The Gays and Tennis Part 72- Clay Time!

last thread

so glad Nadal, Djokovic and A. Zverev all lost. We'll have another new Masters winner!

Evans and Ruud are the surprises of the tournament but Rublev just had his best ever win. He finally handled Nadal's spin

Is Jack Sock over? He just lost to Christian Harrison in the Orlando hardcourt challenger

I saw some of the Rublev-Nadal match. Yay Rublev! Nadal, though, was not playing his best. Not surprising given he hasn't played in a while. My fear is that Nadal will use the clay tuneups to round into form, get a cakewalk draw and/or watch his rivals roll over like bitches (hello 2020 French Open) and waltz away with his 21st Slam. My hope is the NextGen and/or his other rivals rack up some victories and confidence against Nadal during the clay season and take that to RG. However, beating Nadal in 3 out of 5 on clay at RG has proven the most difficult thing to do in tennis since 2005.

I thought Rublev was done for after blowing chances for a 2-break lead in the 2nd and then squandering a break lead in that same set, but then he came back, got the 2-break lead in the 3rd and closed it out.

I'm happy Rublev won. But on an unrelated note, damn, is Rublev ugly!

Rublev didn't let Nadal get away with puff serves. He had him on the defense so often which Nadal can do but it's much harder with Rublev's massive forehand and decent backhand. The one area Rublev needs to improve is his serving. It's inconsistent. He can hit it big but he doesn't always

Shame that the fun match of 2 future contenders for slams Osorio Serrano and Tauson ended with Tauson retiring due to knee injury. They're going to be playing a lot over the next decade

hmm seems like Zverev and Tsitsipas were shading Shapovalov here when asked 1 word to describe him

Rublev was funny

Part 71 is still going strong, you cheap twats.

Yawn! PEDal has lost the odd match or two in the clay tuneups in the last five years but he always "magically" outlasts younger, fitter guys in five sets when they get to Roland Garros. They might as well just give him the RG trophy right now. The clowns on the ATP tour all fold like cheap T J Maxx suits when they play PEDal in Roland Garros.

I wonder whether Rublev might be the real thing after all. I mean for me he is. The way he goes for his shots and the way he grunts are electrifying to me and the last time I watched someone as electrifying as he is was, hold me David because I'm gonna have to say it, Monica Seles back in the early 90s. I know: MARY!!!!!!!

R8 That's quite easy to explain.

Most players don't even try and let's be honest, Rublev's would fail at the best of 5 sets because it's very difficult to sustain that incredible level for hours.

Nadal served really bad yesterday, and even with that he was able to force a third set to a very good player who was playing very well.

Sooner or later 5 sets will become a burden for Rafa and Nole, but it will be an advantage till younger players start to give them trouble on early rounds

R9, Our Moni was unique and can never be compared to anyone else. She was, is and will forever be the GOAT.

In the name of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Groundstrokes, aaah eeeeh......

I also love how Rublev goes after his FH. I picture the arc of his ball when I'm hitting mine; it's the the Platonic Form of the shot I mean to hit. I only hit it that way about one in 15 tries, but damn it feels good.

r7, Cheap, humorless and sexless. The tennis threads are the lesbian bed death of Data Lounge.

R13 'Sexless' doesn't mean what you think it does, honey.

Margaret Court is not experiencing lesbian bed death, thank you very much. She is in a hot and heavy throuple with Wendy Turnbull and Pam Shriver. Their sexual appetite and exploits could put the very sexual St Viola to shame.

Nadal is Aaron Rodgers of tennis minus PED

Why are so many people here convinced Nadal is gay?

R17, there have been rumors about him since the beginning of his career.

Well, Tsitsipas vs. Rublev..... H2H is 3-3. I think Tsitsipas takes it but I would like Rublev to win it.

Wow, I like them both. I'll be happy whoever wins.

can't wait for the Masters final tomorrow. Either way I'll be happy with a new winner.

Jelena Ostapenko has a big big mouth, she was on the verge of losing against Ankita Rania but she had the audacity to say that her rival had an ugly game and she has no wta level but itf (that itf level girl was able to win a set and only lost 7 5 in the third).

I like Tsitsipas game better but Rublev is way more likeable than the greek

R18 I know the rumours but i never read anything more than speculation, specially because some people find his relationship with Mery weird (because she was not his satellite like other girlfriends of the circuit).

At least the Zverev speculation was based in his relationship with Melo, it turned to not be true but he really loved to fooled his fans (and haters)

R17, Because we have followed his whole, PR crafted career. Years ago, a journalist outed him by inference. That was the LAST personal interview he ever gave. His "physio" is is boyfriend and they work hard to not be photographed together. The whole "He's s private person" is bullshit.

There used to be a few YT videos of him as a little gayling, his sister is butcher than he is, he has zero chemistry with his wife, he allows himself to be photographed with her once a year on the beach or boat, the same cold pic, year after year. He has never been linked with a single female other than Whatshercara. When you see him with the boys, he's an entirely different person. He lets his hair down and can't be close enough to them.

Compare this wedding shot, or any other pic with his pic with the boys.

Google "Nadal with wife" pics and then "Nadal with friends".

jesus, some frau here is pain in the ass. Maybe she also think stan and mugu is real thing? lol

And I think Nadal lost on purpose, he lost in Rome last year, too.

The reason he is always so serious in interviews is that when he lets his hair down, bolsas fly out of his mouth. In that first/last interview she questions why he talks to his mother every day but goes weeks/months without talking to the girl next door. "We have very, special, private thing". Sure. Then he gets bounced from the tournament he goes on the boat with the boys to get over the loss. Hasta luego, Whatsherface.

Novax lost on purpose to save himself for Belgrade, Nadal wants to save himself for Madrid.

R30 someone writing a play imagining a tennis player is gay isn't really convincing evidence.

What evidence does anyone have that he is straight?

There's a joke in Spanish,

What do you call a man who only sleeps with one woman?

Maricon!

Is Emilio Sanchez still married to a woman? Weren't there a lot of gay rumors about him back in the day? And I think he also played dubs with Martina which pretty much confirms it. Just like Shriver who was Martina's "partner" for a long time.

^Girl, you in danger.

R31, I can believe it of Novaxx, but anyone who saw Nadal’s match could clearly see he was pissed at playing so poorly and tried everything until the very end to get back in the match. That was no tank.

R33 Sorry, i'm spanish and i've never heard that in my life.

Maybe you are thinking of Mexico, it seems if you don't have a lot of lovers outside your marriage you are not man enough.

Frankly, those evidences about Nadal seem way more wishful thinking than anything else. The guy is weird, he has a lot of superstitions and weird behaviours but that's all.

Of course, at least the theories about Nadal are not that weird as those who think that federer whores himself for some mega rich arab men (i think you need a lot of imagination to believe someone who is filthy rich do something like that)

There's more evidence about Rublev whose pics with Fernando Vicente scream gay couple

^I didn't see it so you may be right. Anyway, tanked is too strong a word for the top players but if they don't want to be there they can't fake it. Or, if they know they can't win that day you can see it. Novax was about 80 percent, he was distracted. Then in the press conference he mentioned Belgrade.

He lives in Monaco I bet he's not unhappy to relax a little, show off his kids and socialize while the whole tour is in his home town. Same with Nadal, you know he just floated over on his yacht. Neither one of these guys really cares/needs this one. It's all about GS and gold.

No, they didn't tank they simply lose.

Novak and Rafa had bad days like everyone else, generally they are able to recover but they were unable to do it in Monte Carlo.

In Rafa's case he played one of the best players in the world right now (in fact Rublev is right now the leader of the race), so it's not that rare that a 34 yo (no matter how goo he is or his legendary status) to lose with one of the best players right now.

Rafa had trouble in 2019 too, he played really badly on the clay season till Rome

r37, Did you ever read this interview? Again, the LAST one he ever gave, unguarded. He says he goes weeks/months with talking to Xica then says that he doesn't see her when she comes to tournaments because it's too distracting for him. There is nothing to suggest she is not his beard and a lesbian who travels with Rafa's lesbian sister.

Barcelona draw is out and it's stacked for a smaller event! Nadal will have an easy opener but then will face either Garin or Nishikori. Khachanov and Goffin are in his quarter, The 2nd quarter features Schwartzman who will open against either Tiafoe or Alcaraz with Evans Fognini and PCB there too. The 3rd quarter has Rublev, Ruud, Sinner and RBA. The 4th quarter has Tsitsipas, Shapovalov, FAA who could open against Musetti, ADF and Munar

time for Robredo to hang it up though. He just lost first round in qualifying to a journeyman

the other match of note today was a battle of the youngs 17 year old Rune def. M. Ymer 6-0 6-2 in an upset

Belgrade has a weaker field but still some decent players to possible challenge Djokovic. In his quarter are Djere and Kecmanovic, should be easy sailing for him. 2nd quarter has Karatsev, Fucsovics, Popyrin and Korda vs. Bedene rd1. 3rd quarter is weak with Lajovic, Millman and old man Cuevas vs. young gun Ruusuvuori. 4th quarter has Berrettini and Krajinovic

Istanbul has Mertens , Martic Kudermetova, Pavlyuchenkova, Mladenovic, Kanepi and Zvonareva

Stuttgart not out yet

R37 Federer doesn't whore himself for money, frau.

What R39 said. Rafa was going for what, his 12th title? And to tie Novak in total Masters.

He didn't lose, he was beaten, as he admitted.

I mean he didn't tank

Rafa never tank, he always try to win no matter how bad he is playing and given how many players have problems to close the matches his strategy works a lot of times

Mektic is hawt. He's got a Coric thing going on.

Skupski is pretty good looking too. The match was a lot closer than I was expecting. A great tournament for Evans.

Tsitsipas's mother won Monte Carlo back in the early 80s.

Who is Tsitsy's mom?

R48 Julia Salnikova

Titsy, bitches!

What a great match he played. Super clean, great defending, great serving.

Tsitsipas has to be happy after that performance against Rublev. I love Tsitsy's game. He's fun to watch. Rublev has to be disappointed. He didn't serve well and made too many errors, but a great week for him taking out Nadal on red clay, even if it was a subpar Nadal.

I used to think Rublev was unbelievably ugly, but, after a while, I realized he isn't that bad looking. His hair is usually out of control. He looks better off-court than on-. It's great to see him doing well.

R52 Yes, there's a big difference in his on and off court looks.

He is not handsome, but outside the court he looks perfectly fine. And he has a great hair (but not easy to dominate)

"And he has a great hair (but not easy to dominate)"

I think something was lost in translation here, R53

The race right now:

1. Tsitsipas 2. Rublev 3. Djokovic 4. Medvedev 5. Hurkacz 6. Karatsev 7. Sinner 8. Zverev

Rublev is a really likable guy. I hope he keeps improving and starts winning some Masters, or more.

I used to have a crush on Alex Corretja when I first started watching tennis. He's only 47 but looks as old as Methuselah now

Damn. He WAS hot.

Still has pretty eyes.

I find Rublev kind of stealth sexy. However— with his post match cross schtick— If he’s thanking God (or whoever) for winning matches he should also be thanking God (or whoever) for his losses. Or does God (or whoever) only get involved in the Rublev victories?

You mean Jehova.

Tsitsipas really played well this whole tournament and in particular the last 2 matches. Today he was able to blunt Rublev's power by keeping off balance and moving him to far sides of both ends of the court. Really weird title trajectory. so far-he has 6 titles-4 indoor hard and now 2 clay!

I'm glad we have another new Masters winner

Rublev had a great week and of course his best win taking out el rey de clay. Hardcourts are still going to be his best surface and he'll be in the mix throughout the summer.

Stuttgart draw is out and it's decent-first section has Barty and Pliskova with unpredictable Ostapenko in there. 2nd section has Svitolina who could open against Kerber, Sakkari vs. Petkovic and Kvitova vs. Brady. 3rd section has Kenin, Sabalenka and Kontaveit. 4th section has Halep who will open vs. Vondrousova or Bouzkova and Bencic

It's unfortunate that Bertens, Azarenka and Swiatek all pulled out

Astra Sharma is the newest first time winner on the WTA with her 2-6 7-5 6-1 victory over Jabeur in the smaller Charleston event this week

I don’t think he’s gay, but... to go months not talking to your girlfriend? That’s really odd.

Rafa has always seemed completely asexual to me.

He's probably a germaphobe who thinks sex is dirty...and so are Mery Xisca's pillows!

Imagine sex with Rafa. He pumps twice then readjusts his hair strands, twitches his nose, then pumps twice again, adjusts his hair and on and on.

R67..i wonder if he stops between thrusts to pick his ass minus shorts and undies!...

Is Titsy clay specialist?

I sort of lost the plot on our Domicakes— why is he out? Has he set a return?

R70 he pulled out of Miami, Monte Carlo and now Belgrade. He says he has a knee injury but expects to be back for Madrid in 2 weeks.. Mentally he's been having trouble. His agent said he hasn't adjusted well to the coronavirus restrictions in the tennis bubble. It's just odd though as he won the USO last year while this was going on...

R70 He recently did an interview saying he lost motivation after winning the USO and has been dragged about it a bit.

Rafa pings as fuck in interviews, You have to be blind..

I love that Titsy's mother beat Zverev's mother in her last WTA final in Athens. Adds another element to the rivalry the two young men share. I'm surprised they don't get asked about it more.

Have a feeling someone random will take Stuttgart this year rather than a top seed - think the likes of Kontaveit or Sakkari. I wonder why Mertens is playing in Istanbul instead of there? She plays almost every week too, but i'm sure the tour is glad to have her support with the likes of Osaka only showing up for the hard court grand slams and Andreescu missing years at a time between events.

R59 He seems religious, but what he does makes me think he is thinking is someone who is dead (he generally looks to the sky while he makes the cross)

R75, I’ve seen other European sports figures do this, it’s frequently meant to dedicate a triumph to the memory of a dead person.

R76 It's very common.

Here it's not common the i thank God for this winning that a lot of american players do

Djokovic continues to charm:

He’s a real charmer, r78. The rules being set by most sane governments is that if you’re vaccinated you need to be careful, but not as careful as the unvaccinated. This makes perfect scientific sense to anyone who’s not an ideologically biased antivaxxer.

He really is an awful, ignorant, and dangerous person.

amusing, related thread

The weekly loss for Paire is to Gaio this time

R79 and also gives people more incentive to do the responsible thing-get vaccinated

Djokovic is a moron

[quote]The weekly loss for Paire is to Gaio this time

He also received a point penalty for spitting in the direction of the chair umpire after an argument over a ball mark

Rafa will win Rome and the French. Most likely won't win Madrid.

He never does well, not even on clay, after such a long layoff. He needs match play to get his form back more than Nole and Roger.

Paire now 1-10 so far this year

Thanks everyone who shared the deets on our beloved Domicakes. Much appreciated.

Getting caught up on Barcelona. I have to say Gilles Simon is once again sporting a major bulge. I think he’s packing.

Bublik's sporting grey tight shorts in Barcelona. I'm pretty sure you can see his bulge from space.

5 minutes after typing the above I helpfully fund this on my Insta feed!

Not impressed

Well, Bublik is the definition of homely. Maybe with a decent haircut he could look better

Shapo was looking golden today in Barcelona with his leg hair especially lovely.

I want to make love to his legs.

Moutet Vs Evans - someone's going end up getting head-butted before it's over.

Evans cannot finish a match without some kind of controversy

Moutet's not averse to a bit of aggro either.

At least I can watch Moutet without shuddering. Evans is unpleasant in all aspects.

Fognini was just defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct at 0-6, 4-4 vs. Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

Nadal is down a set to Ivashka....

Nice to see FAA through to the 3rd round over Musetti 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Quite a day already in Barcelona.

Good to see Fognini being pulled up for his constant bullshit. I hope he's headed on the same trajectory as Isner. They've both lost a ton of points recently and are heading dramatically southwards in the rankings

He's such a douche. Incredibly talented by he's veering into Marcelo Rios territory.

Tomorrow is Shapo v FAA in Barcelona. Jesus talk about legs FOR DAYZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Tennis channel posted a schedule with FAA, the only black guy on the lineup, having his picture replaced with one of Arthur Ashe. How does that even happen?

fur reel?

I can't believe they're that dumb. FAA is a star.

unbelievable about the wrong photo

massive choke from Tiafoe today. He was just a couple points from a straight set win over Schwarzman but blew it and then the momentum completely shifted in the third

They should have replaced Shapo's pic with Putin or Vanilla Ice to complete the coup.

Missed the Fognini match - anyone care to enlighten me? What was the unsportsmanlike behavior? Just his general douchiness or something specific? TIA

His usual mouthiness....

it's so unfortunate. His personality completely cancels out how handsome he is

marrying Pennetta and becoming a father hasn't mellowed him out either

The FAA photo thing looks like it was deliberately staged. They knew it would attract a lot of tweets and comments but still not serious enough to do the TC too much damage. They could get away with it by just issuing an apology.

Could it be that 'Ashe' and 'Auger' are next to each other alphabetically in their image database? Still... very embarrassing and terrible optics. I think they've confused Venus and Serena/Sloane before too.

Fogna is an ass, as always, but i'm surprised he got DQ'd for that. I feel like i've seen him do much worse before. Better late than never, I guess...

Great match between Kvitova and Sakkari last night. I wonder if Vondrousova can make it 3-0 against Halep? So many big names in Stuttgart, the title could be anyone's. Barty did look good in her match against Siegemund.

FAA routines Shapo. Felix's legs look EXCELLENT and Shapo is quite fetching in his new 'do.

Felix was very lucky yesterday, till he got problems Musetti was clearly the best player on court.

Today he was very easily. Till he uses a little patience and a game plan Shapo will be useless on clay.

Sinner beated Bautista for the thrird time in a row

And very good news from Carla who recovered from her cancer

Carlo!

She wants to play Roland Garros, she deserves to retire after playing at GS again.

I remember she was not Spain's best prospect from those years but she ended having a really good career. And she must be one of the nicest girls on tour

Grrrrrrr 1

Grrrrrr 2

r115, Anecdotally, it seems like some of the nicest, sweetest people get Cancer, 3 young people I know personally who were exceptional humans, almost too nice. I'm happy to hear of her remission.

R112, we can always count on you to criticize Felix and emphasize his losses, and to say that Felix got lucky or that his opponent was hopeless whenever Felix wins.

R119 He was not hopeless but Musetti was better till he had problems.

And Felix is very far from the player he was supposed to be right now.

He is around the top 20 for two years.

I don't dislike him, i'm pretty sure he will be top 10 and win titles, but i don't think he is going to be the player the media expected him to be when they hyped him in 2019

so glad FAA beat the shit out of the Putin lover Shapovalov.

Nadal another weird scoreline today over Nishikori

Svitolina tough 2 set win over Kerber

Halep routined Vondrousova

Pliskbot def. Ostapenko in 3

Nishikori is playing better.

Nadal is having a weird season like in 2019, i think it was playing even worse back then and he won RG very easily anyway.

Unless he rise his level i don't think he'll be able to win the tournament. He is quite lucky that the strongest players are on the other side of the draw

Shriver, how deep is your closet? The one you are currently posting from, I mean.

Fun matches tomorrow:

Titsy/FAA

Sinner/Rublev

Lil Diego/PCB

I hope it's just mental with Nadal and not his back that's bothering him. I don't want him to only struggle or lose when he's injured.

I think it's mental and physical. No one plays forever!

Yeah, Nadal got the easy draw for sure.

I have to think he's just rusty. He actually is moving great.

[quote] Yeah, Nadal got the easy draw for sure.

This could be a post from any tournament in any year going back all the way to 2006, especially at the majors. Why does he always get creampuff draws?

Sinner defeated Rublev (who was a little too angry this week, he even made bleed himself) 62 76

Tsitsipas defeated Felix 63 63

I'll have to watch match point, R129, to see if Rublev still did the cross and thanked the heavens.

Rublev was beating the shit out of himself during the Ramos Vinolas match. Literally. He hit his thigh after the first point.

He needs to get it together mentally.

The French Tennis Federation are finally sick of Benny Paire's shit. No Olympics for him. I used to really like him when he was emerging a few years back: always a bit screwy but a lot of flair to his game. He's just an ass these days. Way to torpedo a promising career,

Pliskova was about to finally record a good win - over Barty. Served for the match in the 3rd set at 5-4, and didn't win another game after that. The sooner her points drop off the better, some signs of life this week, but no way she should be in the top 10. A lot of these higher ranked women (Bencic, Pliskova, Kenin, Keys, Konta, Martic, Riske, Bertens who admittedly had surgery) are fucking up the draws with their high seedings and early upsets every tournament.

What will it take for Pliskova to drop out of the top 10? She hasnt had a great result in awhile that I can remember.

R130 He had nothing to celebrate.

He was mad at himself a lot of times this week.

And he needs to take a rest, he is not Thiem. He is playing very well but he had some really tough matches and he doesn't seem to recover as fast as he should

I'm not even sure, she did have a good tournament two years in a row in Rome? Some of these players are still holding on to huge point tallies for events they already failed miserably at defending (Madison Keys winning Cincinnati and then bombing out in R1 during her title defence last year, or Kenin bombing out in R2 of the recent Australian Open yet still holding on to 2000 points as if she won it again).

It also throws a huge spanner in the works of Olympic qualification for some of these players. Muchova just made a grand slam SF in Australia but Pliskova losing early in almost every tournament is still far ahead of her.

I'm just glad Pliskova is slumping. She was never all that great and is by far the worst #1 on the women's side ever. Jankovic and Safina can rest easy now

R137 Oh, but she is so sweet and charming

Jesus, Sabalenka sounds like she's getting punched while giving birth.

[quote] getting punched while giving birth.

I know what that’s like!

Titsy-Sinner is pretty interesting. A real test for each. Titsty on form. Maybe Sinner on potential?

I'm rooting for Sinner. Little iffy on Tsitsipas after the Miami COVID debacle.

Glad Paire won't have a shot at the Olympics. I also remember in 2016 Rio there was an issue he had with the French Federation too so it's not only because of his shameful unprofessionalism this year.

He's cray, right?

Paire will be 32 in a couple of weeks. In his current state he might as well hang it up along with the other has-beens whose best tennis is well behind them: Lopez, Verdasco, Anderson, Robredo, Kohlschreiber, Tsonga. Probably pretty soon Isner and Fognini, and sadly Monfils and Murray. Fed seems to be wishful thinking too. I bet he'll retire after this year's USO.

It's nice to see when older players are still playing well enough to get into the later rounds, but it's a little sad when they're basically just showing up and losing in the first or second rounds while collecting nostalgia and appearance fees.

Kohlschreiber Is still playing?

Yes, he lost to Dzumhur in the second round of a Belgrade Challenger last week.

R145 I don't think it's a fair comparission.

Compare Paire to Robredo is an insult. Robredo best times are long time go but he continues playing because he really likes to compete which is exactly the opposite of what is happening with Paire.

I think if Tsitsipas plays well, he is the clear favourite. Sinner was routined by Djokovic on Monte Carlo. When he is on, he is a fantastic shotmaking, but Tsitsipas has a lot of variety and Sinner has problems to close sets and matches.

Jannik seems on the verge of becoming a top player, but Stefanos is already one.

Nadal really was lucky with the draw this time

By the way Kasatkina came out as bisexual

Is Robredo still gay? Yum. He is delicious.

I hope Kasatkina doesn't live in Russia then; that's brave.

I think it's brave no matter where she lives (but better not live in Russia anyway).

I think tennis is probably one of the sports where it's easier to come out, you make money by yourself even without sponsors (anyway sponsors are not a problem anymore) and it's an individual sport where you only depend on yourself, but there are a lot of burdens anyway. It's a conservative sport (not there are too many liberal ones) and depends a lot of the enviroment you have and of course your country.

Swiatek didn't want to give an oppinion about his government politics and she was probably smart avoiding the subject.

I don't know how western players react to speculation about their sexuality (well, Feliciano joked when his ex wife suggested he was into guys that he received a lot of interesting offers since that) but for someone in an homophobic country must be terrifying

Robredo -- yum. He was a dish back in the day!

I wish JMG would come out. It would do so much good for any younger players, current and future. He's still a big enough name for it to be important. He's not hiding it, which of course is a good thing, but he could really make a statement.

Poor Pam at R153, still pretending to be straight after all these years while secretly pleasuring herself to pictures of East European women and fantasizing about a foursome with Sylvia Hanika, Wendy Turnbull and Margaret Court

No wonder Pampers hates me so much. I am everything she has always desperately wanted to be but never was: a Grand Slam champ, a world number one, a gorgeous wife and mom, heterosexual, America's sweetheart and never seduced by Billie Jean. Poor poor Pampers. I'll pray for her and arrange for a local church to give her a discounted leg wax or something.

Poor PCB.

Maybe Rafa will let him drill his hole in the locker room.

[quote] Swiatek didn't want to give an oppinion about his government politics

Cute Doubles SpecialBrit, Joe Salisbury, sporting TINY black shorts today. We could be looking at Daisy Dukes on court by next year at this rate. *crosses fingers*

R148, I'm not comparing, I'm adding and contrasting with "might as well". You infer what I haven't written, or you misinterpret some of my posts. Obviously Paire isn't in the same category as Robredo in terms of their career junctures or attitude. My point is that Paire's attitude added to his length of tooth "might as well" put him in the same category as the others even though he's several years younger, and even though quite a few players are still playing some of their best tennis in their early 30s. Paire's not past the point of no return, but if he doesn't change his attitude, he will be.

[quote] Cute Doubles SpecialBrit, Joe Salisbury,

Doubles specialist? These guys are pathetic. Couldn't hack it in singles and then go on to the sideshow that is doubles. They are like the backup singers for the warmup act before the main event.

If you are not a singles champion you are nothing.

Is he doubles specialist?

Tsitsipas is playing really really well, he totally dismatled Sinner's game. He will be a real test for Rafa tomorrow

Nole

Tennis Centre

In

Belgrade

This Djokovic/Karatsev match is very good.

Wow, first real test and Nole is struggling

And Aslan saved two break points to close the match

r164. It sure is. Best match of the year and I had my doubts that Karatsev would win but he beat Novaxx..... The crowd was completely silent at the end.

the crown was pathetic

At least Karatsev shut Djokovic's horrible children up.

R169....I guess that little screaming kid was Novaxx's kid.... The crowd was awful. This morning I was watching the Barcelona matches and the crowd (150% pro Nadal, probably) was very polite and respectful.

Spanish crowds are typically polite.

Are Serbians a rude bunch. Obviously they are pro Djoke.

so now we have an answer why djoko is a prick, he is just serbian

I hope Karatsev lands in Nadal's RG quarter. Amazing play from him to beat Djokovic in Belgrade of all places!

Sabalenka pounded Halep today which surprised me given how she struggled against Kontaveit yesterday.

Barty survived another close match, this time against Svitolina

Yea no, R173

R175 Who is Monica??

R175, I am Hungarian by ethnicity, thank you very much. Don't group me with those Serbs.

Such a gracious loser....

Aslan 🦁

next week's draws are up. No women's event because their Madrid action starts Thursday

Munich is headed by A. Zverev and Ruud. Karatsev is #3 seed but I wonder if he'll pull out, Not a ton of tough players in the draw. M Zverev just wasted another qualie WC with his loss to Galan

Estoril has a much more interesting field IMO. Shapovalov and Garin are the top 2 seeds and a bunch of potentially tricky unseeded players

Domicakes.

I’d very much like Pablo to Busta my Carenna . Just sayin... Really looking forward to Rafa/Titsy match tomorrow. Hoping for a good one. Sabalanka/Barty should be pretty watchable too. Yay. A day of tennis and then red carpet and Oscar nonsense. And it’s supposed to rain all day in SF so perfect weather to plant oneself in front of the tube. I love a Sunday...

Thank you R181. Our beloved Domicakes really fills out a pair of shorts like no one else. Though Titsy’s junk is also looking pretty high and proud.

I was on some tennis forum site and a stats wizard was saying that Novak's return game - arguably the best ever - has been slowly but steadily in decline (he had stats to prove it) the past two years or so. It's still the best in the business, but not the best by his standards.

And that, historically, is the best indicator of the beginning of a great players descent. It happened to Andre, Pete, Fed, Mac, etc.

Nadal and Nole have held steady for longer than anyone great player. But Nole is finally on the decline.

It was super interesting at the very least.

R171 With the exception of Madrid

Rafa played better yesterday, but today is the real test. Carreño is a good player but his game is useless against Rafa and even more on clay

There's going to be a lot of ass on court today in Barcelona.

Yum.

Karatsev has exactly the type of game that upsets Djokovic, but hitting the ball harder.

That game is not as effective against others, he barely caused problems to Tsitsipas on Monte Carlo

Sabalenka is so fun to watch. It's nice to see a WTA player actually committed to playing (she and Mertens are keeping the tour alive, while the likes of Osaka and Andreescu disappear for months at a time and withdraw from half the events they actually do sign up for). She actually seems to LOVE being out there and relishes the fight. She's added a lot of variety to her game and her reactions are comedic gold too. Looking forward to her match with Barty, their first on clay.

Karatsev is simply the most exciting thing to happen to mens tennis in the past few years. His game is so powerful you do get the sense he could beat almost anyone (even if he's not quite there yet). His low-key demeanour (he barely seemed to care about beating Novak, haha) and his beautiful calves are just the cherry on top.

Low-key demeanour indeed. Karatsev has all the personality of a head of wilted lettuce.

Berrenttini vs Karatsev = No Calves vs Mega Calves

R190 There are a lot of players accused of not having a personality, Sinner is the first to cross my mind.

The truth is Federer and Nadal are very attractive on court but on the press room they are like black spaces. And of course acting like jerk Kyrgios or Paire style is not the same of having a personality either

Berrettini

R192, compared to Sinner, Federer or Nadal, Karatsev still comes across fascinating as a dial tone.

I think Nadal git a bit pissed off at all the talk about his beautifully tight shorts showing off his thighs and arse. He’s wearing a pair at least one size larger for today’s final, and it’s nowhere near as stunning.

[quote] Sabalenka is so fun to watch. It's nice to see a WTA player actually committed to playing (she and Mertens are keeping the tour alive

Compelling.

Tsitsipas started great and Nadal was making some errors. Tsitsy had two games where he could have gone up two breaks. Then suddenly Tsitsy was making too many errors and some terrible shot selection, dropping off-pace balls right into Nadal's strike zone. End result--Nadal breaks back to get on serve then breaks to win the first set 6-4. Very disappointing fro Tsitsy after a strong start from him. Jesus, when is anyone going to start giving the Big 3 some trouble. This is ridiculous that a nearly 35 year old man is beating a 22 year old.

Nadal will be in his 40s kicking these 20 somethings asses lol

Titsy team or Rafa team?

Barty comes back to def. Sabalenka 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 and win the Stuttgart title. Her first clay title since the French Open.

Sabalenka was slightly hampered, but another great week for the world #1. Most titles this year (3), most top 10 wins (6), most points this year (2471). And has actually won her last 9 matches against top ten players (17-3 since she became a top ten player herself). She is currently playing the Stuttgart DOUBLES final.

She may not post bikini pics or have the flashiest game but she's a great ambassador for the sport and a deserving #1. Meanwhile Osaka's boyfriend just admitted in his lyrics that she pulled out of a tennis tournament to meet his grandma.

I like Barty a lot. Lets her game do the talking and seems like a really cool person off-court. Let's not forget she walked away from the game to go play cricket then came back to it and dominated. Not completely happy with the ranking system keeping her at No.1 when she wasn't playing, but I can't blame her for that.

Great to see Berrettini as the Belgrade champion, solidifying his comeback. He's looking as good as ever.

It’s nice not having any white guys in the final for once.

Tsitsipas not bulging as largely as usual today.

Rafa is the very embodiment of everything I want in a man.

Rafa is the very embodiment of everything I want in a woman.

Tsitsipas has choked so many leads in this match it's not funny.

Ash Barty also wins the doubles title in Stuttgart (with Jennifer Brady, over Bethanie Mattek Sands and Desiree Kraczyk). She is the first WTA player to complete a 'double' since Sabalenka in Ostrava last year.

Cirstea upsets #1 seed Mertens in the final of Istanbul, 6-1 7-6(3). Mertens blew a 5-2 lead in the second set.

This is Cirstea's first title since 2009, giving her the 3rd longest gap between tour titles (Mirjana Lucic and Kimiko Date are #1 and #2).

Titsy should be ashamed of losing this winnable match.

It’s doubles match.

Stefanos looks like he's about to kill himself.

Tsitsy blew that match, but not a well played match by either player. Nadal is an amazing player and best in history on clay, but his luck at getting opponents to choke away winnable matches is only surpassed by Steffi Graf.

If I were Stefanos' dad I'd move into a refuge for a few days.

[quote] but his luck at getting opponents to choke away winnable matches is only surpassed by Steffi Graf.

Stick a knife in him.

Tsitsipas is right there at the highest level but let that match slip away. Nothing positives to take away though cause Nadal just gutted out that win.

*Nothing but positives

Nadal literally hit a net cord on one of Titsy's match points. I don't know about him gutting it out.

But with Thiem in the doldrums and Djokovic not at his best either, plus Medvedev sucking at RG, I think Titsy is still probably the best chance of putting up a fight for the French Open this year. He finally looks comfortable with Nadal's spin. If he could only sort his head out...

Titsy still probably best chance of putting up fight for French Open this year.

What. The. Fuck. is going on with this ceremony?????

Nadal really needed that win. Wasn't the prettiest, but it's a win. He's so sensitive to how he rates his confidence. My prediction is that he'll do okay in Madrid (semis) and then take Rome and, of course, the FO.

It's an understatement to say most o f us are fucking sick of Nadal winning almost every match on clay. Tsitsipas indeed choked today and Nadal got lucky. Let him have his little Barcelona though-at least he lost in Monte Carlo. Tsitsipas should take away from this match that he can beat Nadal and that if he keeps playing well he'll likely have more chances in Madrid, Rome and RG.

Berrettini's powerful serve and forehand proved to be a bit too much for Karatsev today. Interesting final

Impressive by Barty. I still predict she won't defend her RG title but at least she's not slumping

Most surprising win of the day certainly goes to Cirstea. I can't believe Mertens lost to that inconsistent level of play

I don't know why Thiem still gets love. He's a spoiled right winger whining that the quarantine bubble makes it too hard for him to enjoy playing tennis. So go get a real job if being restricted to hotels is too hard on you, crybaby

Nice to see the Spanish crowd give Titsy his proper due.

Carlos still entirely hawt.

This crowd is one of the best I have seen. Their applause for Tsitsipas was nice.

Barty isnt defending the French. Swiatek won it last year but Barty didnt play.

r212 Steffi Graf is clearly if not the best, one of the 3 best female tennis players of all time. Dl's hatred and disrespect for Germans is tiring. If marketing, commerce, gossip, looks et al wouldn't have been as important already in her time, she would have been even much more successful, even though that is hard to grasp.

Okay, some one give titsy the hook already!

Nadal is the favorite at the French, yet again, but I put Titsy right there after him, I do. Then Novak will be in the mix for sure. Domi is a question mark.

It amused me it was 18'C in Barcelona yet the crowd were in puffa jackets and scarves. If that were the UK we'd all have our tops off.

18º is not cold but it's not warm, Barcelona is in the coast and that makes the weather not so warm with that temperature.

For a place that is way over 30 during the summer that's not warm at all.

Anyway, not all 18º feel the same. I was on the beach with 18º feeling perfectly fine and other times i had to wear a jacket with the same temperature

Tsitsipas still lacks killing instincts, because for a while he has the match in his hands.

And i know Nadal is lethal in Roland Garros, but he is going to need a good draw because if he has to face Tsitsipas and Thiem before the final he'll be done

R222 I was very surprissed with the interviews they did before the match, a lot of people thought Tsitsipas was the favourite and even most of them wanted Nadal to win they were perfectly fine if Tsitsipas end winning

Berretini defeated Karatsev in the tie break of the third

Schedule updates of 2 legends!

Serena is scheduled to play Rome then RG. She's training at Mourataglou's academy this week in France.

Federer is scheduled to play Geneva then RG. He's clearly focusing on the grass mini-season

in wannabe legend updates, Andreescu has pulled out of Madrid. Apparently she's sick rather than injured

Federer will be eliminated in the first rounds at Roland Garros and frankly i don't think his options at Wimbledon are that high

I'm no great fan of Thiem, R221, but Tsitsipas is another quarantine crybaby, calling the bubble "excruciating" and getting away with a measly $7500 fine when he violated the quarantine in Miami. Would that we all had such an excruciatingly pampered existence.

And of course Djokovic's COVID antics are infamous.

R234 yes but at least Tsitsipas and DJokovic are still playing and Tsitsipas is having his best clay season. Thiem is on the other hand is apparently mentally debilitated by the combo of the quarantine and "not having motivation" after winning his first slam which by the way will have an asterisk next to it unless he can win a second with Nadal and Djokovic in the draw. I could understand if Thiem defeated them both on his way to the USO win but for him to act like there's nothing left to do in tennis is absurd. He's not hall of fame material yet

Andreescu has Covid.

During the last couple weeks from her social media, she's stayed in Miami and has been going out to crowded restaurants. It doesn't seem Andreescu was taking precautions seriously at all. What an idiot

R234 I ithink it was Ugo Humbert the one who said that he felt very grateful because he can do what he loved to do, play tennis. The circumstances were not the best but at least they can play.

Unfortunately there are more people like Paire, Djokovic, Thiem and Tsitsipas.

In general, a lot of athletes didn't come very clean for this pandemic, specially soccer players who were caught again and again doing forbidden things an uploading them to their instagram (yes, they are not very bright).

You can say what you want about Nadal, but at least he has some common sense

[quote]You can say what you want about Nadal

Why thank you, and would like to say that he is my GOAT.

I do too R239. I like reading the Fed fans freak out over any success Nadal attains.

Rafa has passed their God Fed and it just drives them mad.

Plus Nadal likely has another Slam or two in him. It seems clear that Fed doesn't.

I've a feeling Fed will retire at Wimbledon.

R226, Steffi Graf is indeed up there in the Top 3 of best all time female players. However, that doesn't change the fact that she won a lot of matches she should have lost because her opponents choked. How you translated that into me hating Germans (not at all true) and extrapolating that to DL in general is beyond me. People on this site need to take formal logic classes.

Although I hope I'm wrong, I think Thiem is toast. The truly great players hunger for more Slams after winning their first, they don't cite it as a lack of motivation. That statement really does say a lot about why Federer, Nadal and Djokovic remain perennial favorites at the majors.

I agree, R217, about Tsitsy needing to sort his head out. He let Nadal back into the match in the first set by playing far too many neutral rally balls. His shot selection on many of the big points was not tactical enough. Again, I can see why the Big 3 have dominated for so long. The new guys can't seem to think their way through a match.

I don't understand what happened to Thiem.

I think it's pretty common having some meltdown after winning your first GS (or a GS that you really wanted, something even Nole suffered ater winning RG), but he seemed depressed and he is not a kid.

He got what he was looking for for so many years but his reaction was the opposite of what i was expecting. He won a GS he is (or at least was) in a new relationship, there was no reason to finally look for other GS or even number one, but that didn't happened.

Maybe he is in time to recover for clay season, because when he is on he is really good on clay

I know we're all armchair coaches but if Tsitsipas had come in when he had match point at 5-4 30-40 in the third set he likely would have won the title right there. He hit a deep return and stayed back, hoping for a Nadal error. It didn't happen and instead Nadal was eventually able to get him to make an error. The first couple Nadal shots could have been handled by a volley and Tsitsipas is quite capable at net

R245 Yes, he was too conservative in that point and with Nadal you rarely get an unforced error in a point like that

R224. agreed. The ovation for Tsitsipas made me teary-eyed (I know, MARY) but I thought it was very emotional. Great match though. I am not a Nadal fan but he is so impressive, his clutch, the way he constructs his points. Somebody said that he was playing at a C+/B- level, but that is still so, so darn good. Madrid is not that important for Rafa (he always complains about the height) but Rome could be very interesting. Tsitsipas was outstanding today also. I think that he might be the next big champion, and I rate him above Medvedev, Rublev and Sinner. I know Sinner is younger but his loss to Tsitsipas surprised me, no weapons against him. I am inclined to believe that Zverev and Thiem might not be the next great champions that we thought five or six years ago. And Thiem is in a very deep funk, apparently.

Tsitsipas is a very tricky player for the ones who based everything in power.

Sinner has a lot of weapons but unlike other youngsters like Musetti or Alcaraz, he lacks variety and that is a problem when you face an in form Tsitsipas

I really thought our Titsy was going to take out Rafa which would have been epic. I just can’t watch Rafa’s schtik any longer — has there ever been a slower, more deliberate player? The time and tics in between points and in between first and second serves is ridiculous—and don’t get me started on how the fucking lets let him do it all again. (#playtheletalready but that’s for another post). Then you add the OCD clinic he’s putting on at every changeover and between every point and every serve and it’s just too much to bear. For me, anyway. Will be interested to see if anyone can challenge him for real in Madrid and Rome. Should be an interesting few weeks leading up to RG

Titsy has the game he just doesn't have the head. He needs a cuntiness graft from Justine Henin. That bitch just TOOK it.

Davidovich Fokina showing his assets in Estoril

Nuno Borges needs to be on DL's radar. His win earlier today is moving him into the top 300 and he is hot as hell.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a pic online that does him justice.

Tiafoe really is 1 of the premier chokers on tour. It's ridiculous at this point. He had a chance to defeat Anderson in straight sets today, even had a match point. Then in third set he manages to break Anderson as he serves for the match. Tiafoe goes up a minibreak on 2 different occasions in the final tiebreak but still lost 7-5. This is following his massive choke against Schwarzman a few days ago. He's very talented with power and speed and his volleys are improving but mentally he's still very fragile. About half the matches he loses every year are from winning positions.

Medvedev revealed that Rublev gets annoyed when people confuse him with Sinner as the 2 look similar and have power-based games.

I don't understand the schedule in Estoril.

Cilic-Alcaraz was delayed because they scheduled four matches on one court and only one in the other (on a rainy day)

Alejandro DF is a FINE piece of ass.

Wimbledon to scrap middle Sunday no-play rule fro 2022.

About fucking time!

[quote]Wimbledon to scrap middle Sunday no-play rule fro 2022.

I shall smite them. 14 days of rain.

Djokovic pulls out of Madrid.

There are few shots more thrilling to see in tennis than Richard Gasquet uncorking a backhand. I'm always amazed.

Yeah, Gasquet's BH has always been a thing of beauty. Such perfect timing on it, such a lovely arc, such power he can get on it. As much as we cunt on her, Justine Henin's was also really lovely.

Super handsome new find, Nuno Borges (aka gorgeous Borges), wins the first set against Cilic. How do you say, "let's go!" in Portuguese?

Ilya Ivashka is good looking (currently playing McDonald). Here he is with Karen Hemsworth and a very nice pic of Rublev, actually.

Borges has the most delectable dark hairy legs. He's chocolate to Shapo's vanilla.

He may be a gangly dork of a kid, but it's refreshing to see a tennis player smile as much as Ugo Humbert on court. He clearly loves what he does. He's the Anti-Paire.

Davidovich really loves to play on Estoril.

Humbert is a really likeable guy

I love Ugo. He's always fun to watch and has a great attitude. He, Felix and Pop seem to have the best attitudes among the up-and-comers.

Definitely onboard with the Ugo love. He has not only the curliest hair on tour but the curliest hair of any person on the planet.

And Ugo can also play the piano...

Madrid draw is out for the ladies. Almost everyone notable is there except Serena and Andreescu I think.

Very loaded draw. Most first rounds are not easy

[quote]Almost everyone notable is there except Serena and Andreescu I think

Tournament director Ion Tiriac said something like Serena being too old and overweight and should just retire so I doubt she'll play there ever again

R271 he has a history of making rude comments and pissing off everyone who's not a Romanian

Wow, Novaxx and Fed have begun an exodus from Madrid: now also Goffin, Cilic, Monfils, Raonic, Wawrinka and Coric have withdrawn.

Good. There's a pandemic raging, the tournament should never have been given the green light.

Vamos, bitches!

Most of those players listed as withdrawing from Madrid have hardly been competing this year so it's not exactly unexpected.

Is Rafa the leader in the Virginia Slims points right now? I have him as my favorite to win the Virginia Slims of Amelie Island and the Eugenie Bouchard Classic Cup. Pencilling him to dominate the indoor events. Martina was always dominant indoors. She had so much rug munching experience that she took to carpet like a duck (I mean ya, Pam) takes to water (in the lady pond).

Madrid is an odd tournament in that it's not seen as particularly useful in preparation for the FO since it's at such high altitude.

It's one of the worst tournaments, and always a bit of a mess that it's a Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 (even bigger than Rome for the ladies). I know Tiriac throws a lot of money at it, but it's such a soulless event. That hideous court shadow on La Caja Magica, the awful Romanian WCs, the slick high-altitude conditions that are terrible prep for RG, elite retired soccer players showing up in the player boxes and acting like hooligans....

Even Rome's second court (Pietrangeli) is much more beautiful and perfect prep for RG. And at least other clay masters like Monte Carlo have the sweeping views and strong entry lists. The clay season has changed a lot since back in the day, I miss the Charleston > Hilton Head / Amelia Island double too.

Moutet's suddenly blossomed into a very handsome young man - nice tight body and mesmerising eyes. Playing well against Shapo to boot.

The tournament playing the rap song they'd recorded together was amusing.

The way they're playing against each other you'd think they'd had a falling out.

Svitolina chokes 6 match points and a 5-0 lead in the final set tiebreak to lose to Teichmann in Madrid. The WTA never ceases to amuse.

Barty beats Rogers 6-2 6-1, her 4th win over the American this season.

Muguruza pulls out due to injury, instead Sloane gets LL Danka Kovinic in round 1.

Vesnina returned to the singles court for the first time since 2018 and lost to Kudermetova.

Nadal climbing out of the water (sorry, don't know if this is old).

[quote]don't know if this is old

I think it was after Nadal's recent win in Barcelona. It's tradition for the champion to jump into the pool with all the ball kids (they didn't jump in with him this time because of Covid)

🍑🍑🍑

nalgas halucinantes!

Gemslife

That's an ass. Bravo.

quel dumptruck!

Good god, Graf fans are so fucking touchy.

lol Teichmann bringing back "Allez!" haven't heard that for a while as the other French players on the WTA don't say it very often like Henin used to. Teichmann is tenacious but what a poor loss by Svitolina especially given the score

Bencic straight sets Mladenovic who to her credit got through qualifying

Stephens def. Kovinic comfortably

Swiatek def. Riske with double breadstick

Konta def. Putintseva in straights which is a surprise given how much Konta normally sucks on clay but then again Madrid is different

Kvitova def. Bouzkova with 1 set and then a retirement in the 2nd

Kerber def. Vondrousova

Bertens finally gets a win though it's over a 15 year old Andorran wildcard

In Estoril, Garin gets a walkover from Gasquet following a bye. So that's into the QF without playing a match

R291 The 15 year old andorran wildcard is the current Australian open jr champion and former junior number 1

R279 I'm surprised this year the all 4 wc are for spanish players (even if i think Verdasco is a waste of a wc)

How bout Cameron Norrie showing some game on clay? Plus, he's cute. His match v Garin will be a test.

OMG get this cunt:

Because everyone thought Fog was an angel before this unfortunate incident against his unassailable character.

He can threaten all he wants, he has no case.

how can Fognini sue for defamation? They're not making him curse people out and throw tantrums when he starts losing. He's saying he got dq'ed for not doing anything wrong? Well that's not what officials heard when he was muttering on court

Fog is quickly going down Bernie Tomic way ... to Cuntsville.

Even his book is called 'Warning'.... what reputation? Lol.

Where has Verdasco even been the past 2 or so years? He seems to train a lot on his Instagram but never enters tournaments.

Maybe Svitolina was busy planning her wedding in her head. She and Monfils just got engaged.

g*e*m*s life

Is Steve Weisman or whatever at TC retarded? He can't pronounce any player's name.

Granny V stinking up the joint

R300, Verdasco's entered one tournament (Miami) this year and lost in the first round.

Flopos flops again...

Well, Zeppieri threatened the umpire in his match so it seems italians have a really hot temper. I don't know why he was so mad, Cerundolo defeated him 60 63

Did Zverev miss his chance to win a slam? His career seems to be going downhill now.

With Ivashka and Alejandro D-F winning today, it was a good day.

Agreed on Ivashka over A. Zverev, but I'd rather have seen Humbert get to the semis. ADF reminds me of Nalbandian.

R307 Hopefully. I would rather see Paire/Fognini win a GS than him winning one.

men's draw now out in Madrid.

Nadal might have to deal with Sinner in the rd16 which should be quite a challenge on these faster clay courts

Nishikori vs. Khachanov is a brutal opening round

FAA vs. Ruud interesting

Berrettini might open against Fognini which could be fun. I don't know what their relationship is like

Garin vs. Verdasco. I expect Verdasco to be quite frustrated

Medvedev is back from his covid absence

and Thiem has finally returned

R307 Not necesarily. He is still young. It's true there is a new buch of younger players who seem eager to replace the next gen but he will have chances if he is focused on the game.

His private life is a disaster and not everyone is able to keep focused when his life is a mess, in fact being able to compete at your best level when everything is crumbling around is something only the greatest (Greg Louganis is a prime example) are able to do

Pretty weird wc to Arthur Cazaux in Madrid.

Cazaux was a good junior (but nothing spectacular) and he is one of the promising french young players, but you have someone l ike Mario Vilella getting ignored and even Spain has someone Cazaux's age like Pablo Llamas with very similar ranking.

But with Tiriac you never know

Why are we being subjected to stupid WTA matches in Madrid over and over again on TC when there are perfectly good ATP matches available? Ugh...women's tennis.

R315 You are on DL dear, we love the wta drama.

Anyway, men are still in qualification rounds.

I remember reading on a spanish blog some people complainning about Verdasco wc and a lot of people thought it should have be for Musetti, till someone remind them the wc's on Rome (you've got to go too 2008 to find someone who is not an italian)

R315, what do you mean the men are still in qualification rounds? They have semi-finals in Estoril.

R317 I was talking about Madrid qualifications.

Frankly i don't think Basilashvilli/Ruud will be that interesting

R315, the Ben and Courteney bots are going to pin you down and beat you until you admit how compelling the WTA shitfest is. I watched some of Ashley Borety's match today. She is so dull and uninteresting she makes the Pliskbot look like sex kitten glam puss Margaret Court in comparison.

lol the men's matches in Munich and Estoril weren't so great. Some posters act like every men's match is amazing and every women's match sucks. Not at all

Madrid has been fine to watch so far. I am looking forward to the men's main draw starting tomorrow too

Davidovich dissapointed big time and the same can be said about Ruud on Munich

But great for Cameron Norrie, hoodathunk?

Plus he's cute.

I'm finding Jan-Lennard Struff kinda ugly-hot. Do we have any shirtless or bulge pics yet?

Struffi does have his finer points...

The thread is dead.

Long live the new thread!

(Thanks, OP of new thread.)