The Gays and Tennis Part 18: French Open 2022

Trevisan team or Snatchovich team?

Leylah team or ova, Anisim team?

Mertens team or Coco team?

Teichmann team or Sloane team?

Prior thread:

Lil’ Diego team

Viva Zapata! team

FAA team

Stacked Carlos team

If it were purely for eye candy I’d want K. Hemsworth and A. Zverev.

Rune is cute

18 or 118?

Is Rune twink?

118.

Trevisan team

Fernandez team

Coco team but largely indifferent

Sloane team but largely indifferent

thanks for the new thread OP

looking forward to Sunday's matches

just an interesting tidbit since I know he has some fans here-I heard Wozniacki pronounce Hurkacz' last name since she's Polish and then I checked his own ATP page. I realized the commentators have been saying it wrong the whole time

Most wrongly call him "Her-kash".

Both he and Wozniacki say "Whore-Katch"

[quote] Both he and Wozniacki say "Whore-Katch"

Apt.

I've heard most commentators call him Her-Katch.

Diego

Zapata

Felix

Carlos

Carlos was also at the Champions League.

Hubi is a whore?

Nadal must be happy Real Madrid won yesterday. He's a huge Real Madrid fan!

OP: I always root against Novaxx. I don't like anti-science and anti-vaxxers. They are stupid, ignorant people who not only put themselves at risk, but others too.

Schwartzman is hot and he's from Argentina. A much more gay friendly country than that homophobic shithole Serbia. Add Novaxx being an anti-vaxxer and you can figure out who I'm rooting for. Hint: it's not Novaxx. With that said, I don't think Schwartzman stands a chance, sadly. Novaxx is playing really well, which is unfortunate for me :(

Lil Diego, Zapata, Hubie The Whore, Karen H Teams.

I'm backing Karen as he was on fire against Norrie. I've got a feeling that he might be having one of those 'hot' runs that come out of almost nowhere. Would be good to have one of those French Open upsets that we used to have pre Big 3 era.

Yay! New thread! Thank you! Did anyone watch Rafa train on Eurosport? He still looks amazing! He played in a sleeveless shirt and tight shorts. Those guns🤤 That ass🤤

Ruud frustrated me yesterday. He should have won in 3 easy sets. Instead he squeeked out a win in 5. He will not get to a QF unless he improves greatly. He himself has commented on the fact that he has low self esteem because he sees these new up and coming players who are younger than him but still plays extremely well, like Alcaraz and Rune, both only 19. He is 23 and so he feels the pressure.

Must be cold in Paris today. The ladies are playing with long sleeves. Also, the commentators said earlier that there were some clouds, so they hoped it wouldn't rain. Seems like Paris has our shitty weather. May has been cold af here in Norway. They're reporting cloudy weather, some rain and a max of like 16°C for the next 9 days, not great. That's cold even for Norway. We're supposed to have temps in the 20-25 range by now. It's summer ffs!

I'm glad Cootermetova is still in the draw. I like saying her name.

I'd love to see Lil Diego take out Boobs, but I think the only way that happens is if he's got a Jeff Gilooly somewhere in the stands with a very stale baguette.

The plucky three-setter specialist Canadienne takes out the overrated Anisimova.

Oh poor Anisimova. I'm glad she is doing well again after all that happened to her.

But i'm happy for Leylah too. Leylah against Coco could be an amazing match

I totally could see an Iga-Leylah final, with Leylah losing again..

Schwartzman is playing awful😬

I’m watching the Paul–McDonald/Koolhof–Skupski match (it looked more interesting than the Boobsout/Schwartzman match), and I must say that both Paul and McDonald look a bit light in their loafers, especially McDonald.

Am I the only one whose ‘dar pings with these two?

Did Schwartzman manage to get tickets for the Champions League final?

Yaaaas! He broke Djokovic!

Schwartzman leading 3-0 in the second set. We all know it won't last. He will still lose the set probably, but it's still fun to see him play well.

Djokovic will probably break back now. I still think Djokovic will win this easily in 3.

From 3-0 to 3-3🤦 ffs Diego!

Diego wasted a ton of break points AGAIN. Just another player choking and bending over for Djokovic.

Djokovic to win this set 6-3 now.

Told you!

Osaka in a close call.

Lol at Djokovic getting pissed the crowd is cheering for Schwartzman. He literally said allez then raised his hands right now.

INCREDIBLE ALC Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible body transformation from skinny kid to muscle machine has teen among French Open favourites

CocoGOAT is cruising.

You go through security checks when you enter any sporting arena. There was no active shooter.

caroline wozniacki was also at the soccer match yesterday. I saw Carlos Alcaraz as well.

Tommy Paul and McDonald lost

Tim Henman: hot or not?

surprising too see Coco cruising . i believe she still has to drop a set. i still think she’s overrated but i won’t mind if she proved me wrong.

I will admit that Novaxx is a great tennis player. But he makes it easy to hate him. His demeanor on court is disgusting, always. Whether he is winning or losing.

I'm gonna say it again in this new thread. Coco is gonna win this whole thing!

Guess Osaka won't be playing Wimbledon then, since she's in NY...

Turquoise and fluorescent yellow outfit for Nadal. Hmmm..

Holy shit! Rafa is in trouble😬

too much celebrating last night. I knew this would happen.

Nadal might actually lose this.

Viva Zapata has managed to come back and take Zverev to a tie-break in the first set.

Could there finally be stirrings of some upsets on the men's side?

The Nadal - FAA match is going five sets. What we don't know yet is whether Nadal's going to be healthy in five or is he going to be injured in five. It will be a moral victory either way.

I'd like to see Stephens or Gauff win. I wasn't initially a Gauff fan, but the way she composed herself in such a classy manner when her father was acting up made me a fan on the spot. She and Sloane are easygoing and easy to cheer. Leylah...I think she's going to rise again after her early season slump. Emma might have won the US Open battle, but I think Leylah will win the career war.

A. Zverev about to beat Viva Zapata!

Gauff spoke out against Florida’s don’t say gay bill. (Hope this means she won’t renew her sponsorship deal with Barilla.)

Kudos to Felix for getting his shit back together in that 4th set and not getting bulldozed by Rafa.

Should be an interesting final set.

Where is it being broadcast? Peacock?

Tennis Channel

Match point Rafa . . .

As long as his foot is fine, I like this for Rafa. A tough five setter can focus a player. Especially Rafa.

That said, and this pains me, I think Novak is the heavy favorite in the QF. He's playing lights out. And Father Time is really owning Rafa more and more and more.

I just hope they wear eachother out and the winner plays a fresher Alcaraz in the semis.

Boy I would love to have a very painful "CHRONIC" foot injury that allows to me to play world class top level tennis, 7 matches in 2 weeks, 3 out of 5 sets on grinding clay and various other tournaments since the start of the new year and not once have to retire in any match!...

such bullshit! not to mention outlasting guys young enough to be my sons too!..

Well, FAA never fails to disappoint…

R40 and a totally natural one, I might say. Who's the 18 year old who doesn't have full, hard, veiny shoulders and biceps and more than 25 lbs of muscle after a few months of gym?

R67 Months? He started to hit the gym as soon as he started to work with Ferrero and that was several years ago

R66 Felix improved in this kind of matches, now he fights, he gives trouble. He of course, needs to take the next step and start winning those matches

I agree, R64. I'm hoping for the same. If I had to pick, I say Djokovic will likely play Alcaraz in the semis, and the winner of that will take the whole tournament. Nadal is not looking as sharp as either Djokovic or Alcaraz. Today's version of Nadal would have lost to both of them.

Disappointing match from Felix. He played far too many neutral rally balls and let Nadal dictate the points. That's certainly not a winning recipe. FAA just could never sustain more aggressive tennis and he paid for it.

R65, yours is such a weak, lazy claim. His condition is actually known. Has a name.

And doing about five minutes of research would prove to you everything Rafa says about his foot is accurate.

Sure, R66, so disappointing that he's the only one in the ATP born this century to have made it to the 4th round or beyond in all four Slams.

I've had a repeat of the Madrid Open on my Tennis Channel broadcast R61

R70.... then he must have the 1) mildest form of that injury ever or 2) be a incredible superman level of pain tolerance since 2005!.. and now at his age, still playing top level world class tennis? uh huh....

Well, Djokovic won AO 21 with abdominal problems since round three so Nadal is far from being the only one with superpowers

Whatever you need to tell yourself, R73. You do know many chronic illnesses, like asthma, peak and valley right? Go away for long stretches, then pop up. And Rafa has actually played matches with a numbed foot to handle the pain. And he's missed tons of time because of the pain.

Do you think he missed the entire second half of 2021 to what, keep up the charade? Must be, right? I get it now! Rafa has been gaslighting the tennis world for 17 years! His long con game is better than his volleys! All his wins should have asterisks.

R74.. has novak been dealing with abdominal injuries that are allegedly chronic for 17 years now? I don't think so.. (and no, i do not like novak either!)....

R75... so you can fact based know that nadal is numbing his foot with injections then? amazing how he was so so injured for 6 months and miraculously can then win 7 matches in 2 weeks at a grand slam and not show a single ounce of rustiness or cardio fitness! amazing!...

the fact remains that he has yet to retire from a match because of this foot injury. the fact remains that when ANY OF US have a so called painful chronic foot injury we would not be able to walk before, during or after it "flairs up", much less play world class tennis and never ever (when he springs up on us without any warning) default a match....

when he starts defaulting matches then i'll believe his foot injury is as bad as he and his camp claim..

Cool R76. You've stated your boundaries.

Somehow I imagine Rafa will manage to keep his spirits up despite your rebukes and tantrums.

R76 If Novak really had the injury he said he had he should have retired after the third round match

In the US, the Alcaraz match (which may be blink-or-you-missed-it) is on Peacock premium.

I had to sign up… and there are commercials!

My prediction that Karen was on a hot streak falls totally flat!

Does Peacock have exclusive coverage for certain times the rest of the tournament?

Peacock has tomorrow’s night match. Next Friday through Sunday, some of the coverage is listed as “NBC, Peacock” but it’s unclear if it all will be shown on NBC.

R82 that's the semis and final. Those are always on the regular NBC channel.

Alcaraz DOMINATING that first set.

Alcaraz making more mistakes now while the Russian is playing better.

The Russian is kinda hot. I hate myself for finding a Russian hot.

R79 I'm watching it free on Eurosport here in Norway.

Ferrero is still incredibly good looking. Glad he's Alcaraz' coach😊

I can't believe this match is on fucking Peacock! So annoying!

And I’m watching it on the relatively cheap Eurosport app here in Italy, r87. Unfortunately, I can’t get rid of the chatterbox Italian commentators, and they’re driving me up the wall.

That was a long ass rally! 21 shots!

21 shots! R91, are you having a drinking game?

Alcaraz starting to make mistakes while Khachanov is playing better.

You spoke too soon. Alcaraz up a break.

The Russian broke back! Omg!

I knew it. Alcaraz started making a ton of mistakes.

R94 Not anymore.

And Alcaraz predictably breaks back with a sick tweeter miracle shot.

Holy shit! That was insane! He literally made that shot between his legs. How?!

So while you're all here - it's a topic that's discussed to death - but who do you think is gay on the tour?

Probably Hubert and Grigor ... anyone else?

Been thinking about this all week since Jake Daniels came out. You'd really think there'd have been a young out tennis player ages ago, and yet English football, of all sports, has beaten tennis to the punch.

Sloane Stephens, bitches. She has caught fire.

I hope.

As one of the commentators noted during an earlier round, when Alcaraz’s current endorsements expire, there is going to be a line of briefcases looking to offer him huge bucks.

Looks like Stacked Carlos is going to put away Karen Hemsworth in straights...

I hope Rafa wins.

The Russian managed to save like 3 match points.

R68 He was still normal at the US Open last year and at the Next Gen Finals, then he showed up at the Australian Open with a massive muscular frame and started winning everything. C'mon, guys, I know you like him because he's hot and new, but there's a limit. On any social media it's something everyone can't fail to notice but nobody wants to address explicitly.

Alcaraz won!

R100 I think Titsy and Rublev. But I doubt anyone will come out anytime soon, unfortunately.

I do t get any pings from either Tsitsy or Rublev.

I get pings from both of them.

Aww, sweet words from Alcaraz now about his coach Ferrero.

Ferrero is still hawt.

I saw him on a practice court with his shirt off at the Open one year. I nearly fainted.

Ruud team or Hubie team? (Monday’s featured battle of the DL boyfriends)

Rune team or Tsitsy team?

Rublev team or Sinner team? (Battle of the Gingers)

Cilic team or Medvedev team?

Kasatkina team or Giorgi girl team?

ova, Kudermet team or Keys team?

Pegula team or Begu team? (Ewwww! Match of the Day)

Svee-i-Tek team or Zheng team?

tough R113

ima say:

I'm in the middle Team

Titsy Team

Rublev Team

Med Team

Ruud team

Rune team

Sinner team

Daniil team

Giorgi team

Keys team

Pegula team

Svee-i-tek team

I'm sticking with Nadal, I like him.

Cootermetova Team

[QUOTE] Pegula team or Begu team? (Ewwww! Match of the Day)

R114 Can you be both?

Begula team

I can't pick one over the other with Hubie and Ruud so I'm going to be forced to 50/50 on that one

Rune Team

Rublev Team

Cilic Team

Watching the Alcaraz match on TC — who are the idiot spectators banging the big drum? It’s like someone's Texas MAGA parents at the Friday night high school football game.

Nadal to take out Novaxxx and then let the Carlos coronation commence.

Hubi/Ruud team

Rune team

Sinner team

Maric team

Earlier this year, I think at the AO, a commentator noted that Medvedev told the press how he and the other Russians like to tease Rublev by calling him Sinner which he hates since they look a bit alike facially and have red hair.

So if Rublev gets in another bad mood during their match tomorrow it'll be because he hates losing to someone he knows is similar to him in terms of game and looks but younger.

the women's bottom half has actually turned out quite nicely despite the top 10 players all losing early. I'm really looking forward to Stephens vs Gauff. Fernandez vs. Trevisan will be interesting since they're both really short but aggressive lefties

I was hoping both Djokovic and Nadal would have lost today but I'm just glad they're meeting in the QF and not in the final this time. Should be fun

I hope Alcaraz embarrasses Zverev once again

Giorgi team

Veronika team

Pegula team

Iga team

some other news-was watching Tennis Channel and Davenport talked about how Halep not only hired Mouratoglou as her coach but she dumped the rest of her team too, including her publicist of the last 14 years! Now EVERYTHING is "taken care of" by Mouratoglou's people. Now what does a publicist have to do with coaching? Why would Halep feel the need to have that under his control too? I've said numerous times in threads here over the years that he seems like the ultimate scammer and opportunist taking as much money and credit as possible

Murray is the top seed at this week's Surbiton grass challenger but he drew a potentially tough first round opponent in fast court specialist Rodionov. Cute and talented newcomer Nakashima is there as well as Kokkinakis.

Musetti is the top seed at a clay challenger in Forli and Coric has taken a WC as an unseeded player

DL bf Mmoh is playing the hardcourt challenger in Little Rock. JJ Wolf is the top seed

Claylah!

It really makes you wonder just what Mouratoglou must be offering? Don't want to be paranoid though, maybe Halep just wants to change everything up.

Is Patrick going to work with Serena at Wimbledon? Halep won't last long there, if she plays. Does Patrick still consult with Gauff and her dad?

Dear God, can't Tippy The Turtle win this fucking thing in straights so we can get ON TO THE MINS?

have you seen Serena? She's fat like a cow.

didn't Halep just get married? she's got a new husband, new coach...everything brand new.

AND Cootermetova wins the 2nd...

meanwhile Ruud and Hubie could be fucking on Suzanne Lenglen for all we know

Pics please!

TIA!

R136, business first for Ruud, so he comfortably won the first set.

Madison Keys is choking. We are about to have a guaranteed Russian in the semis.

[quote]Madison Keys is choking.

In other tennis news, quite a few of the ladies on tour munch rug.

Cootermetova!

Tshitshi doesh'nt get a passh.

Stef needs a coach- his opponents can hit to his backhand and park where the cross court top will come 90% of the time. That and he needs an effective slice. He needs to part with his Dad in the coaching box.

Margaret, please do us a favor and put some of the men! Be useful!

Tsitsipas refuses to commit to playing well unless he has to.

Daddy Shittypants up to his usual fuckery.

It feels misleading that they show a Hawkeye of the ball for viewers when the Hawkeye team themselves have said that it's not accurate for clay (because the ground changes).

R147, supposedly they use a different technology for clay court matches other than Hawkeye. I’m not sure if that’s the case for the NBC coverage though.

I am Begu.

Please don’t let Rune take this match…

It’s Ruuned.

SHITTYPANTS OUT AHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Get ready to say Rune - Ruud, the French way people and exercise your zigomatics. Chapeau pointÜ TÜRLURÜneRÜÜD.

Rune’s win is a victory for eye candy at least.

'Ere, Holger's sister is a top model. Has it already been mentioned upthread? She kinda looks like the vile Patsy Kensit.

Tomorrow it will be Ruud team or Rune team. Teehee.

Battle of the Gingers next!

Il Gingio v. Pageboy Ginge

Pegu beats Begu.

Svee-i-tek v. Zheng is closer than I thought it would be in the first set.

IGA'S LOST A SET!

*gasp*

^ It's the end of the world (as we know it)

An interesting note about one of yesterday’s matches. Uncle Toni, who is now coaching FAA, apparently refuses to prep FAA for the match against his nephew and, asked by reporters, said he was pulling for Nadal.

If I’m FAA, Uncle Toni can take a hike.

My sweet Hubie lost. Only I can bring comfort to him and make him feel like a winner.

R163 That was a really odd set-up. There was speculation beforehand he'd just stay away for this match but instead got up and left before the last game. The whole thing must have been a real distraction and stressful for both players.

Il Gingio retires. Looks like Zheng could follow soon after.

And Uncle Toni set in the president’s box right up front, putting a spotlight on himself.

If i was Felix i'll fire Toni. I couldn't care less if it's his hephew, Felix pays him, period.

Tsiitsipas was able to screw a cake walk draw.

Rune improved a lot but he is not strong physically, i think Ruud will tire him till he cramps

they probably had an agreement right from the start, I'll coach you but if you ever face Nadal, you're on your own for that match.

Zheng is didn't eat breakfast, Iga serving her 2 bagels.

Begu began the Begu-ine. Pegula ended it.

Felx should hook up with ultimate phony b.s. grifter patrick morataglue (or however you spell his last name!)...How is ole patrick the sainted guru of all tennis knowledge, production, strategy and so on again?

Iga got a scare but she was clearly the best in the other two sets. She is the one to beat on the women's draw

Tsitsipas being very cunty after his loss. I can totally understand it stings badly, but he's saying "it always seems like something's bothering him [Rune] when he plays," and then Rune plays well anyway. Tsitsy's arms are crossed defensively when he says this. All this kind of thing from him, always. The Big 3 are usually more generous in defeat.

Rune is a brat but Tsitsipas should be the last to complain about that.

It must hurt to lose against someone who is 5 years younger (if it was not bad enough his h2h against Alcaraz)

Looking back at yesterday's match, Felix can consider it an accomplishment that he's one of only four players at RG to actually play and defeat Nadal (Soderling, Djokovic) or to take Nadal to five sets (Isner, Djokovic, Felix).

[quote] it always seems like something's bothering him [Rune] when he plays

Such as the need to urinate for extended periods?

Really strange that Rune decided to keep as his main, primary surname his mother's (he technically has the double surname Nodskov Rune). Usually when someone keeps the mother's surname is because the father didn't recognize the child or the relationship with him is horrible. Even today after the win he stressed how much he loves his mother, not a single word for his father. Super weird.

Is Rune still young enough for his homophobia to still be okay?

He was caught saying something homophobic all of ONCE a while back. Let it go.

No.

Most men have said worse around that age, especially self-loathing gays. He apologized. Unless and until he does something like that again, his slate is clean as far as most normal people are concerned.

Exactly, R183.

Bunched undies cuz a kid used a slur.

Imagine if he had said “you're playing like a n****r ass” and “allez, n****r”... Fortunately for him, it was just faggot.

A lot of straight guys are dumm.

Next.

Unreal how Medvedev competed today. He was flying through the draw and then just flat, flat, flat.

Ah, tennis.

Cilic demolished him 2, 3 an 2.

WTF?

Cilic was on it all the way through. He's been steadily building over the past 18 months, so I'm not too shocked to see what he did today.

If he can sustain that form he could make it to the final.

R188, he's never played that well on clay, has he? I think of him as a good hardcourt player, but not good on clay.

Cilic will be flat as a pancake in the next round, mark my words. I think Ruud has got the bottom half sewed up.

Really amazing Rune beat Tsitsy today, wow.

Titsy is mentally weak and so is Zverev. It seems that Alcaraz is not, and I'd say so far, neither is Rune.

A. Zverev team or Alcaraz (Garfia) team?

“Nole” team or Nadal team?

Stacked Carlos Team

Stacked Carlos Team

Alcopops and Go Nads Teams (The Anti-Psycho Ticket)

Team always anyone but Flopos and Boobs

R190 I don't think it was surprising. I predicted Rune winning. Aside from Monte Carlo Tsitsipas has been a disappointment this season, especially on clay. Here in Paris he went to the fifth set in the first round, then he had a hell of a fight of four sets in the second round against a qualifier who played only ONE match ATP level in 2018, and lost it. Ymer had just overachieved, but I knew right from the start he wouldn't make it to the final as top players need to cruise through the first rounds as not to waste energy. Rune was the perfect opponent to take him out.

I can't believe I can't watch the Rafa/Novak match tomorrow. Fucking peacock.

Is Cilic clay specialist?

Perhaps Medvedev is feeling the weight of being Russian in these trying times.

GEEZ, when is papa tsitsipas going to teach his son to hit a damn slice backhand and a hard weapon slice, not a defensive shot! (calling sue barker anyone?! why she never developed a backhand slice instead of that terrible flat block of a defensive backhand i'll never understand)......

it's getting pretty ridiculous by now... and of course stefanos is a mental strength midget.... rune had nothing to lose of course so will see what happens next with him.. can't stand his on court behavior! Soooo self entitled and self important righteous....

R197, Peacock usually offers a trial period of one week or one month, I forget which. If you’re disciplined and cancel before the trial is over, it is actually free. It’s also possible that the match might be shown on NBC Sports. It’s unclear. Having a subscription to Peacock seems to be the only sure way.

I, for one, know that he's a homophobe. This kind of behavior is learned when young, from parents, friends, environment etc. He may not say it but he thinks it. Deep down, that's what he is.

^ who the fuck are you, Sigmund Freud? Carnac the Magnificent?

Rune and Alcaraz have fangs. Not just talented.

[quote] Rune and Alcaraz have fangs

Rune also had fags on the tip of his tongue.

Coric lost R1 in this week's challenger.

Round 1.

Funnily I thought Rune might be gay ... then when I looked him up I remembered he was that guy from last year ...

It wasn't homophobia homophobia ... but it was definitely a completely demented outburst, I was happy to root for him then lost interest in the match.

Still ... he reminds me of a young DiCaprio ...

Wasn’t there a girlfriend in his box today?

Rune has got even higher helium voice than Kurt Hummel from Lima but than doesn't necessarily means he is gay..

The blonde woman in Rune's box was his sister? Or gf?

R210 There was a study and people found that homophobes who self-identified as straight were more likely to have sexual arousal to same-sex imagery than people who weren't homophobic and self-identified as straight. So I wouldn't be TOTALLY shocked. Not everyone but it does make it a bit more likely.

this is Rune's sister.

I’m not sure, R211.

R211 his sister

his sister is a model.

OK so the blonde woman who was in his box does look like the model sister.

he's only 19, I doubt he has a serious gf

I'm wondering so what is exactly going on with Dominic Thiem's game?... Do you all think he's done and if so why?.. Does he just need more time ? Is stan the man in the same boat? Stan is older, close to retirement age, and has already accomplished everything he could so I think he might not really care just wants to play for the fun and excitement of the game?...

They play on for the money.

I'm not subscribing to Peacock, fuck NBC. It should have been on ESPN which almost everyone has.

I just did some research and ESPN will air entire Wimbledon on two of their channels. GOOD.

Trevisan team or Fernandez team?

Gauff team or Stephens team?

Stephens team

Trevisan team

R222, good to know but ESPN has been putting a lot of soccer games on their streaming network which you have to pay to subscribe. Tennis may soon follow.

I'll go Fernandez-Gauff. Then a Iga-Fernandez final. Fernandez has the mental strength to likely make it competitive.

R210 Didn't Rune say something homophobic at one point? I doubt he's gay.

R227 Closeted gay people are more likely to be homophobic because they're self-hating.

R197 they're showing the match live on Tennis Channel too so no need for Peacock

Rublev has to feel a bit weird now because his only 2 "wins" against Sinner were via retirements. Sinner when healthy beat him the other 2 times

I think the winner of Ruud vs. Rune will get to the final.

Cilic is having the RG of his life but clay has always been his worst surface. He must be overjoyed to finally get wins over Simon and Medvedev but it's hard seeing him going any further

R229, I just figured that out! I thought they didn't show the Med match today (or did they??) so I assumed they wouldn't show Rafa's match either (in the same time slot).

Whew!

R231 the Peacock nonsense was only for the long weekend thankfully. The Medvedev-Cilic match was on there today and so Tennis Channel didn't show it until after 6 PM.

Pretty sure the rest of the singles matches this week will all be on Tennis Channel and NBC only since we're in the last rounds of the slam

I'm French and I can tell you that tonight Prime Video will be France's first channel in terms of ratings, reason behind that being that, yes, all the big matches are shown on national television except for the night session. And since Djokovic-Nadal is a classic of Roland Garros, I expect that at least 5 millions people are going to watch it on Amazon's Prime Video. And I suspect many of those are going to lose their mind trying to connect to the stream as it's going to be the first time they try to watch TV on an iPad or a computer instead of just pushing a button on their RC. Good times ahead!

Sloth Team

Claylah Team (SOMEBODY has to root for her)

ruh roh, Trevisan is kicking Claylah in the cuntbone so far

Commentators are saying Fernandez is injured.

Did Leylah arm pump herself in the face?

The winner of Stephens vs Gauff should woop Trevisan's ass. I've seen better serves at the local tennis courts.

Failure Fernandez dumped out on her ass!

Trevisan is too loud.

Fernandez is the new Flopos

A. Zverev wins first set 6-4.

Easy. Fernandez had a foot injury.

Apparently Fernandez couldn't do her media duties due to her foot injury.

Must've got lodged in her mouth.

Well, two things this Alcaraz-Zverev match is telling me. First, Alcaraz is succumbing to the nerves and can't muster decent tennis. His unforced errors are just flowing off his racket. Second, even if he somehow gets through this one, which I don't think he will, he won't beat the winner of Djokovic-Nadal. He's young, though. I think he'll learn from this.

They should just give the winner of Nadal/Djokovic the trophy. Theres no way anyone will beat either of them.

Sascha raising his level to get two sets ahead on Alcaraz.

Sascha shitting the bed against Novak or Rafa is entirely predictable.

Praying Alcaraz is using this bathroom break to get a visit from Hingis' Bolivian trainer; he needs the pick-me-up.

The young 'uns nearly always fold in the slams if they dont have the experience.

Sad about Alcarez, but it looks like Sasha against Nadal in the semi.

You think Nadal will beat Djok?

I have it the other way around, mainly because it's a night session ... Djok'll be up to his night-of-the-living-dead antics in the cold pallid light of the moon.

I think that Djokovic will win the whole thing which is depressing. I almost don't want to watch. He is definitely a fairly big favorite.

No one thought Rafa would win the AO either.

Turns out Alvarez is still hanging on. He may come through.

Yeah, no way does Rafa beat Novak tonight. Not only is Novak clearly playing better, but it's too cold for Rafa's game to materialize. Shame. This might be Rafa's last French and they really screwed him over.

No comment for CocoGOAT?

It's going to be warm, even thought it's played at night.

Rafa to win, four sets.

Thrilled for Coco.

Zverev deserves to win this match, truly. His first serve has been outstanding and he's held his nerve. Carlitos just a little off.

Alexander Zevedev is the poor man's Alexander Skarsgard.

Really disappointed at the lack of quality tennis coming from Alcaraz. So many errors, not playing tactically smart, and now a double-fault to hand Zverev the break so he can serve it out. Where is the Alcaraz we've seen over the last few months?

wellll... the plot thickens! Carlitos still in it.

I'd like to see the final be Nadal v Alcaraz.

Zverev must be thinking "This fucking guy...."

Hate Zverev, but he deserved that.

Excited to see him get his ass kicked next round.

Can't stand that tall, pencil, rat-faced jerk.

No, Zverev doesn't deserve to be in this event or any event this year after his Mexico City debacle.

I had to stop watching women's tennis because they way the skirts are designed now it looks like they are shoving the extra ball inside their pussies.

Sascha is so sexy

They are, R265. What's your point?

Zverev is an asshole. Every time he wins tennis loses.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R266's fantasy is to spend a month recovering in the Battered Women's Shelter.

R266 never really get his appeal… his brother Mischa though, I do like very much

I hadn't realized Ben Rothenberg is no longer with the New York Times. Does anyone know what happened?

R272 Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but he is currently working on a book about Naomi Osaka and mentioned devoting less time to the podcast as a result.

Personally, I find Osaka so tedious that spending more than 5 seconds contemplating her makes my head hurt. I can't imagine the level of masochism required to want to write an entire book about her.

Remember Arantxa’s ball holder? I always found it tacky.

Didn't expect Nadal to break twice already. But there's a long way to go.

I'm going to hope.

VAMOOOOOOOS RAFA!

Boy, I'd never have thought Rafa would win this one, but it looks pretty good for him! Let's see if the body holds up.

Amazing Rafa can MOVE AT ALL with that foot injury. No one is remembering Rafa will be halfway to a Grand Slam if he wins #14. Puke.

Wow-- here's a stat I just saw on Twitter:

Rafael Nadal is 100-1 in Roland Garros after winning the opening set. His only loss? To Novak Djokovic in last year's semi-finals.

Blimey! Didn't see this coming. VAMOS RAFA!

Two more breaks in set 2 already! Now this *is* 'compelling'.

Djokovic playing a lot better now - more aggressively.

Waiting for Djokovic to throw one of his hissy fits.

Rafa's gotten tighter. Both guys seem a little edgy--I think this night match at RG is really throwing them off. Unusual in their RG history.

Rafa is starting to fold.

R283 Little Miss Djokovic has already screamed 'Shut the fuck up' at the crowd. I guess he's still sad that they don't love him.

Crowd is heavily pro-Rafa, wow. No surprise, but wow.

my coco is gonna win this!

Really hoping for a Swiatek vs Gauff final. Not sure Gauff would be able to win that but I'd like to see her try.

Coco looked like a Degas ballerina.

One set all in the Nadal-Djokovic match. I figured Rafa would come out strong in the 3rd as I'm sure he does not want this to go 5 sets. Sure enough he broke right away to start the 3rd.

Rafa wins the third set. I think he's got this match. Nole seems a little flat, tired.

POR FAVORRRRRR!!!!

Does anyone know why they schedule some matches so late? It's midnight and I can see some people yawning or looking tired in the crowd.

Nadal is a good sport and a superior tennis player. He's one to admire.

OH LOOK, it's amazing nearly 36 years old Nadal with the oh so so painful chronic foot injury running like a deer, after just the day before yesterday playing over 4 hours, 5 sets against a opponent young enough to be his son.. and NOT A SINGLE moment of hobbling pain!

UTTER BULLSHIT!!! Unless he's on massive pain cortisone injections, or a freak of nature that can handle such pain,something is very fishy here! Not to mention, interesting that Nadal started losing his hair very early in his 20's? hmm, i wonder what that could mean (i.e. p.e.d., testosterone, etc.)...

Isn't Nadal so lucky that while he allegedly never knows when it's going to "flare up" it never "flares up" when you know he's playing a tournament and so far not in his 5th match in 10 days on slow red clay 3 out of 5 sets!.. how lucky can he be?? (sarcasm!)...

talk to me when he's defaulting matches....his condition must be the mildest condition of that disease/injury ever..

and no one has the courage to even question any of this? cowards!...

Go Rafa! Squash that nasty Serb like a bug!

Yes! We LOVE Rafa! Whoop that psycho Serb's ass!

Little Miss Djokovic just smashed the net with his racket. I got flashbacks to what happened at the Olympics.

the reason? $$$

the bottom line is the answer to every question.

I don't like Rafa - although he is a favorite over Novaxx - but his green and yellow outfit is really nice. And I like the pull up shorts guys are wearing rather than the zipper fly ones......shows more of the package......

Rafa is playing really well, but he's not making *everything*. Nole still has a shot.

the green and yellow outfit reminds me of colors of Australia.

Rafa was hoping they would play earlier. the ball is slower at night.

A nod to his Australia win?

Wow it's way past midnight in Paris now. Are they gonna continue this?

Yep, with the final set tie-break there's no reason to stop.

Who do you guys think Zverev would prefer to play?

German asshole will have the advantage. more recovery time.

COME ONNNNNN!!!!

Rafa has got this, I think. Nole had to win the set there.

DON'T JINX IT!

C'mon RAFA! Please!

Finish him Rafa! Finish him!

OMG, Rafa's OCD is really bad.

Sweet sweet match points.

VAAAAAAMOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Bye Boobs, only one demented scarecrow left to demolish!

Yes! I'm happy.

Sickening. And the crowd was disgusting.

Glorious!!!!!

Half way to a Grand Slam at 36.

Yes, R320, you're so right! Novaxx is always a sickening sight!!

RAFA!!!

With Boobs now out of contention, this might be the year Sascha finally clinches his first Slam!

God, Rafa's gotta be just spent. Hope he can find something to get him past the string-bean in a wife-beater.

Or this could be the year that a house drops on him, R325.

Did you see that brisk handshake and interaction at the net? I don't think it really had anything to do with his opponent, and of course losing such an important match like this must make him utterly sick to his stomach, BUT when its all said and done, I'll bet he is furious at the French crowd for being so wildly biased.

On the women’s side, Swiatek seems pretty much a sure thing, but my dream would be for Kasatkina to dark horse her way to the trophy. I don’t much care for any of the other remaining ladies.

I don’t know how you guys can stand to watch the live matches. 😩

I’m freaking out and I can’t stand to watch live.

I can always rewind my tv to see the ending if it’s a positive outcome. 😬😬

And it was, it was a very positive outcome!🥳🥳🥳😎🥳😍😍

Si, Rafa!

So far Felix has given Rafa his toughest RG challenge this year.

How are Alexander Skarsgard and A. Zverev similar other than their names.

M. Zverev

[quote] Hope he can find something to get him past the string-bean in a wife-beater.

Isn’t he more of a wife beater who is a string bean?

Taylor Townhouse and Madison Keys are surprisingly going well in the doubles, just made a QF.

R252 got it wrong.

R254 got it just right.

Rublev team or Cilic team?

Ruud team or Rune team? (DL Eye Candy Match of the Day sponsored by Alliteration)

ova, Kudermet team or Kasatkina team?

Svee-i-tek team or Pegula team?

Why can i see Alcaraz in my mind cruising the underground leather bars of Madrid in leather chaps, jock, boots and a harness.

Yeah, R254 was fucking spot on.

Dude!!

Pick some random 6 numbers for me 😬😬

R336, I have never been happier to be dead wrong!

God, please stop with that stupid fist pump every time you win a point.

R296 Do you know what CHRONIC means? Apparently not.

R328 But I thought Djokovic loved it when the crowd is against him? That's according to his fans anyway. They all say he gets even more pumped up by it! Lol!

sad for Sloane but happy for Coco and hope she reaches the final. Trevisan is an annoying screamer

really hope it's a Swiatek vs. Coco final

for the men, I want the winner to be from the bottom half. I'm SO pissed that Alcaraz came back down to the earth today losing to the abuser and I never want Nadal or Djokovic to win a slam again

[quore] Lol!

LoL! :)

This is why the match was so late:

"The French Tennis Federation – in their greed for cash – have invented this nonsense of a night session, then flogged it off to Amazon Prime for £12.8m."

It's so nice reading MTF today. So many sad noletards.

R347 Same here in Norway. "Free" Eurosport which most people have only sends day matches. Night matches are sold to the greedy, horrible company Discocery+. That company is shameless. They owned the rights to the Tokyo Olympics together with TVNorge, a channel most people have. They managed to show the beachvolleyball GOLD FINAL with a Norwegian team on the pay channel. Most people missed a historic moment. And then they tried to justify their decision. Greedy motherfuckers. Absolutely dosgusting.

R257 I think the nerves got to him and he made many stupid mistakes. Way too many unforced errors. You could tell in the beginning of the match, he seemed nervous, lacked confidence too. And he played on the main court, which is bigger and feels different than the other courts. That might have played a part too. I can't stand that abusive mfer Zverev. He is an asshole and should have been banned for at least a year after that incident in Mexico. Once again the ATP has no spine. Tougher sanctions were needed, but because he's one of their top players he gets away with it, so fucking typical.

With all of this said, it pains me but he deserved the win. Alcaraz was not himself at all and Zverev was solid with a great serve. I do believe Alcaraz would have won, or at least put up a better fight, if the nerves didn't get to him. If he had played like he did against the Russian in the match before he could have won. Oh well, better luck next time. Good news is he is only 19. He will learn a lot from this. I truly believe he is something special, despite the fact that he lost to an in-form Zverev. I'm a new fan and I will stay a fan. I was disappointed he lost though.

[quote]I'll bet he is furious at the French crowd for being so wildly biased.

Does Djokovic realize that less that 5 months ago he was the world's most hated person? The French have excellent memories.

Who will win - Nadal or Zverev? It should be Nadal but could Wifebeater pull off a win?

R351 The French are great people. They care about society, they support women's rights, gay rights and workers' rights, hence why they go on strike so often. They know the importance of getting the jab. I don't feel bad for Djokovic at all. He's his own worst enemy. All this reluctance for a fucking 1 second shot. He's a moron. It's his own fault the crowd hates him, why he has so few fans and why he can't even get entry to USA because he refuses the jab. Like Nadal said "trust science." If experts say we need the jab, then we need it. You can say what you want about Nadal, maybe you don't like him, maybe you're not a fan, which is fine. But you can't deny he's right about this. He is not an anti-science anti-vaxxing moron like Djokovic.

R352 I'm actually a bit concerned the wife beater has a chance. Rafa has played LONG matches, and Zvereva has been serving bombs all tournament. I don't think i've seen him hit this many aces at RG before. Plus he won 3 of his last 4 matches or something like that against Nadal.

Anyway, it will be hilarious if Coco wins a slam right when the hype and pressure had died down. She and Pegula are also still alive in the doubles, both in the singles as well. One of them could catch fire and do a Krejcikova. Iga looked vulnerable against Kovinic and Zheng.

I hope Nadal and Zverev go 5 long sets

If I had tickets to the tournament this year i'd sneak away from some of these matches today (Kudermetova/Kasatkina? Cilic on clay? Lol) and go see the LEGENDS DOUBLES. This is the full draw, in order:

[TOP HALF]

Lindsay Davenport & Gigi Fernandez,

Tatiana Golovin & Nathalie Tauziat,

Mary Pierce & Iva Majoli,

Gabriela Sabatini & Gisela Dulko,

[BOTTOM HALF]

Martina Navratilova & Daniela Hantuchova,

Chanda Rubin & Sandrine Testud,

Rennae Stubbs & one of the Maleeva bitches

Flavia Pennetta & Francesca Schiavone (one of her first public appearances since her cancer diagnosis)

Cootermetova, bitches!

don't skip leg day, gurls

I didn't know Frank had cancer. Glad to know (s)he's ok.

I’d love to see Renée Richards in the ladies legends expo, but she’s nearly 90 years old!

R343.. yeah, i know what the definition of "Chronic" is..

amazing, that it, when he says he never knows when it's going to come on, NEVER RE-OCCURES when he's playing world class tennis in a tournament,.. so far 5 matches, 3 out of 5 sets on slow red clay in 10 days of world class tennis right now!..... at best he has only walked a bit "gingerly" after a point in previous tournaments, nothing more and even that is very rare and so far not here at the french open...

love to have that kind of oh so so painful and debilitating "chronic" injury/condition.... as i stated before, when he starts defaulting matches then i'll buy it that it's that serious...And of course it's miraculous that at nearly 36 he can outrun, outlast and outslug players young enough to be his sons! yeah, nothing fishy here! And no, I do not like Novak either!...

Losing a match seems to be the only thing that triggers his chronic condition.

Eet hurt so mush.

Swiatek-Kasatkina semi-final. Svee-i-tek has already beaten Kasatkina 3 times this year! (AO, Dubai, Doha)

Svee makes it to final by pegging Pegula.

Oops, meant semi-final.

I hope Nadal beats Zverev. And I am loving the drama that Nadal might retire after this RG. Imagine if he wins and then he says that he is retiring. Très dramatique, non?

Who's the hot daddy in the blue T-shirt in Cilic's box?

Is he sexually frustrated does he need to blow a load down my throat.

... and who's the edible slut in the Croatian water polo gear?

Does he need me to lick out his squeaky clean chlorine crack.

R361, the condition reared its ugly head at last year's French Open semi. He was playing lights out tennis in the first set and part of the second. After the match, he had to be carried out of the locker room he was in so much pain. Yeah, he got though the match without retiring. That's what makes him great! He never gives up.

Hope that helps fill in some of the gaps for you. (But I have a feeling you'll find a way to change reality into a narrative that feels most comfortable for you.)

I think it was Annabel Croft who mentioned the other day that her nephew or something has the same condition as Nadal, and she didn't seem unconvinced by it.

I vaguely recall from reading Hard Courts (good book) that injuries are an useful way for players to get out of playing tournaments or matches they don't want to.

Geez, that umpire in the Cilic-Rublev match just seems to get bigger and bigger.

R370...and yet he still won that match and that's the ONLY one time his "condition" caused him to feel such pain? After the match and winning of course and not defaulting...

And yes, I am convinced he is "on something" most likely P.e.d....for a long time...Not to mention as i mentioned previously, the fact that he started losing his hair in his 20's (which happens but is rare) and yet able to outlast, outslug even now guys young enough to be his sons is to me very "fishy"... hair loss is a HUGE sign of AAS...

r374 ... and then theirs that pesky little thing called evidence ... of which you nor anyone else has ever been able to produce ...

R374, do you realize that your long rants reiterating the same points ad nauseam sound like those of a raving lunatic?

Oh honey, I hate to burst your bubble but everybody is using PEDs in EVERY FUCKING SPORT! not just tennis.

Ugh, what a bust yesterday was. My worst nightmare was Zverev and Nadal winning, and that's exactly what happened. I don't want to see another Nadal win at Roland Garros. How boring is that? I know it's great for his fans, but for everyone else it's torture. And that's more so from the perspective that the Big 3 dominated tennis. As a fan of tennis, I'm endlessly frustrated that a new generation is not knocking these guys out. Alcaraz seemed like the real deal. Maybe he still is, but his drop in level of play yesterday was frustrating to watch.

R374 Only hardcore Nadal fans deny the obvious use of peds. It has been long implied that his positive blood samples were found in Operacion Puerto in the mid 2000s. Not to mention the "injury" pauses and the combacks where he's fully pumped and unbeatable. It's not only him of course. I think a good amount of players take something. Spanish (see Alcaraz, Puerta as well) and Russians are the fishiest.

Puerta is not spanish

Great to see Cilic through to the semis. He's one of the good guys I tend to forget about until he stealths his way through to the final rounds.

R380 Yes, it is - OP is referring to a Spanish doping case.

RuuD Team or RunNe Team?

RuuD team.

Casperbae is going to teach baby-faced douche bro a lesson: he will not get away with using the ugly f word.

Rune looks like a dead-eyed kewpie doll.

one set each.....Rune certainly woke up in the second.

Allison Lang or something, D373.

And yes she only gets bigger.

Guys, I just came across a pic with some nice VPL from Ruud. I don't even know how, as I was only trying to look at nice cozy cat pics...

When he wins the final, if he's considering retirement this would be a good time to do it. He'll have 22 Grand Slams and the French love him so it would be a great ending.

Rune has beautiful legs.

But rooting for Ruud, who's been my crush for a while now.

[quote] I don't even know how, as I was only trying to look at nice cozy cat pics...

People sho searched for nice, cozy cat pics also searched for professional tennis player crotch pics.

Rune is tenacious.

Agreed about Nadal calling it a career after this tourney. He’s said the foot isn’t sustainable before these two weeks. Great way to end a career. And why would he risk his ability to walk as he ages?

Beautiful Casper looking a bit shell-shocked.

I want give him a hug and gently stroke his hair during the change-over.

Tell him it's all going to be fine.

Apparently, Rune had a meltdown at his mom: screaming at her to leave. So she has. And not returned.

DUH-RAMA!

Lovely how players often direct their fury toward their boxes. And you know the coach is usually thinking, “You’re blaming me? You lost the point because you didn’t do what I’ve been telling you to do!”

You’re blaming me? I gave birth to you, you ungrateful, petulant ass.

Why is Cilic one of the good guys? Does no one remember his doping ban, and his weak-arse excuse that he didn’t know an otc product contained a banned substance? Of course, these professionals have no idea they need to read the label on the packet before they ingest the product, or unwittingly allow their mother’s anti cancer hormones to find their way into their lasagna lunch. IIRC, Cilic’s grandmother was brought into the picture at one stage, but this might have been some other player’s excuse.

Rune is as smooth as an egg.

I am not a fan of A. Zverev but am ashamed to admit that he is physically attractive.

Rune's mother is a piece of work. Too much sun and ciggies.

R400 he's loathsome but I would probably still hit it. He looks like he throws a mean, loud, dirty, selfish fuck.

Ruud!

Rune was a prick at the end. Salty lil bitch.

Casper's such a grown up. Love-uh him!

Ruud's head shake after Rune's bitchy handshake was sexier to me than it probably should've been (on account of my lesbianism).

Rune is a neat head and homophobic.

Neat head?

R403, do you mean Rune was a prick because of the handshake, or did he do something else prickish?

I want Cilic in my quite deeply. A big, burly bearded dark haired Eastern European is my ideal.

He got into with Ruud on a change-over. I have never seen Ruud get into with anybody, as he seems to have ice in his veins. So I'm guessing Rune was the instigator. And he was a perfect cunt at the handshake.

Thank you, R410.

Ruud gave him such a fatherly "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look when Holger turned away from him at the handshake.

I am now available to pleasure Casper in any way he'd like.

Rune will bring some spice to the top level of the game. If nothing else, someone to root against.

[quote] If nothing else, someone to root against.

Hey that’s our job!

[quote] Ruud gave him such a fatherly "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look

Ruud seems so much older than Rune, but they’re only four years apart.

For Friday:

Ruud team or Cilic team?

Nadal team or A. Zverev team?

Svee-i-tek team or Kasatkina team?

Trevisan team or Coco team?

Ruud Team (tho I wouldn't be upset if Cilic won)

Nadal Team (Zverev must NEVER win a slam)

Ruud

Nadal

Rune is the newest most punchable face in tennis.

Rune's a cunty little brat, isn't he, damn

Yes, he is a disgrace to Scandinavia.

Still laughing at the first response to Felix's tweet...

I'd like Nadal/Ruud and Swiatek/Gauff finals, though I also like Trevisan and find Cilic less annoying as he nears retirement.

The thought of Kasatkina being the one to break The Streak has a lot of comedic potential. As others have said, Iga has looked vulnerable several times recently. Dasha hasn't dropped a set, but she also had a dream draw. You assume Swiatek will dispatch her in 40 minutes or less, but stranger things have happened.

[quote] DON'T you swear at me, you little shit! Don't you EVER raise your voice at me! I am your mother! You understand? All I do is worry and slave and defend you, and all I get back is that fucking face on your face! So full of disdain and resentment and always so annoyed! Well, now you’re out of Roland Garros and you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself!

Rune’s mother was overheard by Daily Mail truly popping off in the locker room after the match. Sounds like it was a real angry-Tyra on ANTM moment!

I’m delighted by Kasatkina having such a deep run. Apart from her serve, her game is delightful to watch. She’s been having the best results of her (fairly mature) career the last 6-12 months. I think I trollishly referred to a  “Kasatkinaissance” in one the recent threads, but I genuinely enjoy seeing her win. She’s talented and humble and heretofore never reached a semi or came within spitting distance of getting a Slam trophy.

Agreed, R427. I already liked her as a player but have also admired her as a person since seeing how well she handled herself when profiled by a Russian tennis channel. The reporter was rude at times with questions about her humble origins, weight gain, finances and sexuality, but Kasatkina was a good sport about it and gave decent answers anyway.

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