The Gays and Tennis Part 73-Heart of the Clay Season!

last thread

talented homophobe Dolgopolov retires due to ongoing wrist issues

Babolat basically puts Fognini and Paire on notice that they better stop acting like assholes or they could dropped

RAFA!

Will Grammy Vee go on a tear and sweep up RG, Wimby, USA Open and Tokyolympics this year?

R2 Is he an homophobe? i always thought he was gay

Cameron Norrie has one of the weirdest double hand backhands on the circuit

shaggable Shapo

Has PEDal consulted his "doctors" yet to prepare for Roland Garros? Is Novaxx still on his "gluten-free diet" that caused a sudden spurt in his form?

Moutet's already in diva training.

Yeah he hasn't had enough success yet to start cunting up the joint.

C. Norrie is very cute. I also like the German guy Koepfer.

The French are all weirdos according to Tsitsy. Moutet proving him right at r9.

Koepfer is adorable.

Azarenka's pulled out of Madrid with a back injury.

And Osaka is out!!!!!!!

Thoughts and prayers for Dolgopolov, r2. And rolls of toilet paper.

Barty-Swiatek looks like a good match-up. The last two winners of the French Open.

Osaka is a one-surface wonder who is just lucky that the GOAT has been injured or cheated by lyin' ass referees.

[quote] the GOAT has been injured or cheated by lyin' ass referees.

I am not injured, and the only lying against me has been by the heathen media.

at least for now, tennis commentators need to stop comparing Osaka to Serena. Serena even in her early 20s was an all-surface winner. So far Osaka is a hardcourt specialist

Basilashvili picks up his second title of the year in Munich over Struff.. Despite the ongoing legal/domestic situation, he seems to be in his best form early this season

Very surprising result today with Taberner straight setting Musetti in the last round of qualifying in Madrid.

in a tongue twister, de Minaur def. Munar in 3 sets

looking forward to tomorrow's matches:

Karatsev vs. Humbert

Koepfer vs. Opelka

Bencic vs. Jabeur

Giron vs. Andujar

Dimitrov vs. Harris

Kvitova vs. Kudermetova

Barty vs. Swiatek

Garin vs. Verdasco

Is she hard court specialist?

Musetti being defeated by Taberner was a surprise (Taberner lost to Alcaraz in two sets last week and he is coming back from an injury, to be fair he was doing great before the injury).

Musetti needs to work a lot to avoid injuries because he was having some trouble in the second set. He better rest for Rome.

Osaka is just lazy, she avoids playing tournaments on clay and the result is she doesn't improve.

Barty-Swiatek will be interesting. Barty is very talented but frankly the way Swiatek played last year at RG was the highest quality play on clay since Justine Henin

Romos won Estoril

*Ramos (-Viñolas)

The RV/Norrie closing speeches were really nice. I had no idea they were such good friends. Norrie said he thinks of RV as an older brother.

I was happy for ARV.

I was also really tired of Norrie’s serve. I felt like he tossed the ball 1,000 times in the 3 matches I watched.

I like de Minaur and thank Christ he lost he Hitler 'stache. He is a fantastic competitor, very quick and tireless and has an all-court game. I'm not sure he's big enough to win a major but I love watching him play.

R26 - ugh that catching the ball on serve drives me crazy too. I think if you catch your toss it should be an automatic fault...and when are they going to start PLAYING THE LET? Cmon already...

Grigor is out. Harris (cute t-shirt) is adorable, btw.

Chardy v Evans is very high quality.

[quote]Grigor is out.

That is *never* going to happen, r 29.

Bencic def. Jabeur 7-6(2) 4-3 ret.

Kvitova def. Kudermetova 6-3 4-6 6-4

nice win for Alcaraz over Mannarino 6-4 6-0

bad boy Fognini wins in 3

Giron def. Andujar 6(8)-7 7-6(4) 7-5 almost 3 1/2 hours

Koepfer fells Opelka 6-4 6-4

Evans def. Chardy in 3

Karatsev def. Humbert 7-5 6-4

Isner def. Kecmanovic

Barty def. Swiatek 7-5 6-4 good quality between the last 2 RG winners

Padosa v Sevastova has been brilliant. Padosa looking like she's about to take it.

Badosa, not Padosa.

How embarrassing.

Found a hot pic of Jan-Lennard Struff. Didn't know he was so furry. Yum.

^ That’s the only time I have ever looked at Struff and thought - Yeah, I would.

Chewy McNip sez:

That's sum fine Bratwurst!

young stud Garin dismisses veteran stud Verdasco in straights

Good riddance, I am so sick of Osaka.

Speaking of which, the Met Gala is skewing Gen Z.

Watched PCB cruise through the first set and a half against Delblahness, then I stopped watching, figuring it was an easy opening round win for Pablo. Just checked the scores to confirm, instead I see that he must have completely choked.

Good win for Barty

why are all the top male players have some kind of "mental Issue"? is their any top male player that is more or less down to earth and normal?..

R44 it takes a "special" kind of person to become an elite athlete?

Does Federer have a mental issue? I mean I used to be a huge fan and now find him annoying and up his own ass but he doesn't seem like he's got issues. He doesn't have OCD like Nadal or sociopathic tendencies like Djokovic.

Tuesday matches of interest:

Sinner vs. Pella

Krajinovic vs. Norrie

Shapovalov vs. Bublik who knows what the hell is going to happen there

Brady vs. Pavlyuchenkova

de Minaur vs. Harris

Khachanov vs. Nishikori could well be the standout of the day

Halep vs. Mertens

Thiem vs. Giron

FAA vs. Ruud

Rublev vs. Paul

Sabalenka vs. Pegula

Berrettini vs. Fognini really curious how Fabio behaves against a younger and higher ranked countryman

Basilashvili vs. Paire again who knows how this will turn out

Can we put Rafa's 'OCD' to bed once and for all please. If it were OCD these habits that you all complain and bray about would carry over to his off-court life. There is no evidence of that. So while its all the rage for his haters to carry on about his 'OCD' and 'mental issues', how about seeing it for what it is; clothing sticking to a sweaty body that he adjusts, wiping sweat from his brow and face so that he can see the ball, and yes, harmless superstition about water bottle placement.

R48 you forgot still putting the phantom piece of hair behind hairs like he used to when it was actually longer but now has no need for because it's shorter and he's balding

*behind his ears

[quote]you forgot still putting the phantom piece of hair behind hairs like he used to when it was actually longer but now has no need for because it's shorter and he's balding

again, sweat management

R51 managing sweat from nonexistent hair? It's phantom hair. He used to have longer hair and it made sense. Now it's not long enough to put behind his ears. He literally does the same motion but there's no hair to put behind his ears anymore. It's insane

r52 has not been off the couch since he was 20 and has no idea how you can sweat through your scalp in a gruelling match.

Keep that remote-control close to the bowl of chips and pepsi bro, wouldn't want to see you roll off the couch end up and end up in an emergency ward

R53 lol nice projection I'm actually a millennial and very much into fitness not that it matters

Nadal touches his nose, then touches behind his ear, then touches his nose again then does the other ear. That's not sweat management. If anything it'd make his hand sweaty. There are towels to use between points. He just can't possibly change his routine when he used to have longer hair and needed to push it behind his ears. You can be a super Nadal stan all you want but it looks INSANE

If Nadal is worried about his sweat management he'd want to keep his hand dry, not risk getting it more moist by touching his face and ears. It's simply an OCD tick

i've worked in a mental health facility long enough to recognize OCD, sorry, he doesn't have it, its not carried forward to his off-court life. He certainly does have superstitions and patterns that he follows that he obviously believes contribute to his success as one of the most winning tennis players in history. Patterns just like you have in your daily life so you don't waste mental energy thinking about trivial things, rather than more important things like game strategy. Millennial boy, do you put your phone in the same place each night so you don't have to run around in the morning wasting time and energy as to its whereabouts? Its the same thing. Winning patterns. But any way, you know better.

Heh, I'm a Nadal fan... but there's superstitious and then there's whatever Rafa is. There's definitely something going on there.

I always say that his routine started like this:

Picking his wedgie and then smelling his fingers. BUT, he had to disguise it to look like he’s touching nose and ear - repeat - nose and ear. 😂

My brother is a Gemini like Rafa and would smell his fingers constantly when we were growing up. It was so fucking gross. He would also smell everything he ate first. OCD as hell.

lmao putting your phone in the same place to make it easier to find is not the same thing as tapping your nose, then tapping behind 1 ear, then tapping your nose again and then tapping behind the other ear.

Anyone who plays tennis knows you do not want to get your hand sweaty as you might lose control of your racket during a point. Some players even put chalk on their hands to prevent sweat from getting on the racket. So if Nadal's ears and nose do get sweaty, tapping them with his fingers would not be a good decision. It's simply an OCD tick. He can use a towel between points to wipe his face and ears. If he doesn't have time to get to a towel, he can use a part of his shirt. You don't wipe the sweat with your fingers as that just transfers the sweat to your fingers.

No one is saying Nadal is a bad guy as he's known to be a nice person. Not sure why some here are outraged at the idea that his pre-serving rituals are quite bizarre. Get a grip.

Wow Ruud routines FAA. Ruud is looking guud.

I bet Khachanov knows how to lay pipe.

Shapo makes me sick

[quote] Shapo makes me sick

Why?

some wow results today

Sabalenka spanks Pegula

Mertens upsets Halep in 3 tough sets

Berrettini comfortable win over Fognini

Bublik strikes again in 3 over Shapovalov

Rublev in 3 over Paul

Paire def. Basilashvili whoa. I assume Basilashvili was tired after winning Munich?

RBA def. Cecchinato in 3

Ramos-Vinolas def. Fritz in 3

Popyrin def. Struff in 2

Nishikori def. Khachanov in 3. Karen is really struggling this year. Kei is making progress in his comeback

Davidovich Fokina def. Herbert in 3 tiebreaks

Mmmmm Basilashvilli

very surprising to see Pavlyuchenkova defeat a bunch of good players in a row out of nowhere

R65, were they in alphabetical order?

Pavlyuchenkova will have a great tournament once in awhile then go back to barely winning a match.

Canadians are not doing well on clay season.

Rublev played badly but won anyway. Thiem played pretty well today

Marcos Giron needs to sit on my face. STAT.

How did Help lose to Mertens on clay? At this rate Borety is going to win this tournament too. Yawn.

Biggest Rafa fan ever here. It's DEFINITELY OCD. Come on. And who cares? That isn't really something to be ashamed of. It's a thing. Some people have it. Big deal.

My mother has it. We still love her.

I was on Help team. :(

Nadal is OCD and everyone knows it. Just look at how he places his bottles and his pre serve routine.

RBA team or Isner team?

Rainbow-laced RBA vs Trump-supporting Isner... not really a hard choice.

omg Pavlyuchenkova into the SF fucking bizarre

Barty another tough win this time over Kvitova

Badosa upsets Bencic in a rematch of their Charleston clash which Badosa also won. Now she'll get the chance to play Barty again just like in Charleston when she also got the upset

big surprise with Popyrin upsetting Sinner in straight sets. It'll be funny seeing Nadal and Popyrin play next round since their faces are kinda similar, like big and little brother

Evans keeps winning takes out Millman in 3

Zverev routines Nishikori which surprised me based on both of their recent form

Karatsev another great win this time over Schwartzman in 3

Garin comfortable win over Koepfer

Medvedev wins from behind against Davidovich Fokina in 3

Why does someone as good looking as Benoit Paire want to mar his face with that hideous beard?

^ I don’t understand either! It’ll be a foot long soon...

disappointing loss from RBA he had match point too. Hopefully Rublev buries Isner tomorrow

Popcorn matches tomorrow:

Domicakes v Demon

Garin v Med

Casper v Titsy (maybe the best match of the day?)

Isner broken TWICE in the second set. OH HAPPY DAY!

Isner for the W.

Gross.

TeamRuudBoy ot TeamTitsy?

RuudTeam

And Casper won!!!!!

Yay! I’m so happy.

WTF how does Isner keep scraping by with these wins? I can't believe RUblev didn't take him out today

Ruud with a great upset over Tsitsipas

Nadal routines his little brother

Garin upsets Medvedev in 3

Thiem tough straight set win over de Minaur

Bublik upsets Karatsev in straights

Barty comfortable revenge win over Badosa

Even Isner in his post-match interview admitted he didn't deserve to win.

The more the clay season marches on, the more it seems Nadal is a lock for #21 at Roland Garros this year. I don't think I can take another Nadal win at the French. It used to be my favorite tournament until it practically became a foregone conclusion that Nadal is the likely winner. So boring!

mmmmmmmmmmmm, Casper

How ruud, R91.

Evans is giving it a good go against Zverev. His clay performance has been very impressive recently.

Ruud is so hot.

But in the end R93, he lost. Zverev will meet Nadal.

The Madrid quarters are set:

Berrettini v. Garin

Ruud v. Bublik

Nadal v. A. Zverev

Thiem v. Isner

Very sub par quarters to be honest

At least we won't have to look at Isner's smug mug in Rome.

Sabalenka ain't fucking around.

I'm glad Domicakes has grown his hair out again. He's much hotter with the curly locks.

Borna Chore Itch

Thiem team or Isner team?

Rafa team or A. Zverev team?

Bublik team or Ruud 👻 team?

Berretteami or Garin team?

Prakash Amritraj sounds like a female version of Mary Carillo.

Thiem, Rafa, Ruud and Garin (though Berrettini is fine also)

Oh, thank God Thiem just dispatched Isner.

Bye, bye trumpster-lover. It was close though. Now, Zverev-Nadal. I think Zverev might win.

The U.S. will have no players in the ATP top 30 come Monday for the first time since the rankings were introduced in 1973.

And Nadal is out in two quick sets. Zverev is playing very well lately.

Did anyone see the Zverev-Nadal match? Hopefully it was Zverev playing well and not Nadal out of form.

Agree about Thiem defeating Isner. And who cares if there are no American men in the Top 30. There are no Americans worth rooting for. They are either head cases or they are Trump lovers or both. The European men are the guys I root for these days.

nadal was bad, fast court dont suit him, madrit is his nemezis

[quote] Did anyone see the Zverev-Nadal match?

No one did including R108, the umpire, Nadal and A. Zverev.

Doesn't Nadal really not like Madrid? I know he's won it a few times but I'm sure he's said before it's not a favourite tournament.

A. Zverev

The Schadenfreude over Isner's loss evaporates with the gloat of ignominious A. Zverev.

I want to have Ruud's babies.

[quote] I want to have Ruud's babies.

He’ll ghost you.

R112 Madrid conditions are the worst clay conditions for Nadal style of play.

R107 The USA (just like France) are able to produce promising juniors again and again and again but they generally underperform when they become pros.

Martin Damm and Toby Kodat seem good prospects but they are not Alcaraz (even if both defeated him on juniors) and i doubt they'll be near top 100 for a couple of years (with the exceptions of Alcaraz and Musetti, the pandemic was harsh for all teens and most of them are way low in the rankings)

Berrittini needs some calf implants stat

And with this victory Ruud is now 16 on the live ranking, if he is able to win his semis he'll be ahead of Shapovalov.

He makes less noise than other youngsters but his progression is pretty clear

Yeah, Nadal hates Madrid. He's only won it four times (plus once years ago when it was hardcourt, I believe) which for Nadal is terrible. He's won Monaco 11 times and Rome 9 times in comparison.

Still, a huge win for Zverev. Beating Nadal that soundly on any court is huge, let alone clay.

White boy beated me. No vamos.

Que te jodan, pedazo de mierda

Wow Casper - Matteo is a DREAM match!!!

I'm gonna have my vibrator super charged and ret-2-go!

It's very interesting that A. Zverev seems to have Rafa's number. A combination of power serving, being tall and a good mover, and a two-handed BH that can handle Rafa's FH. Rafa is mortal.

Too bad A. Zverev is also a POS.

Olya, you should swim in the lady pond.

B. Zverev

Thiem team or A. Zverev team?

Ruud 👻 team or Berreteami?

Bleah. Not Team Wifebeater.

very surprised how Garin got so tight after going up a set and a break! He's usually so tenacious. He could hardly hit the ball at all in the third set

Hopefully Thiem and Zverev won't play as pathetically as they did in the USO final. That was a straight up shit final.

Now watch PEDal draw the pathetic clown Zverev at RG and pound him into the clay. A win on the faster clay of Madrid in a best of 3 means fuck all. PEDal is going to win RG for the 48th time.

When he finally starts to slow down and lose, Rafa can self ID as a woman and dominate the women's singles, win 30 titles in that category and wipe Chrissy Evert-Lloyd-Mill-Norman's clay court records off the books.

R131 You seem very angry. Are you OK?

I’m looking forward to Domicakes/Zverev manana. Hopefully it’s a good one. Barty/Sabalenka should be good and tight as well.

R133 Really looking forward to Barty/Sabalenka. I'm a bit torn as I can't help but like Barty (though I admit she can be slightly boring) but really want to see Sabalenka bring the kind of game she brought against Pavy.

Is Barty a lez in the grand tradition of the notable Aussie women players? Except for Evonne Goolagong all the others have been family. Stosur, Turnbull, Court, Dellacqua, Provis and pretty much every other Aussie female player. Is it the water on Oz?

R135 she's straight.

R136, thanks. I make fun of her a lot and call her Borety but, almost against my will, she is growing on me. I am starting to like her very laidback, no drama, no nonsense, professional approach to the game. Next to all the screeching cunts in the WTA she seems like a breath of fresh air.

R137 She's grown on me too. She's like the most Australian person on the planet. Walked away from the game to go play cricket, seen at sporting events with two glasses of beer in her hands. Her game is quietly brilliant when she's 'on'. She just lets her game do the talking and seems like a really cool woman.

Sabalenka seems pretty cool too but obviously is a bit more fiery. Looking forward to that contrast later today. It could go either way - Barty quietly dismantles Sabalenka or Sabalenka blows her off the court and makes her look silly.

R124 The head to head is 5-3 in Rafa's favour, i wouldn't call that having Rafa's number (i remember when people said that about Sharapova because she won her first matches against Serena, that didn't end well).

But Sascha won the last three in straight sets so he is clearly improving.

For two top players they played very few matches against each other in recent years

R137 She is very down to earth and doesn't seem to fond of the spotlight. Her problem is she lacks the killing instinct needed to become great but she is a fantastic tennis player with a lot of variety in her game.

And her serve is amazing for someone so short

R140 I don't agree she lacks a killer instinct. She just isn't flashy about it. She hits winners without screaming or putting unnecessary effort into it. She does it all quietly. She knows she can beat anyone in the world just by playing her own game and doesn't need all that grunting, screaming and showing off nonsense to intimidate.

R141 She definitevely lacked killing instincts in her last two Australian Open defeats

She is perfectly fine without tennis and she proved this a couple of times, she doesn't have that eager for greatness that other's have and that's fine (she seems to really enjoy her life) but it prevents her from achieve more great results.

Anyway, she is in great form and on clay i think only an in form Halep, and inspired Muguruza or Swiatek can stop her (maybe Sabalenka too)

R139 the last three went to Sascha. Is there another player on tour to whom Rafa has lost his last three matches?

Thiem Team

Casper Team

R143 Yes, the last three were to Sascha, but how many chances he has to defeat Rafa on a GS?

They played one match per year since 2019, it's difficult to read from that because they played very few times, specially being both top players

I think three wins in a row gives you confidence. I suspect Rafa will NOT win RG this year. He's looking vulnerable and lacking in confidence.

I think Thiem, Ruud, and Titsy all have a good shot.

(Not gonna mention Joker cuz I don't even want to think about that.)

He looked way more vulnerable in 2019 and he won very easily.

Roland Garros conditions are the best for Rafa and he is still way more difficult to defeat at the best of 5.

Unless he is being pushed since early rounds he'll win again.

Nole is doing worse than Rafa on clay, and the rest, noone of them really proved they can win RG. I think Thiem will have his chances if he is in top form and reach the last rounds without wasting too much energy.

It's interesting that this year the both sides of the draw could be unbalanced because Rafa will be number 3. You could get Tsitsipas, Rafa and Nole in the same part of the draw.

Medvedev is not a threat on RG, so his part of the draw could be very open

It's not JUST Evonne, R135.

And zverev just had an easy win over Thiem.

I just go in to denial when Rafa loses. I like to think he's strategically saving himself for the next big title. Hey, its my world.

6-0 Sabalenka first set.

Compelling.

6-3 Barty second set. Barty plays solid while Sabalenka unravels.

R150 I don't think Rafa dominated clay season since 2018 but in RG is a different story, in 2019 he lost two sets (one against Goffin the other against Thiem), in 2020 he didn't lose any set (and he played only two tie breaks, one against Sinner the other against Schwartzman)

Sabalenka is amazing when she is on, but she is rarely on the whole match and mentally she is pretty weak (which is preventing her from becoming bigger)

Sabalenka wins.

Is Sabalenka a possible French Open winner or are the slightly faster courts at Madrid a factor that helped her win?

R156 Madrid is an odd anomaly in the clay season. The conditions there are nothing like the other clay tournaments. I do think Sabalenka is a threat at any tournament she plays but I'm hesitant to base that on her performance at Madrid.

Sabalenka has never reached the QF of a GS in singles, which is really, really weird.

Sabalenka can win in any surface but she has problems to close the matches and that after another top player generally means you end losing.

She is improving but till now her results at GS are dissapointing, she is always there and she fights, so i think it's a question of time before she gets a good run at a GS

A. Zverev is objectionable on so many levels. Really hoping that Berrettini or Ruud plays him into the dirt tomorrow.

He was complaining in an interview after the match about line calls. Hes so annoyingly smug. The video of the line showed he was wrong. Hopefully he loses early at the French.

Unfortunately i don't think Berrettini or Ruud have a chance against Zverev.

Berrettini is improving but not even at his best he was a threat to a in form Zverev.

Ruud is probably playing the best tennis in Madrid, but he is a newbie, he just reached the top 20 now and i don't think he'll hold his nerves on a final. He is doing really well these weeks, but he was trashed by Basilashvilli and Alcaraz anyway

I’m rooting for Ruud.

Casper 👻 or Berreteammi?

Casper 👻 team or Berreteammi?

I WANT to like Matteo. I try!

Then I see his calves and I can’t.

You can see his calves? You must have great eyesight.

I'm going for 'vision-in-hot-pink' Ruud tonight.

Courier just called Berrittini the strapping Italian

Ruud is bulging nicely today. Hoping the nudes leak soon.

R166, anywhere other than DL I'd presume yours is a parody post.

Rome draws out!

here's the ladies

Serena and Andreescu are both in the draw! It's quite stacked actually. Very surprised that Caroline Garcia got a WC

tough first rounds:

Mertens vs. Kudermetova

Venus vs. Ka. Pliskova

Gauff vs. Putintseva

Giorgi vs. Sorribes Tormo

Keys vs. Muchova

Muguruza vs. Pavlyuchenkova

Ostapenko vs. Konta

Kasatkina vs. Pegula

Also a few potentially tough first round matches depending on who gets through qualifying

men's also stacked though quite a few pullouts from Coric to Raonic to Kyrgios to Federer

tough first rounders

Evans vs. Fritz

Berrettini vs. Basilashvili

Cilic vs. Bublik

Monfils vs. Sonego

Garin vs. Harris

FAA vs. Krajinovic

Hurkacz vs. Musetti

Gasquet vs. Opelka

Karatsev vs. Kecmanovic

Fognini vs. Nishikori

Shapovalov vs. Ruud

Sinner vs. Humbert

Berrettini dominates Ruud. His game was too imposing and powerful. If he serves well and can get forehand to forehand rallies with Zverev, he'll have a chance. If Zverev can consistently pick on Berrettini's backhand though he has no chance.

Poor Ruud looks on the verge of tears.

😢 Ruuuud!

what Pavlyuchenkova said on Muguruza?

R177 From what I can gather she didn't say very much. Said they used to be friends then Muguruza stopped talking to her. Said "she's not a bitch" which people seem to have spun that she called her a bitch.

A. Zverev team or Berreteammi? 🐻

I also thought that ruud was about to cry when he was leaving the court. He seems like such a great guy. I am afraid that tomorrow we will not be happy with the winner.

Berreteammi!

Matteo played lights out tennis. High first service percentage, money on the FH, and few UEs on the BH and even some great touch with the droppers. Ruud was tight but Matteo totally earned the win.

Hope he plays like that tomorrow!

As much as I dislike Zverev, I don't see Berrettini beating him tomorrow. Zverev's been on another level.

I just looked at ATP calendar. There's a Belgrade Open? We just had Serbia Open. That's fucked up, how'd that happen?

Italian Draw.

Do any of you know any guides in Paris who specialize in tennis?

What do "youse" guys think of Lloyd Glasspool?

Shirtless Lloyd.

I like R187.

@R186 looks like a Hitlerjungen.

R150 I like your style.

A. Zverev

"I've been chasing that great goal [a Grand Slam] for 15 years," Thiem told Der Standard this month.

"Without looking to the left or to the right. I made it. Under strange circumstances, but it's not that important to me.

"In some ways, some things have suffered along the way. Private life, dealing with other things, broadening the horizons.

"You have to do something for the head, for the brain. It was just tennis. I want to change that a little bit."

I think Domi needs to investigate the peen.

I find so strange that Thiem had those mental problem when everything went well for him. He won the GS and he had a new girlfriend.

This things generally affect you the moment you stall and don't get good results and everything falls down.

But everyone is different.

R178 Kuznetsova said that Muguruza used to be a very friendly girl till she started to work with Sam Sumyk and that he basically isolated her from the rest of players because he thinks being friends with rivals is detrimental for the player.

I suppose she lost a lot of friendships at that time

Maybe because he lost a boyfirend?

And they attacked me for telling that very same truth to Martina, R193. She played her best when she believed Chris Lloyd was her enemy and she needed to kill her on the court. As soon as she let her guard down and became friendly with the enemy again Chrissy magically broke her losing streak. You need to HATE your opponents and want to claw their eyes out to be a great champ. That's what makes Serena great. If Martina had continued to hate Chrissy she could have been even more unbeatable.

PCB Vs. Djere = Battle Of The Bulge

Ruud and Ramos-Vinolas have withdrawn from Rome, where FAA and PCB scored good wins in their first-round matches today. Felix over Krajinovic 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 and Pablo over Djere 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

This isn't necessarily specific to Wifebeater, but I really don't understand players' complaints about automated line calls. First of all, they're better than humans, including the players. But most importantly, they're impartial - even if they weren't perfect (and they're probably as close to perfect as is possible), they're not going to adjudicate differently for one player. So it's an even playing field regardless. Quityerbitchin.

Shit, my pick has not won at every stage this tournament. We're gonna be left with Wifebeater.

Flopos no more?

F. Zverev

The shaved pits are ridiculous.

Feli for some reason looks sexier with a mask. Perhaps it's because the emphasis is on his beautiful, soulful eyes. He looks great during the trophy ceremonies.

Sascha and Matteo both playing well so far in the first set.

More importantly, Berrettini is pretty to look at.

Go, Matteo! You can defeat the white guy!

Berrettini with the first set, very close though. He was up 5-1 in the tiebreak and ended at 10-8. Close, too close.

Douchebag extraordinaire won the second set.

Che bello ragazzo, questo Matteo!

Berreteammi! 🐻

Go brown guy!

R186 - he's gorgeous, thanks for pointing him out!

If he has a brother they could Berretagteammi...

A. Zverev wins.

F. O. A. D. Zverev

With how good his clay season is going it would be hilarious if Zverev lost in round 3 or 4 at the French. Who knows? Maybe he will lose to Nadal in the final or semis. Or win it.

A. Zverev

A good. Now Zverev can afford more jewelry.

Berrettini sounds sexy in Spanish.

I'm glad they have restrained trophy ceremonies at this tournament not like the ones in Russia which are way over the top.

[quote] I'm glad they have restrained trophy ceremonies at this tournament not like the ones in Russia which are way over the top.

Edit that. That music is over the top.

The Berrettini brothers look nothing alike.

Odd that Berrettini's brother more closely resembles P.O.S. Zverev.

He may not be able to lift the racket with more gold chains and huge medallions around his neck, R217.

R222 Well, i think he toned down the gold chains, some years ago he looked like B A Baracus

Zverev looks like he’s about to OG.

Overdose on gold chains...

[quote]Ruud and Ramos-Vinolas have withdrawn from Rome

Granny Vee and B. Andreescu also withdrew. Kiki Mladonna & Laura Siegemund will enter the main draw as lucky losers (Sloane Stephens lost the LL draw)

Tennis Channel was just showing Misery hitting with Lil' Diego. Misery's legs look so sexy.

Does Andreescu have an injury again? She barely plays matches.

Is Granny Vee conserving her energies for Roland Garros? She has not even reached a semifinal there for 19 years. Granny should just withdraw from Garros and focus on Wimbledon, USA Open and TokyOlympics. She has a more realistic chance of winning one of those events.

R227 No, she didn't fully recovered of covid

Bianca is a drama queen, you just know. And Misery ALWAYS had great legs.

I don't think anyone understands why Granny Vee is still playing.

I like watching Venus play, though I don't think she's much of a threat to win any Slam these days. Still, it would be great for her to catch fire at Wimbledon and take out some big names.

Berrettini abs.

A. Zverev shritless.

M. Zverev got the better genes in all other aspects.

Interesting how neither the Berrettini brothers nor the Zverev brothers really look alike, although the difference is much more pronounced with the Berrettini brothers.

lmao @ Andreescu. She wrote she was ready but had to withdraw because of the Italian government's covid rules. They might not have let her play

This time it's her own fault. After the Miami open she was out and about in Miami going out to restaurants and then got covid which prevented her from playing in first Madrid and now Rome.

My theory on A. Zverev's love for bling is that he was a rapper in his previous life. Look Notorious B.I.G died on March 9, 1997 and 6 weeks later, on April 20 the Zedraffe was born, so I may be on to something here.

Zverev looks sickly and I hate how he always pulls up his shirt before serving

R239 Are you my mother? Lol

She has never watched a Zverev match without saying - Leave your shirt alone. No one wants to look at your skinny abs!” - at least twice.

Heh I like Wifebeater's skinny abs and arms (so I'm a fan of sleeveless shirts in general). His face is pretty homely though... and his personality is the deal breaker.

And then his shaved pits finish the look of sick Twiggy in chains.

sleeveless shirts are great but only if you have the body for them. He does NOT. There are a handful of guys on the ATP who look/would look good in them. Zverev is about 20 pounds shy of that threshold. I really hope we're not going to have to see him in that the whole season but it appears it's his new standard look as he's been doing it since the AO

Bring on Marton Fucsovics in the sleeveless look. Zverev has the face and hair only a gold-digger could love.

sleeveless shirts do him no favours. He is cute but he is too skinny.

And i love Bianca for the drama queen she is

Day 1 results:

Delbonis upsets Khachanov 3-6 6-4 6-0 Karen's major slump continues

Musetti upsets Hurkacz 6-4 2-0 ret

Cilic def. Bublik 4-6 6-2 6-3 which is a surprise given recent form by both

Struff crushes Bedene 6-3 6-1

Mager upsets de Minaur 6-4 6-3

Dellien def. Mannarino 2-6 7-5 6-2

Garin def. Harris 7-5 6-2

Sinner def. Humbert 6-2 6-4

Nishikori upsets Fognini 6-3 6-4

Karatsev def. Kecmanovic 7-6(2) 6-4

Fucsovics demolishes Nishioka 6-0 6-2

Travaglia def. Paire 6-4 6-3

Fritz def. Evans 6-3 6-2 another surprise

Zvonareva who had to qualify def. fellow qualifier McHale 6-3 6-0

Pegula def. Kasatkina 7-5 6-3

Sakkari def. Hercog 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2

Swiatek def. Riske 5-4 ret.

Brady def. Zhang 6-1 6-4

Anisimova def. Wang 7-5 6-3

Alexandrova def. Kostyuk 6-3 6-1

Kvitova def. Linette 1-6 6-0 6-2

Martic def. Rogers 5-7 6-3 6-4

Gauff def. Putintseva 7-5 4-6 6-4

Sevastova def. Teichmann 3-6 6-1 6-3

Hurkacz results after Miami are pretty bad

I think Hurkacz has been ill over the last few weeks. He's looked queasy and sluggish in his matches with Evans in Monte Carlo and Millman in Madrid, then retired in his match today, barely able to move at all against Musetti.

Musetti unfortunately seems to be taking a page out of doubles partner Fognini's book, grandstanding at every opportunity.

Musetti needs to sit on my face.

There's not much there there, R249...

yes day is

Really surprised about Bublik. He's been playing incredibly. He must be tired.

Zverev looks really Russian in that pic...

Domi smooches his brother Moritz in Rome

Djoko, broken, when serving for the match.

It was just an affectionate kiss on cheek

Nothing like Borna and Brunaa

Domi is such a nice big brother

Impressive upset from FAA today, 6-1 6-3 over Diego.

Apparently NoVaxxx went Full-On Psycho at the the Umpire when they stopped his match for rain. He really needs locking up!

i think he screamed that the umpire didint stop the match earlier

That's nuts, the rain was really coming down for hours.

I am soooo done with Diva Novak. He has zero self-awareness or sincerity. Couldn't give a damn about his tennis prowess at this point; I'd rather watch players that can make watching a match enjoyable.

R256 It's a good victory but hardly an upset, Diego is playing like crap this clay season

R260 exactly. He could end up being the best tennis player in history based on records when he is done. Don't care. He's a twat. I look forward to his retirement.

R261, upset in terms of its definition, i.e. beating a higher-ranked player. So far on clay this year Diego's taken the championship in Buenos Aires, and beore his loss to FAA today he'd only lost to PCB, Ruud, ARV and Karatsev, so that's hardly "crap". Also in the first round Felix beat Krajinovic, who had a 2-0 record against him, so it looks like things are looking up for FAA.

R263 Did you even looked him play? He is playing really bad.

And it's not a question of raining in Felix parade but his clay season is pretty crappy too

Lo siento, R264, no comprendo.

R265 Pues que Diego está jugando como el culo. La victoria de Felix tiene su mérito (teniendo en cuenta que su temporada de tierra también está siendo mala) pero cuando gane a alguien que esté jugando bien de verdad me creeré que realmente va para arriba

A Novaxx-Cuntrena love child would be born kicking, clawing and punching the doctor who delivers it.

He really isn't likable.

An understatement.

Lucky for me I married a man with absolutely no ego.

So many were talking about Osaka vs Williams and they both lost their first matches in straight sets lmao.

some wild scores today

Podoroska def. Serena 7-6(6) 7-5 to be fair it's Serena's first match since the AO and Podoroska did well at RG last fall

Krejcikova upsets Kenin 6-1 6-4 the fall continues for Kenin

Muguruza def. Pera 2-6 6-0 7-5

Pegula upsets Osaka 7-6(2) 6-2

Zvonareva upsets Kvitova 6-4 3-6 6-4 I really thought Vera was done but her comeback is gaining steam

Gauff upsets Sakkari 6-1 1-6 6-1

Svitolina survives Anisimova 2-6 6-3 6-4

Delbonis upsets Goffin 6-2 6-1 what's going on with David?

Karatsev upsets Medvedev 6-2 6-4 not a shock but still pretty routine score

Rublev def. Struff 6(7)-7 6-1 6-4

Thiem survives Fucsovics 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0

RBA def. Garin 7-6(5) 6-3

Unlike a lot of other players Sinner doesn't fear Nadal, but unfortunately for him his problem closing sets and matches is going to be a big burden against Rafa

Nadal has used Sinner as a practice partner so there's no fear factor when they play

Sinner is young, but he's getting closer. Nadal had to play well today to hold off Sinner, but Sinner made ghastly errors when trying to stay even on serve. At 4-4 in the first set, he made three silly errors to give Nadal a break. He's got to tighten up his game on serve and not have those walkabout games. His serve is a big weapon. He should make guys pay for that.

I think on a hardcourt Sinner is going to beat Nadal in straights

Kerber def. Halep 1-6 3-3 ret.

Halep suffered a bad calf strain that "popped" in the second set but apparently it's just a strain not a tear

Sinner has so much game. I'm a Rafa fan, and am glad Nadal won, but Sinner's going to be a fav of mine very soon.

So excited to see how Sinner develops as he matures in his game. Amazing potential in that kid.

I only saw the warm-up, but is Serena fat again? She looked big in that windbreaker or whatever it was.

Has Taylor Townhouse expanded into a McMansion now?

I think she's preggers now, fur reel

girl, no!

Serena's windbreaker made her look massive, but her entire outfit was pretty awful. It was her 1000th match, she will play the Parma tournament next week

dear god just wretched taste R284

She's a mom, R285.

From catsuit to fatsuit

New thread given that this one has been paywalled. Thanks to OP of new thread.

[quote]I only saw the warm-up, but is Serena fat again? She looked big in that windbreaker or whatever it was

Here's a gif:

Hideous! Lol. I have to say that I don't like Nike's new styling.