek is in quarantine after coming into contact with Covid positive Polish president Duda who gave her the Golden Cross of Merit yesterday.

Poor Iga, that's what you get to be in contact with bastards but of course she can't avoid him even if she wanted

this is my point R38

Anett Kontaveit's English is probably the best of the non-English speakers. She speaks not only with a British accent, as opposed to the American accent of most players, but she even has a bit of Estuary English going on. It's really impressive.

Dare we say, Khachanov’s inner Karen came out?

I understand Alejandro Davidovich Fokina speaks very good Spanish!

Evans and Humbert is entertaining.... Evans plays with his dick a lot

Zverev is playing now? with whom?

A. Zverev?

with Sinner, sinner wins 4-2

I like Sinner a lot. Many think he's the best of Next Gen - even though he just starting breaking through a couple months ago.

I want FAA to win vs. Schwartzman, but it will be tough task - I feel Diego will run so much down and get FAA to go for too much and make errors. People love the "pocket rocket" appeal of Diego, but he's really not someone I care about. Don't dislike him, but also don't really someone I'm dying to see advance.

I should qualify that - Many think Sinner is the best of the youngest group of teens of 20 year olds and "could" be the best of Next Gen overall.

Sinner lost the first set in a tiebreak

And De Miñaur won the first set in a tiebreak also vs. the always handsome Dimitrov

I wanted a Sinner-Felix final but i don't think it's going to happen.

Felix has good chances if Diego plays as bad as yesterday (without Davidovich collaboration that match should have end with a 62 62)

Jim at R52, tell us what you really think.

Today's results:

Antwerp

de Minaur def. Dimitrov 7-6(4) 6-7(3) 6-4

Humbert def. Evans 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4

#nextgen final!!! the 2 have never played before

Cologne 2

Zverev def. Sinner 7-6(3) 6-3

Schwartzman def. FAA 6-4 5-7 6-4

Ostrava

Azarenka def. Sakkari 6-1 6-3

Sabalenka def. Brady 6-4 6-4

is this the first all-Belarussian final?

so Evans saved a match point yesterday and blew I think 4 today

Vienna draw is packed

Djokovic vs. Krajinovic

Coric vs. Fritz

Tsitsipas vs. Struff

Dimitrov vs. Khachanov

Shapovalov vs. Rodionov-look out for Rodionov last year he went on a challenger winning streak and is now into main draws this year.

Monfils vs. RCB

Medvedev vs. de Minaur

Sinner vs. Ruud

Wawrinka vs. Garin

Thiem vs. Nishikori

Schwartzman, Rublev and FAA are also in the draw

Nur-Sultan draw

Paire and Kecmanovic, Mannarino and Millman are top 4 seeds with byes

Thompson vs. Norrie

Bublik vs. McDonald

Verdasco vs. Duckworth

Sandgren vs. Vesely

Gerasimov vs. Harris

Tiafoe vs. Moutet

Geesh a lot of those first round matchups are really good.

shame that stan has thiem so soon, he is not gonna survive it

Team Azalenka, De Minaur and Swartzman!

Team Lil' Diego!

Vika looks like she’s dying...

Team Ugo!!!

Ugo won!

Humbert is pretty effective in finals

Zverev too

The new system benefits some players and clearly is detrimental to others.

Watching the points won this year you get that Gasquet is 54 when he would be 108 with the points of this year, others who benefited are Kukushkin 89 (119), Basilashvilli 34 (134), López 62 (141), Verdasco 61 (147), Querrey 50 (149), Nishikori 36 (193), Chardy 73 (207) and Sousa 81 (229).

On the other hand Gulbis is 175 and would be 96, Huesler 187 (95), Otte 141 (89), Korda 138 (87), Rodionov 151 (85), Wolf 122 (74), Altmaier 124 (59), Alcaraz 136 (58), Musetti 123 (55) and Karatsev 111 (51).

On the top 10 Rublev would be number 4

Shapovalov has lost in the first round vs. Rodionov in two quick sets. Surprising.

I'm not that surprised. Shapalov has been playing a lot of consecutive weeks and might me a little taxed. Plus, he's a player who can go off the rails and start missing a lot, as much as he can get in a groove and hit all sorts of incredible shots. And, he's emotional, so things can go downhill quickly he gets in his own head.

What is the new system?

Azarenka is currently 14th in the world. Under the proper system she'd be No.4.

This is a permanent change to the rankings? Or temporary?

Never mind, I found the info.

Stan's thiem's and nadal's are the best

Shapovalov didn't serve well but Rodionov is a very good indoors player. He went on a challenger tear last year. He's very aggressive and takes returns early. He's fun to watch

Coric def. Fritz 6-4 6-4

PCB def. Monfils 6-1 2-0 ret with neck issue

Anderson survives against Novak 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(6)

Rublev def. Gombos 6-3 6-2

Nur-Sultan results

Thompson def. Norrie 5-7 7-6(6) 6-2

Paul def. Travaglia 7-6(2) 6-3

Albot def. Popko 4-6 6-4 6-4

Verdasco def. Duckworth 6-4 7-6(5)

Tiafoe def. Moutet 6-3 6-2

Lil Diego's girlfriend's Insta is the place to be.

He is so fucking hot.

They're very cute together, R75, and look happy.

Vienna results:

Djokovic def. Krajinovic 7-6(6) 6-3 Krajinovic served for 1st set at 5-3

Hurkacz def. Balazs 6-3 7-5

Sonego def. Lajovic 6-4 6-3

Dimitrov def. Khachanov 7-6(6) 6-3

Evans def. Bedene 6-3 4-5 ret

Garin def. Wawrinka 6-4 6-7(9) 6-3

Thiem def. Sachko 6-4 7-5

Nur-Sultan results

Ruusuvuori def. Skatov 6-2 6-0

Sugita def. Dzumhur 6-1 5-7 6-4

Sppi def. Karatsev 6-3 1-6 6-3

Vesely upsets Sandgren 6-4 7-6(7)

Gerasimov def. Harris 6-3 3-6 7-6(3)

Sascha Zverev has got a young lady pregnant.

and they broke up already lmao

Zverev loves drama doesn't he

Zverev is so fucking dumb. I hope the baby distracts him.

Damn. We’ll see how he plays in Paris and London. If it is his we can expect to see 12,000 double faults.

It's his ex-girlfriend and she's 20 weeks gone.

And Flopos demonstrates definitively his bad character on and off the court.

A. Zverev?

Borna had so many opportunities in the first set, but it's the same old story when someone plays agains one of the big 3, no matter if they are playing better they end losing

Felix lost against Pospisil and Sinner defeated Ruud

[quote]no matter if they are playing better they end losing

That's because they're mental midgets. Whereas Rafa, Novak and Roger (in that order) HATE HATE HATE to lose.

Zverev has been accused of domestic abuse by an ex girlfriend.....

R87 to be clear it's a separate ex gf from the one who is pregnant. She posted on instagram about being abused last August in NYC but did not name the guy. Most assume it's Zverev. People also dug up a pic of Zverev during 1 of his matches when he had scratches on his neck. It might not be related but it was weird to see.

Coric was the better player in the first set today except on his 3 break points and then his 3 set points in the tiebreak. He faltered at the worst moments then he seemed mentally worn out in the 2nd. Djokovic is just so damn tough to beat. I'm beyond sick of this guy. I will say Coric served amazingly in the first set and if he can start doing that more often he'll be top 10. His game is actually quite similar to Djokovic except that Coric has a flawed fh grip that can get him into trouble.

Disappointing about FAA but he's probably exhausted.

Anderson upset PCB 7-5 6-1

Tsitsipas def. Struff 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 those 2 always have tough matches

Medvedev made quick work of Jung 6-3 6-1

Sinner def. Ruud 7-6(2) 6-3

Nur-Sultan:

Paul def. Albot 6-4 6-0

Millman def. Verdasco 6-3 6-4 in a near repeat of last week Cologne result

Gerasimov def. Vesely 4-6 6-3 6-4

Tiafoe def. Kecmanovic 7-5 6-3

Kukushkin def. Delbonis 6-7(5) 6-3 6-2

McDonald upsets Bublik 6-3 6-2

a bunch of potentially fun Vienna matches tomorrow:

Evans vs. Rodionov

Medvedev vs Pospisil

Thiem vs. Garin

Tsitsipas vs. Dimitrov

Rublev vs. Sinner

What's Coric's grip R89? Full Western? I know Karen has that and it holds him back.

R90 seems like it. When Coric times it well he can hit with a lot of power. He had an amazing shot the other day against Fritz. When he's rushed on that side he makes errors. Coric, Khachanov, Wawrinka, Sock, Tiafoe, Gulbis, Paire, all have unusual fh grips/motions and usually are the cause when they lose matches.

HAHA Zverev is in so much trouble.

H.A.H.A. Zverev

[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.]

R94, those allegations are really unpleasant.

Ruble and his ti amore won

Domicakes and bulge.

If you don’t follow this IG account, you should.

Thank you. Thank you so much, R97. Delicious and beautiful.

baby got back!

HAHA Zverev is now the most punchable face in the ATP.

Zverev must be missing the times the only thing people gossip about him was that he and Melo were more than friends

Have there been any developments with respect to any white male players with yellow skins?

He just posted on instagram

he acknowledges the baby with the first ex gf

he denies the abuse allegations by the second ex gf

I don’t understand why the girlfriend didn’t go to the police before she went to social media?

social media really brings the cray, that's why

interesting twist

Gavrilova believes Olya

He's totally sketch.

His behavior on court is rotten, he's arrogant and dismissive in his post-match press conferences, and he flouts COVID protocol with no regard for anyone else. It's no surprise that he's just as offensive in his personal life.

R104, she talks about that in her posting. She believed she was in love with him and that it was just a bad moment that wasn’t going to happen again. Lots of women talk themselves into believing crap like that.

R109 That't not the answer. Didn't you understand the question?

I was the one who was to blame.

Olya was an accomplished junior. She played against and with a lot of the current WTA players.

[quote] She played against and with a lot of the current WTA players.

And she had a relationship with a man?

Some surprising results today in Vienna:

lucky loser Sonego upsets Hurkacz 7-6(6) 7-6(2)

Dimitrov upsets Tsitsipas 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3

Evans def. wildcard Rodionov 7-5 6-3

Medvedev def. Pospisil 6-4 6-3 6-2

Rublev def. Sinner 2-1 ret right foot injury

Thiem def. Garin 6-3 6-2

Nur-Sultan:

Kukushkin upsets top seed Paire 6-7(4) 7-6(2) 6-1

Ruusuvuori upsets Thompson 6-2 3-6 6-4

Mannarino def. Sugita 6-1 6-1

McDonald def. Seppi 3-6 6-3 6-3

Tommy Paul was up 5-0 in final set tiebreaker against Millman. Millman won seven straight points and the match.

Tommy Paul is so good looking.

Rublev gets the W over local hero Thiem

When you go back to his interview with atp it's pretty funny the way he mocked Melo for not knowing how to treat women. Well, it seems he is way worse.

I find really surprising how he tries to make people believe him and his baby mama have a good relationship after break up when it's pretty clear in her words that's not the case.

Sonego is winning against Nole 62 21, of course ending these kind of matches is not that easy

AHAHAHA IT'S NO-VAXXX CHOKER-BITCH!

hhahahahahahhahahahhaha

Refreshing!

Novak was, as usual, a real cunt at the end of the match. He just stopped trying, as if to say, “You’re not beating me—I’m not even trying here”.

The biggest cunt on tour.

His arrogance is astronomical.

He's stated that he's trying to set the record for week at No. 1. I wouldn't think that pressure is overwhelming - he has time. Not to pile on, but I've never been a huge Djokovic fan.

it did seem like Djokovic was a bit tired. He had tough first sets against Krajinovic and Coric. Sonego played well but Djokovic was not his usual level

In addition to Millman upsetting Paul in that dramatic tiebreak,

Tiafoe def. Gerasimov 7-6(5) 5-7 7-5 Geraasimov was serving at 4-3 30-30 in the third before Tiafoe came back

Ruusuvuori def. Kukushkin 6-3 6-1 surprising beatdown

Mannarino def. McDonald 6-1 6-4

"it did seem like Djokovic was a bit tired. He had tough first sets against Krajinovic and Coric. Sonego played well but Djokovic was not his usual level "

Players are rarely at their peak. His sub-optimal level is still pretty a high and he should probably still beat someone like Sonego.

It's been a while since Djokovic was defeated so clearly for the last time (by someone who is not Roger or Rafa)

[quote]The biggest cunt on tour.

Zut, alors. I thought at least THAT record was safe.

I would love to see Djokovic and Nadal receive more 1 sided beatdowns in the next year. As they age it has to be coming.

R129 Justine wasn't actually unpopular among the other players.

[quote] Justine wasn't actually unpopular among the other players.

It’s because they were fornicating with her. All of them!

"I would love to see Djokovic and Nadal receive more 1 sided beatdowns in the next year. As they age it has to be coming."

I can't see it happening that much. Once it happens in a Slam, they'll probably retire. They don't strike me as players like Connors or Venus who would stick around just to play and see what they can do knowing they're well past their prime.

R129 Justine was not unpopular with other players and he was quite popular between fans even when she is not exactly charismatic (but her game spoke for her). Most vilification of Justine came from Serena fans and the famous hand incident in 2003 (they tend to forget the fact that Justine played better than Serena at that match and that Serena is no angel in terms of behaviour on court).

Wta is full of cunts you only need to watch junior matches to know there will never be a shortage of cunts on the circuit. You watch the best U14 tournament in the world, Les petits as, and boys matches generally end with a handshake and a hug, girls matches always end in tears.

It's not like the atp is the summer camp they want us to believe but the level of bitchery is lower

I will miss the next gen finals. It gave us those unbelievable sexist moments where the models show the group the players belong (Rublev's uncomfortable face was priceless).

With this years points the first 8 would be: Shapovalov, FAA, Sinner, De Miñaur, Kecmanovic, Davidovich, Musetti and Alcaraz, i suppose with two italians in the top 8 they wouldn't use the wc to another italian

Rafa has broken another record and I am posting about it because I find it very surprising. Most consecutive weeks inside the top Ten. I am surprised that Federer and Djokovic are not higher. Btw, that is almost 15 years as a top ten....it is mind boggling.

Most consecutive weeks inside the ATP Top Ten:

Rafael Nadal 788 weeks Jimmy Connors 787 weeks Roger Federer 734 weeks Ivan Lendl 619 weeks Pete Sampras 565 weeks Novak Djokovic 555 weeks

Both Federer and Djokovic fell out of top 10 during their respective slumps meanwhile Rafa was able to keep himself in the lower part of the top 10

Is that a record that matters at all. I've never heard in referenced in sorting out GOAT lists. Weeks at No. 1, sure.

Who is GOAT?

I love rhetorical questions R139.

GOAT = Greatest of All Time.

Over at Talk Tennis forums - there's endless GOAT debates. Not only who is "Thee" GOAT - No. 1. But, also the GOAT list - a list of the greatest players - and where different players should fall - i.e., "Should Becker be above Edberg on the GOAT list?"

Is GOAT clay specialist?

Lorenzo Sonego is a cute Italian boy. By the way, I love that they have the ball kids using racket baskets to catch and hold the tennis balls. I hope they spread that practice to other tournaments to go along with the HUGE improvement of eliminating the lines judges/challenge system.

Trying to figure out GOAT while their careers are still underway is ridiculous.

Titsi’s brother. A comment on the post says he plays on the tour.

Like an avant-garde version of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

meh, he's no Titsy

R145 Petros is number 1050 right now, he is 20.

I think they have a younger brother, Pavlos, he is 15 (he didn't play any tournament this year)

Berretini has a brother playing on tour too, Jacopo is almost 22 and number 487

And Rublev won his fifth title of the season

Rublev won. Paris starts tomorrow, and will li'l Diego or Berrettini qualify for the ATP finals?

diego is in (i think) coz federer is out , but berrettini?

R151 they are already facoting Feder being out.

Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem, Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, Rublev are the 7 already in

I read that Berrettini's dropping 200 points so he'd have to get through to the finals to have a chance of qualifying. I think it'll take a miracle as his form's not been great since New York.

The Race to the Finals situation (last year's points already dropped) currently is

Schwartzman 3285

Berrettini 2875

Monfisl 2860

Shapovalov 2830

Bautista 2710

Goffin 2555

Carreno 2400

So yes, Berrettini needs the final. Because semifinal is 360 points

I like Matteo but he doesn't deserve to get to the nitto finals this year. For lil Diego is a big opportunity, even if he is going to have a tough time on the tournament because he is the weakest of the 8 on that surface by far

For either Berrettini or Monfils to get the eighth ATP Finals berth, they'll have to make the Paris finals, and Schwartzman will have to get no farther than the quarters. Goffin and PCB also have remote chances if they win Paris, and Schwartzman and the other contenders lose early. So Diego pretty much has the eighth spot clinched.

Monfils, Bautista and Shapovalos withdrew from Paris. So they are out.

Millman finaly wins a title over the other guy horrible in finals, Mannarino in Nur-Sultan

By the way i found a Rublev's interview and i get the gay rumours, when you say that you can spend 24 hours a day for the rest of your life with your coach and not get bored it's easy to understand that some people think your coach is something more than a coach for you

I hope PCB makes it.

Porna beats Fucsabitch. The ha d some umpire is presiding over Giron (who is the definition of thiccc)

What was that,12 deuce points until FAA breaks Cilic's service game in the second set?

Also, Felix is showing his abs a lot today.

Well at least he was able to win the second set after the big fat zero of the first.

Cilic lost to Johnsson and to Davidovich in the previous weeks, Felix should win this

it is almost 9pm and there are 2 matches in schedule

The Paris Masters is not surprisingly the masters with the most unpredictable results given that it's the end of the year and right before the World Tour Finals.

Interesting, Nadal has never won it and only been to the final once in 2007 when he lost 4-6 0-6 to a zoning Nalbandian

Federer has only won the title once

Djokovic is the bip 3er who has capitalized the most on this tournament, winning it 5 times.

Khachanov and Davidovich must be praying PCB finish Gaston fast or they will play very very late

what are they waiting for/ they should put gaston PCB on second court

Why do they have lines-people in Paris? Why aren't they just using Hawkeye? It speeds up the game and eliminates mistakes.

Hi. No-Vaxx at [R168]!!!

R168 Hawkeye is expensive and not all tournaments can afford it in the Covid era.

R170 This is a masters 1000 not a small tournament.

And Felix lost. He better hurry up or Sinner will ate all his hype

Felix has been having a rough time of it lately, but with the exception of the FO quarters, Sinner hasn't been getting all that far into the draws routinely . The <22 players haven't been very consistent lately.

FAA just played 4 weeks in a row didn't he? He has to be tired. He had some good results this year.

Yes, FAA has played more tournaments than anyone else in the top 25 this year (and since the return from the hiatus).

Day 1 roundup

Lopez def. Krajinovic 7-6(11) 6-1

Thompson def. Delbonis 6-2 6-3

Coric def. Fucsovics 7-6(5) 6-1

PCB def.. Gaston 6-3 6-2

Struff def. Basilashvili 6-4 6-2

Gombos def. Cecchinato 6-2 7-6(2)

Albot def. Hurkacz 7-5 6-7(5) 6-4

Bonzi def. Coria 6-2 6-1

Davidovich Fokina upsets Khachanov 6-3 2-6 6-2

de Minaur def. Travaglia 6-4 6-4

Giron def. Ramos Vinolas 6-3 4-6 6-1

Cilic def. FAA 6-0 3-6 6-3

Moutet def. Caruso 3-6 7-6(2) 6-3

Humbert def. Ruud 4-6 6-2 7-6(1)

Corentin Moutet has tested positive for Covid.

The Rafa record in the top ten is actually impressive when discussing the GOAT only because his era is with Djokovic and Federer and he has a much lower weeks at #1 than those two even though he has had his fair share of dominant years. He has 20. He also holds record for most consecutive years with at least one GS, by a lot.

R172 Sinner made semifinals in Cologne, third round in Rome apart of FO. He lost to Dimitrov, Zverev and Nadal. None of those matches was a clear defeat.

The sensation is way better with him than with Felix who seems lost half of the time

That's not my point, R178, which is that neither has had consistently solid results. Over the last ten weeks FAA made the finals in Cologne 1, the semis in Cologne 2, and the round of 16 at the USO and Hamburg. He lost early in Rome, the FO, Vienna and Paris.

During that same time Sinner lost in the first round at the USO (to Khachanov, who's also been off and on lately) and didn't even get through the first round of the qualies in Cincinnati, losing to Caruso. Not consistently solid results.

The handsome Tommy Paul beat the humongous crotch Simon.

Tommy Paul can sit on my face.

And with his loss today to Gombos, Goffin crashes out of the competition for the 8th place in the ATP Battle for London.

R179 And i repeat, the sensations from both are totally different. Felix was top 20 last year, people expected big things from him this year but he underperformed in most tournaments (he was lucky he didn't have to defend most points).

Sinner was totally unknown last year, unlike Felix he doesn't have an stellar junior past. Right now people are talking more about Sinner than about Felix and that's for a reason.

ATP players discuss each other:

Apples and oranges, R183--yes, Sinner has achieved some notable results recently, as has FAA. The hype over Sinner actually began in October of last year when he reached the semis in Antwerp and won NextGen the following month (where the highest ranked player was Tiafoe at #47). Then he fell completely flat in the first part of 2020 while Felix was (and continues) making it to finals. Sinner has yet to make a final in an ATP 250 event or higher. So again, he's been inconsistent. The one claim that Sinner can make over FAA is that he's reached a GS quarter while FAA hasn't made it beyond a GS round of 16. Yet FAA already made it to three ATP finals before he turned 19.

Has Felix fully lived up to his hype? No, it's been a double-edged sword, as people expect him always to do well. That doesn't change the fact that he's the youngest player in the top 25, has reached 3 finals plus 2 more semis this year, and he's broken a lot of records already. Overall he's done better than Sinner, and he'd accomplished far more at Sinner's current age. So big deal if people are talking more about Sinner because there were fewer expectations. That doesn't change the overall record. We'll see what happens next year.

Nobody doubt of his capacity to reach finals, his capacity to win them is a different story.

The truth is Felix is very far from the hype they created around him last year, specially after Miami.

He showed pretty bad signs on his US Open match against Shapovalov, it's not that Shapo defeated him without even sweat, it's that Felix seemed to not even care.

The truth is that Felix has reached six finals and he's the highest ranked player under 21. That takes motivation. He doesn't have to demonstrate disappointment around his losses. It's too bad you don't like him.

It's not a question of liking him or not.

With all the hype around him i simply expected better, maybe this was just a year of transition but his progression was close to zero

He stayed in the top 25, reached his best GS result, made it to three finals, and to two semis. That's not bad at all even if the trajectory was flat. It's not reaching Nadal or Hewitt or Djokovic's accomplishments by 20, but it's still pretty damn good. 2021 should be his definitive year about living up to the hype. Even Federer didn't really come into his own until he was almost 22.

He stayed in the top 25 because he didn't have to defend last year's points.

Federer was not that hyped at that age. During a good while people though Federer would be one of those player who waste their talent and underperform. Only after winning Wimbledon (he lost the previous Roland Garros in the first round) he started to be really regular, before that he was able to demolish the number one to lose with a journeyman the following week.

My problem with Felix is i didn't see any progression this year. I don't think Shapovalov will be a dominant player in the future but he was playing better this year than he did the last one.

And the problem with the losing finals is not that he was not able to win, he was playing higher ranking players but he underperformed. He played worst in the finals that he did in the previous rounds. He should win a title as soon as possible before that losing streak became a problem

And Humbert is on the verge of defeating Tsitsipas.

Humbert is very dangerous on this type of court but Tsitsipas is far from doing well after Roland Garros and i have serious doubt he'll go far on the nitto finals

Not so fast, Tsitsipas saved three match points

6 points on a row for Tsitsipas.

And second set for him

And then he’s broken...

Team Ugo!

Well Humbert is winning 2 0 in the third. I thought he will be out after wasting his opportunities in the second set tie break but it seems he'll fight till the end

Team Greek Ass!

I'm pretty sure you're wrong on that point, R190, as far as Felix's ranking goes based solely on 2020 performance. If anything, he'd be ranked higher. If you look at the current top 25, most of them are coasting on their 2019 points. Only Djokovic, Tsitsipas, Rublev and Schwartzman have made it to 5 or more ATP semis in 2020 like Felix has. Your boy Sinner has made it to exactly one semi this year. And only Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem, Zverev, Federer, Medvedev, Rublev, PCB and Tsitsipas have reached the collective equivalent of a GS semi this year.

The ATP has really set things askew with their ranking adjustments. It makes no sense that players who are playing 2020 events can keep their 2019 points for the same even if those 2019 points are higher. What would have made a lot more sense is if players kept their 2019 points only for those events that were suspended in 2020 or for which the players couldn't attend in 2020 otherwise due to COVID.

HUUUUUUGE UUUUUUGO!!!!!!

Greek Ass is out.... great match. three sets, three tie breaks. Ugh looked completely exhausted, not normal exhausted but borderline collapse exhausted.

[quote]Ugo looked completely exhausted, not normal exhausted but borderline collapse exhausted.

Moutet gave him the 'Rona!

The GOAT is Rafa for now. But it's SUPER close. He basically beats or ties Fed in all the main stats that most use to determine GOAT status (Slams, Masters, Olympics, YEC, YE1, Weeks at No 1, H2H) save Year End Championships at Weeks at number one.

Nadal - Fed:

Slams (tied): 20 - 20

Masters (Rafa): 36 - 28

Olympics (Rafa) : Singles Gold, Doubles Gold - Singles Silver, Doubles Gold

H2H (Rafa): 24-14 H2H (10-4 in Finals)

YE1 (tied): 5 - 5

Weeks at No 1 (Fed): 209 - 310

The thing is Fed most likely won't add to any of his stats. Rafa most assuredly will.

All this to say, idiot Nole will most likely pass them both in two years...

Oops. Forgot YEC:

Fed leads 6 - 0

Titsy is a damm fine piece a mins.

....

And Berrettini is out, Giron in three sets

Well, Nadal was close to lose but now he is in control of the match. Anyway, he needs to improve a lot if he wants to have chances to win his first Paris-Bercy

And Rublev won very easily 61 62

Nadal won his 1,000th ATP singles match (4th player to do so after Connors, Federer and Lendl)

That's really amazing. He has a long career as a top player, but he had some periods of injuries

stan has polish grandma?

Loved Rafa’s ensemble tonight.

[quote]Loved Rafa’s ensemble tonight.

Would it kill you to post a pic?

I'm not R212, but here's a pic

Rafa is a stud.

short pink shorts work on Rafa

Rafa just eked by. He's the Joe Biden of tennis!

Speaking of Pico and his boyfriend....he posted this pic on twitter.

^ that is HAF

Yes, R219, Fele and Pico....yowza!

Olya's Story

Stan the Man beat Rublev after losing 6-1 in 30 quick minutes. But he came back. Tomorrow he plays Zverev!

He beat him after falling on his ass twice!

Those Spanish players seem kinda toxic. Cute, but insufferable, bunch.

Who are you talking about R224 ?

FAA-Hurkacz are looking quite good making it to the Paris semis today, having upset top-seeded Farah-Zeballos and seventh-seeded Peers-Venus on the way.

FAA just fired his coach. Goffin fired his too.

....and Karolina Pliskobot is no longer working with Dani V. either

Poor Dani V

Who's gonna werq his hole, now?

PCB warming up against Rafa. PCB in usual semi-aroused state as evidenced by bouncy bulge. Does he go commando under those white shorts?

Please breed me PCB.

^Pam is in heat again!

PCB team all the way. He just broke in the first set. Does anyone have that pic of him from the earlier thread where he is with three other guys and they are all wearing biking spandex? That pic is incredible showing off his goods.

Here you go R233

Thanks, R234. That is definitely the one! :-)

And Rafa, as usual, finds a way out. 6-1 in the decider.

With Rafa (and Novak) you need to take your chances and kill the match when you have the opportunity (like Lil Diego did on Rome) or you'll end biting the dust.

Humbert needs to improve on the deciding moments, it's not the first time he lose a tie break he was clearly destined to win

I am gentleman but tough mutherfucker on court, no?

My ass still best, no?

Schwartzman officially qualifies for the Finals

In the Double race, 7 spots assigned

Ram/Salinsbury

Pavic/Soares

Krawietz/Mies

Granollers/Zeballos

Koolhof/Mektic

Peers/Venus

Melo/Kubot

For the last spot, Melzer/Roger Vasselin are currently leading (and they are in Paris semi) over Murray/Skupski. Rest is out even if they win in Sofia

Sofia has a pretty good draw. A good opportunity for Felix or Sinner to win their first title

Felix may win his first title in doubles first since he and Hurkacz made it through to the Paris doubles finals today.

I think if he wins he'll get that confidence.

There are a good bunch of players who can beat him, but he and Shapo are the favourites

And i thought that the Zverev-Ferrer combo was destined to fail, but it's working pretty fine. Sascha is focused on the game while his life is a mess

Yeah, he just can’t stop beating people.

Strangely enough no tweets from Isner or Sandgren today.

Rafa just becomes so "normal" on indoor HC. It's weird. I mean, not really normal, but not the GOAT level he plays outdoor HC and, of course, clay.

R245 There are jokes like that all over internet. He better hire a good lawyer because his mild denying of the events is not helping him at all.

It's curious that he is playing that well when his life is a mess (because the mama of his baby will be trouble in a future for sure too)

R248, mediocre play is not now an option for him (and I guess it was before). He has to make it clear that he is an essential component of the tour.

But even with mediocre play (he didn't play well at the US Open) he outperformed what was usual for him.

In fact he did pretty well at GS this year which used to be his weakest point.

Zverev's career is really good, he reached 22 finals at 23 that's pretty unusual, but the expectations were so high that there's a feeling that he is failing (probably because his performances at GS were very mediocre in the past)

And Felix gains his first ATP 1000 title with Hurkacz in the Paris Doubles overcoming the #1, #2, #4 and # 7 seeded doubles teams on their way to the championship.

And Felix is out of Sofia....

It's rough being a Felix fan. You never know which Felix is going to show up, kind of like Monfils or Wawrinka.

What city will host Nitto after this year? Is that decided?

Turin

Apologies for the unfortunate picture of the miscreant in the link...

Pospisil on fire in Bulgaria! Faces Sinner in tomorrow's final.