The Gays and Tennis, Part 188 - Wimbledon Finals...and Beyond

I hope Milk Cow Anisimova plays tennis till Świątek goes home.

I hope Sinner gets lost in Alligator Alcaraz.

[quote] Alligator Alcaraz.

Trump would have him deported.

Is it true that you get notified before the testers come? Like I heard that you get tested before grand slams or something...

I believe you are notified by email three weeks before testing. The notification includes date/time/location of random testing as well as the specific substances being tested.

I'd like to see Iga win over Anisimova but think it could be an interesting match with flashes of brilliance from both. Though now I've said that, it'll probably be a shitfest. As much as I love Carlos, I'm giving Sinner the edge this time. I'll be very happy if I'm wrong though.

I will, of course, be screaming "Prff! So pecyive!" throughout.

Grazie for the new thread, OP!

Bump!

Will Iga be bazooka'd by Amanda's Big Bazoongas?

Or will we Swiatek be saying tata(s) to Anisimova?

Excited to crown a new ladies champion. I think both women are going to go out there and really try to play their games.

R4 is so utterly wrong.

You can be called to test anytime, anywhere. You have an affirmative obligation to keep the testing agency updated as to where you are.

Martina in the Royal Box

prff so pecyive

Not looking like it will be a long match.

Iga. Ugh.

Bleech.

This is bringing back memories.

I really feel for Amanda. Her heart must be racing as she doesn’t seem to be able to do anything right.

Hoping Amanda can rally in the second set. This is a hard watch.

OMG. What THe ACTUAL FUCK?????

r18 = SABS

I cant watch

I'm missing She-Hulk

Might end up as the worst women's inal ever. A big claim, I know.

What is going on? Somebody help.Amanda please

Amanda'get up! We love you.....

I can't help but find this hilarious. Sorry everyone.

0 - Iga Swiatek is the fourth player in the Open Era to win the opening set with a 6-0 scoreline at the Women's Singles final in Wimbledon after Billie Jean King (1973, 1975), Chris Evert (1974) and Martina Navratilova (1983).

From twitter

Walkover in the final?

[quote] Iga Swiatek is the fourth player in the Open Era to win the opening set with a 6-0 scoreline at the Women's Singles final in Wimbledon after Billie Jean King (1973, 1975), Chris Evert (1974)

I had 6-0 in the first set. I won the set.

Amanda has got to take some really deep breaths to calm herself down. And she’s gotta block out that horrific first set. I know, I know, so much easier said than done, but that’s what she’s gotta do.

So embarrassing

As bad as when Evonne took a walkabout in the 1975 final and never really returned to the court.

1975

[quote] So embarrassing

Who let this fat loser on the court?

AnisimOVAH

Come on Amanda !!

She done.

So sad for Amanda. I’m getting flashbacks to the stress of supporting Jana Novotna. I hope she can settle down even a tiny bit.

[quote] I’m getting flashbacks to the stress of supporting Jana Novotna.

Where’s the Duchess of Windsor when she’s needed?

Im sorry but oMG!

oh god, what happens if its a 2 set bagel! That poor poor girl. C'mon Iga, give her one game at least

Duchess of Kent.

She’s senile at this point.

There should be a rule where they can pull in an alternate semifinalist if someone is shitting the bed this badly.

[quote] Im sorry but oMG!

Dyatlov right?

Spectators are fainting in their seats with the extreme embarrassment of it all.

Of course, credit to Iga for not allowing Amanda to settle down, but this match is only making me dislike Iga all the more.

I'm impressed by Anisimova's performance: they've been playing for 40 minutes and she's still on the court.

This is sad, this is so sad.

We could have had a tense, classic Sabs/Iga slug fest. Instead we got this.

I like AA, and was rooting for her, but this sucks.

Ifmt would technically be illegal to for Iga to ease off; plus, she might have an injury or something and end up losing. I don't like her particularly but I can't blame her here because her opponent never showed up

She should retire, and just admit that today is a mess for her. It would be her only revenge on Iga, lol!

Iga is making this match too difficult.

better to retire and get in to the history books that way than being the only double bagel in history at a Wimbledon final

God, Iga, please throw her a bone!

I did that with Amélie, R52, at the Australian Open 2006.

She should retire from the sport. She clearly doesn't have what it takes.

Johnny Mac confidently predicting an Anisimova win pre-match....

She should sue her sports psychologist to the nines!

she should have brought her shrink to the match

If Anisimova doesn't at least win a game, it's going to be hard for her to win the title.

who is that fat woman next to martina? she looks like a former player

Tariffs raised to 200% on Poland!

Chris Every just said that Anisimova now needs to take more risks with her game. And then, not five minutes later, she criticizes Amanda for going for a winner in a long rally.

She won't make it to an hour.

prff so pecyive!

This will be devastating to Anisimova for the rest of her life. I feel so badly for her. How do you recover? I guess you hang up the racket.

Still, I'm in awe.

Oh fuck, Iga gonna serve for the double bagel.

I can't think how they are going to handle the runner-up speech on court after the match. It's just cruel.

It never seemed to bother Evonne…she made the final again in 1976 and lost 8-6 in the third. She won it all again in 1980, after a pregnancy and a major injury.

SABS boyfriend is in for the fuck of his life tonight!

At this point Anisimova should just stand there and let the serves go right by, like she doesn't give a fuck

Anisimova's going to be in tears and talking about how her dad died and it's going to be excruciating.

Wow...

Too late r73

It wasn't a true challenge, not a true win, Iga can go fuck herself

I know Oga has to play her match no matter what's happening over the other side of the net, but damn, that was brutal to watch.

OUCH.

Fuck you, Iga, maybe have a more muted celebration considering how devastated Amanda is.

God, I feel terrible for AA.

It's not Iga's responsibility to take care of loser opponents.

Bagels and lox for Mandy

I officially despise Iga, although I have no good reason to

Iga's always been a cunt.

Courtney Cox jump scare!

Sorry why is courtney cox in Iga's box???

[quote] God, I feel terrible for AA

Is she going to AA?

Iga had it easy

It’s ova.

I like the opponent of the winner: she makes me look good.

Not a real win

The score was 6-0, 6-0. So Amanda lost the match.

Is courney Iga's celeb crush?

reminded me a bit of the Bartoli/Lisicki final where Lisicki was also overwhelmed and forgot how to hit the ball into the court, but even more so

Well in Amanda's defense, a lot of her shots would've been winners in a doubles match.

It’s the first time a losing player has failed to win a game in the women’s final since 1988.

Really, r97?

What a rip off if you paid big bucks to see the final

Oh my gosh, this is heartbreaking to watch.

Did amanda shake hands with Kate M?

Her loser's speech is longer than the time she spent on court.

Aww Amanda it's okay

This embarrassing boo hoo my life story is longer than the fucking match

She's talking too much for a loser.

No curtsy from Iga?

R97 means, I think, any GS final. It’s wrong as to Wimbledon.

R105 you're such a cunt lolz

Why would she curtsy? It’s neither required nor expected.

The -ova Plisk sisters had more personality than Iga.

[quote] Well in Amanda's defense, a lot of her shots would've been winners in a doubles match.

It’s not doubles match.

To be fair, women's finals are often rubbish. Always better to go for an earlier round.

If ever a match should have been an email.

They need to make the ladies play best of 5 sets in grand slam finals. There have been way too many quick finals over the years.

r114 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 has a nice ring to it.

lol .

Still, Amanda got £1.5 million for that pitiful display.

No, she got it for the six matches she won earlier.

In less than an hour

Against Sabot COCO, iga would not havr won that match with this kind of play

R117 Maybe she could spend it on some tennis lessons.

Revoke Anisimova's citizenship!!

Igor must've gotten some PEDs from Sinner's team.

Hard to watch and heartbreaking. I did think She-Hulk would have given Iga a match and was kind of sorry when she lost the SF.

Clearly, she was just happy to be there and it showed. Feared this result after her big win in the semifinals. A big letdown

She ought to spend her winnings on a breast reduction.

I think Carlos will win tomorrow. He is a tiger.

6-0 6-0 and the women get equal pay. Fair? Hell no!

I hope Carlos wins, too.

Carlitos all the way.

Amanda's giant knockers are dragging her down.

I believe Carlitos will win but frankly I’m rooting for Il Gingio.

‘I think I was a bit frozen with my nerves, I was just really fatigued. I could feel it also in my warm-up this morning. I had to take a break after every single rally in my warm-up.

‘If anything, I can look at it as a positive and something I can look at as motivation.’

she's fat and out of shape! for a pro!

Heartbreaking to watch. I wanted a fucking match dammit

The other American gals must be like " really Amanda??" Fucking really??

Bitch stole my act!

N. Zverev

Chucky, Mugu, Conchita and BJK

"Amanda Anisimova isn't the only New Jersey-born player featuring in a Wimbledon final this year. Ronit Karki has also reached the boys' singles final and will face Bulgaria's Ivan Ivanov for the prestigious junior title."

AnisiFLOPa or FLOPisimova?

Poor girl. I hope he's having a double martini tonight.

[quote]having a double martini tonight.

That double bagel should sop up the alcohol.

Just started watching the women's final ... even the first point was painful!

prff so pecyive

It’s won.

Iga won.

Obviously, but I wanted to watch the match itself, r147

Shapo with doge!

Okay, kids……a year ago, Anisimova couldn’t qualify for the main draw. Now she made the finals, knocking out the #1 player en route. AA will be in the top 10 for the first time. I know today’s loss was brutal, but come on….. the girl can play.

Exactly R150.

Iga won because Amanda played so poorly

Amanda needs to work on conditioning and the mental aspects.

Couldn’t have said it better R150. AA deserves some flowers. Remarkable story.

Our maybe-gay French doubles pairing, Doumbia and Reboul, looking very thirsty.... and very 'coupley' on the beach in Cabo San Lucas.

R150 But can she play when the pressure is really on her? I hope she gets another opportunity to prove she can, but it doesn’t matter how well she’s capable of playing if she can’t produce it when it really counts

’reena — when right was right

Iga had to know that this might/probably would be her best chance to win Wimbledon for a million reasons and so she really put her head down and showed no mercy to an obviously exhausted AA.

Getting to and winning a major final takes a level of mental and physical conditioning that most pros don't have. Obviously this is more the case on the men's side because of 3 out of 5 sets which is not the norm on the regular tour, but AA had a really exhausting series of matches leading up to the finals and had nothing left for the final. Add to that she was playing a notoriously ruthless player who DOES KNOW exactly what is needed to win a major and you have the final result. I wouldn't be surprised if AA has a Keys like career and wins a hardcourt major at some point down the line.

Lloyd Glasspool being a legendary Brummie (person from Birmingham, UK) - (in)famous for their deadpan humor and general attitude.

Who's favored to win today?

Slam draws need to be fixed so Iga faces Peppe in every first round from hereon in.

I’ll take my Brummie without a “legend” thank you very much.

Linky stinky at R159.

R155, are they gay or just European?

ELLE

Link works for me.

I really want to want that women and men get equal prize money. But matches like that just don't help make the case. The women at the WTA Players' Council must have been aghast.

I think women's matches should be best of 5 sets. Physical endurance is one area of athletic attributes where women are not at a disadvantage to men. Equal money should equal same effort/time on court.

I just can't bring myself to like Iga. Like Sinner, she seems unspeakably boring to me.

R167 if they make women's matches best of five then the event will have to continue for at least another week. There is simply not enough time in the schedule for men and women's best of five. That's the thing nobody seems to mention when people talk about how 'unfair' it is that women don't play best of five but still get equally prize money. It's not a matter of fitness it's a matter of logistics for tournament organizers and changing a two week event into a 2 1/2 to 3 week event.

R166, one 6-0. 6-0 final in the past 37 years hardly supports your claim. Some women's finals are exciting, some are not. Same with the men. You just need to have a bit more historical perspective than just this year.

Maybe both men’s and women’s events could be best of three in the early rounds then best of five from the quarters to the finals?

R168, I think there’s a big difference between Swiatek and Sinner. Iga is boring and cold, whereas I think Jannick has a certain warmth to his personality. Of course, I’ve never met either of them so I could be totally wrong, but that’s the impression I get through TV and social media.

R170 I'd go from the last 16 (4th round) - plenty of room on the schedule to accommodate. I think all 4 slams have at least 4 'show courts'

r171 I can see that

Double DL G&T Icons, Peppa and Hseih Su-Wei in action in the Women's Dubs final right now.

R172, I was going to say round of 16 because some of the best matches often occur in that round, but then I wasn’t sure if that would fit into a two-week schedule.

Elise Mertens' coach, Christopher Heyman - just picture on the TV coverage - is HOT.

[quote] Some women's finals are exciting, some are not. Same with the men.

We have no idea what you’re going on about.

R170 = Nick Kyrgios

R177 that final was low quality but at least it was kinda fun to watch. and had a great outcome

Having dopers in both the men's and women's final is a pretty bad look for professional tennis.

Lordy Carlos is so hot

I think either Sinner or Alcaraz will be the men's champion.

LET'S SO CARLOS!!!

Prff! So pecyive!

Sinner with early break opportunity!!

I predict that it will go to five sets and Alcaraz will win

Are you Chrissie?

Carlos breaks back!

What a way to take the first set!!

Alcaraz: Back with a Vengeance!

And Sinner breaks immediately.

I admire Sinner's self-containment and gravitas as much as I admire Carlos' effervescence and awesome versatility

Alcaraz's fit-fat brother is HOT in a cubbish way.

I'll admit Sinner is growing on me

Just fat.

Juan Carlos in the Alcaraz box is not wearing his wedding rings today ...

Hot commentary, talking about Carlos's hands are huge and has no problem juggling the four balls in his hands.

"Juan Carlos in the Alcaraz box is not wearing his wedding rings today ... "

He's on the prowl - in Europe.

Lol r198 glad someone else caught that ...

I have to watch the match on mute since I can't bear the yammering of the McEnroe's and Fowler.

Apostrophe.

Irish pals Andrew Scott & Paul Mescal

I've turned the volume down on my tv, and started streaming the commentary on Wimbledon radio on my phone. Had to pause the stream a second or two to get it synched up. No more McEnroe yammering for me.

I want Alcaraz inside me quite deeply.

r205, I'll mention it to him after I'm done with him

On the BBC, we’re being subjected to the atrocious Andrew Castle again. I wish we could mute individual commentators.

R207 He is abysmal. Every year he gets dragged across social media for being so shit but for some reason he's brought back again and again. The only thing he's any good at is pointing out the famous faces in the crowd. He's embarrassing.

Sinner now a set up. Lot of work for Carlos to do.

Not only a set up. He is a set away from the championship

Carlos seems very off the boil.

I do hope Sinner takes this one.

This match is a SHANDA for men's tennis.

Carlos is ANGRY

I, too, am hoping Sinner can finish this off. His French Open loss was devastating and I would love to see him exorcise those demons.

I'll totally volunteer for Carlos' grudge fuck if he loses

Sinner fights off two break points to hold serve. I give him a lot of credit — he is really going for his second serves.

Good lord, is this it? C'mon Jannick!

Carlos gonna cry hisself to sleep tonight...

Yay, Jannick!!!

So so so happy for Jannick! So composed in his win.

Finally! Jannick WON!

Sinner looks so much nicer without the cap.

Carlos was looming a bit listless, particularly int he 3rd and 4th sets. His first serve % was very low and he didn’t show the variety of game he normally does.

so Il Doper wins another grand slam

Oh goodie! TWO doping champions. What a bright spot for Wimbledon.

Finally, a winner with no melodramatic falling on to their back!

I like that Sinner, Alcaraz and other of the same age cohort like Draper seem so affable and friendly to each other.

This lacked the drama and intensity of their recent French final, but it was still a very entertaining match. I’m looking forward to watching more Major finals between them.

Carlos is a little freaked out that he didn't pull this one off

R228 hopefully one or more of the other players will step their game up so we have another big 3/4. the same 2 players competing for everything could get a bit boring.

(selfishly I’m hoping for Draper cos he’s gorgeous and I like watching him)

Jannik needed that win. Fantastic win. He just hunkered down, made less mistakes and gave Carlos zero breathing room. Then, when Carlos had his shot in the fourth up 40-15 at 4-3, Sinner played perfect tennis.

I think he's officially my new fav. I've been teetering between Sinner and Carlos since Rafa faded. I really thought I would go with Carlos, but Sinner has won me over.

R228, I hear what you’re saying but, to be honest, I never grew tired of the Evert v. Navratilova rivalry, especially because both women kept on pushing each other to greater heights. That said, though, it would be fascinating to have a third player in the mix like Federer/Nadal/Djokovic.

^^ was meant for r230

[quote] hopefully one or more of the other players will step their game up so we have another big 3/4

Four.

Prff! So pecyive!

Sinner won a ton of Wimbles today.

This is the first mens final at Wimbledon since 2002 without one of the Big Four involved

Now Jannick can also get his name engraved on Anna Wintour's bedpost.

Just fabulous!

So much fun! Congrats to Sinner who has won me over.

I liked how both of them talked in their interviews about how their relationship off the court made the rivalry even better on the court.

congrats to both!!

Sinner and Alcaraz. Please make them fuck.

Red beat brown.

Il Gingio!

He does know he can't keep the original cup, right?

I love love love how gracious they both are. Sportsmanship in action.

Cootermetovah and Mertens defeated Peppa and Hsieh in 3

Peppa is absolutely beautiful in her Wimbledon whites.

[quote] Peppa is absolutely beautiful in her Wimbledon whites.

Did they blind you?

I saw iga's dress. Poor sinner has to dance with her

Tommy paul got married!!!

The clostebol robot won. Gross.

R233/R232 maybe, but I didn't think this Wimbledon final was particularly high quality to be honest. Definitely a step down from the RG one a few weeks ago. So if they are gonna be the 2 default finalists for the forseeable then they need to push each other more

The RG final was one for the ages. It's completely unreasonable to expect all their matches to be like that.

I want it now!

My favourite week of the season: it's Gstaad Vs Bastad in The Battle Of The 250s

R254 which is exactly why I want more than just 2 guys dominating the tour

if it’s gonna be the same 2 guys competing for everything then I want to see incredible finals between them

otherwise I want more guys in the mix to keep it interesting

....

LOL

Did she snatch the curtains to make this?

Not pretty.

She looks like a rogue early AI version of Amanda Sayfried. He looks like Alfred E. Newman.

RIP ODS Tommy

He’s in!

From the look on his face…

Who did her fucking hair?

[quote] if it’s gonna be the same 2 guys competing for everything then I want to see incredible finals between them

In an interview yesterday Sinner said that there will be new guys given the talent in the group immediately below them in age.

R264 Yeah, they say that all the time.

Exactly R171. Iga comes off as stuck up, boring and cold. Jannik seems reserved, a but shy and quite engaging.

Poor Ostapenko. Tough loss

Interesting combinations of various celebs over the course of Wimbledon.

Euch, Zverev is currently training with Toni Nadal, with Rafa as 'mentor'

E. Zverev.

Is this where we talk about EFG Swiss Open Gstaad?

Two dopers won Wimbledon. Shameful. Sinnebol shouldn't have even played.

After knowing that Iga won the Womens' tournament, I think Carlos tanked his final. Can't imagine how stiff and uncomfortable Sinner and Sviatek looked while dancing.

Was Swi leading the entire time during the dance?

Obviously the grass season is short, but the summer hardcourt season sort of used to feel more substantial than now. But with the extra grass week, it's a mere six weeks until the start of the US Open (the official start of the singles draws), and only five weeks until qualifying and the new mixed doubles tournament. And in that time there will be Washington DC (ATP 500) and two back to back Masters/WTA Premier in Cincy and Canada. Combined in Cincy and concurrent for men and women but at different venues in Canada.

Not much down time. The run-up to the USO will be jam packed.

R275, pencil in Venus for the DC final.

Is this where we talk about Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo?

Chris, at R276, if Venus wins all of her matches before the final, will she make the final?

Oh how I wish the doping troll would go elsewhere.

Love the poster who expresses disappointment that the Wimby final wasn’t as good as Paris. Why can’t EVERY match last five and a half hours and include multiple saved championship points and be considered one of the greatest matches in the history of our sport? Very disappointing.

How does sinnebol have any fans? He looks miserable all the time. He never smiles. Fucking Alcaraz looks happier than him! Wtf?! It makes me sick how the ATP did everything so he wouldn't miss any slams after being caught doping.

Moving on to the USO season, is there anyone else who even comes close to Sinner's outdoor hardcourt record over the last year? Keeping in mind his absence from the Sunshine Double, it seems like he's a lock for the USO men's trophy. Without a major hiccup, it's Sinner's to win. Everyone else has been consistently inconsistent on outdoor hardcourts since last summer: Alcaraz, Fritz, Draper, Zverev, Rublev, Medvedev, Mensik,, Fils, etc.

[quote] Sinner and Alcaraz. Please make them fuck.

Who tops who first?

Yeah it's going to have to be hard to beat Sinner on hardcourts, where he has even bettet footing, allowing him to play better offense and defense.

If someone is going to beat them, they'll HAVE to have a good serve and serve well to get free points or "easy" 1-2 serve, groundstroke winner combos. They'll have to get off to a good start. Roland Garros notwithstanding, Sinner is a pretty good front runner. But he is human - he can respond negatively (not all the time of course, but sometimes) to "scoreboard pressure." Like anyone, if there's not a lot of breathing room on the scoreboard, he's going to feel more pressure and might cough up some errors. Contrast to Alcaraz who can sort of go adrift all on his own (though he often recovers spectacularly). Lastly, they'll have to play well of course and probably play a little riskier - relatively harder hitting, flatter hitting, closer to the lines - to again, pressure Sinner's game and mind. It's a tall order.

yesterday through 1.5 sets, neither player looked settled and both were missing what a lot of fans thought were "should have made that" balls. But, think of what's at stake and think of how much they know about the other player. They both sort of have to press more because if they hit just mid shots, they know what the other one can do. They're trying to get something extra to avoid letting the other have the offensive upperhand. So, the errors make sense - especially given the occasion. Of course both can be better than they were early on just as big of a stage. But it's the natural variance of the sport. Not every match will be beautifully played beginning to end and be "epic."

I love Sinner. Gracious, reserved, respectful. Love Carlitos as well. Gracious, outgoing, respectful. Is it possible to admire both of them in spite of having different personalities?

Oh, and also - why don’t you lay out for us the verdicts on the clostebol detection? Explain to all of us your doping allegation in spite of WADA finding the exposure to be inadvertent?

How long was Iga's doping ban?

[quote] Is it possible to admire both of them in spite of having different personalities?

Yes.

I like them both, too. For different reasons of personality, but the same reason of outstanding talent. I was very happy to see and hear how respectful of each other they are.

"If someone is going to beat them ..."

I meant "If someone is going to beat him ..." - Sinner.

Iga really had an easy run to the championship

Played all unseeded or low ranked players

r290 = Peppa

Have any of you been to Roland Garros Airport (RUN) on Réunion Island, France? If so please describe your experience.

It's going to be Sinner and Carlos for the next three or four years - just like it was Rafa and Fed from 06-10.

But Fonseca or someone else will be a Novak and disrupt eventually.

I'm just going to enjoy the ride a bit more this time around. Sinner and Carlos are fantastic players and I love watching both play.

I was young for Rafa and Fed and thought they'd dominate forever. I took it for granted.

Sinner fans are the worst. Can you imagine worshipping a robot? He has a boring game, no personality and on top of it all he is a doper. Gross.

Can you imagine being a tennis fan and mistaking precision and controlled aggression for the actions of a robot, or ignoring the findings of WADA because they desperately want to believe the kid’s a “doper”?

Sinner fans are the worst?

Oh, please. Check out the obsessive ravings of 'Pavvy G', High Priest Of The Nolefam...

R296 he's annoying but he's right about the doping

Don't be naive, he's not actually interested in the doping. He just resents the fact that Sinner's eclipsed Novak.

The Novak fanbase is hilarious - they HATED Kyrgios until he kissed Djokovic's ring, and then they perform a 180 and love him. It's a cult - all their beliefs are formed in relation to Novak's actions and opinions (anti-vax etc.)

R298 Oh I have no doubt that if Djokovic had been caught doping he’d be pulling out every excuse in the book, but it’s still true that Sinner (and Swiatek) were treated very leniently compared to others, their explanations don’t make sense and I don’t believe their excuses

Alcaraz has a 5-2 advantage over Sinner on hard courts.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sinner's excuse was used previously by another Italian athlete/trainer...why the trainer would use that particular type of ointment to treat the cut on his hand (only available in Italy) when there are so many other options and the problems with this particular ointment had already been brought up in previous Italian doping cases...add to the fact that the substance that he tested positive for is very quickly metabolized meaning that 'only traces' doesn't really have much significance...

I grew up watching Borg and Chrissie, so I like Sinner's "boring" playing style. But if you actually believe Sinner's explanation that the banned substance was transmitted via massage lotion, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

It puts the lotion on its freckles or else it gets the hose again.

R302 I don’t mind the ‘boring’ too much but I do think his bent elbow whip forehand technique is ugly to look at (though very effective obviously). Also seems like it might lead to elbow issues down the line too.

And yes, his Clostebol excuse doesn’t pass the sniff test at all.

Closetboi the new single from Lady Gaga.

R301 I understand your POV, even if I disagree with your conclusions.

Let's play this out using Sinner's actual on court play.

Three of Sinner's four slam wins have come after he first tested positive.

We all know he's not using that substance now.

So why has he won three slams since he stopped "using" and only one slam prior? If his "using" was actually performance enhancing, shouldn't that be the other way around?

Or, at the very least, shouldn't his on court performance be worse instead of better? Instead, he's better in every single metric now compared to the start of 2024 (he tested positive in March 2024, I believe.)

I think the doping was just as he said: An accident.

it’s funny how these top players spend millions on the best teams of private sports medicine professionals and keep on ending up with contaminated substances!

And substances that just happen to be contaminated with the exact drugs that would be suitable for improving tennis performance!

WADA drug tests for the same substances across all sports and yet it’s only ever the ones that would be useful for tennis that seem to contaminate the top players. They never accidentally get contaminated with banned drugs that would if no use (or even harmful) for tennis.

FWIW: I just stumbled upon this interview with Andy Murray. Around the 5-minute mark he's asked about his experience coaching Novak and -- I may be reading into his response a bit -- it was just a matter of him being too green as a coach. Specifically, he says Novak would sometimes want technical information that AM (and, according to him, most ex-players) couldn't provide. Didn't get the sense of there being any bad blood, just not a good fit. Andy says he's reached out to an ex-coach of his to help him develop his coaching skill set, and that down the road he's probably looking to coach someone who's much earlier in their development.

I'm so happy that all the Sinner haters will be uncomfortable as he racks up win after win in the Majors for years to come.

I love the thinking that Sinner, the #1 player in the world would intentionally “dope” when random and frequent drug testing is a given. I guess you also think WADA is covering up for him.

Players dope, dope. It happens more than you pay attention to.

R307, but as it pertains to Sinner, it's very clear how he was exposed to the banned substance. I

n Italy, that substance is legal and is used in over the counter medicines. It's not like Barry Bonds and Balco (remember "the clear" stuff?). It wasn't a big conspiracy at all. Even if you believe he did dope on purpose. It's in their version of Neosporin or whatever.

And, again, can you explain how Sinner has improved his tennis since March 2024? We know he's been all clean since then - whether he was using purposely or accidentally.

So, did he magically get better OFF the performance drugs that he was taking?

Or, was it just as he claims, that it was a trace amount of a banned substance that he accidentally ingested and, in reality, it had no bearing on his actual play?

Seems to me it either needs to be one or the other.

Who cares if it is over the counter. It is one of the best known items on the banned list. It’s his job to have his team know and live by the banned list.

Cool, R313.

But how do you explain Sinner's domination since March 2024?

R312 / R314 we don't know for sure he's been all clean since March 2024. His obvious BS excuse for dropping out of the Olympics (where testing is much stricter than ATP) always made me suspicious.

But I take your point. How could he still be doing so well if he's been off the drugs for about a year?

Well there is evidence that anabolic steroids (like Clostebol) can essentially super charge muscle memory adding many extra nuclei in the muscle fibres that persist long term. In fact there is even evidence that athletes who served 2-4-year ban could return with a structural advantage.

So he could still have the gains he made from training with Clostebol (assuming he took it of course...) even if he's been clean for a year.

"With recent findings on muscle memory as the backdrop, it is timely to debate whether early use of performance-enhancing drugs can result in a permanent advantage in exercise adaptability, giving that extra edge needed to outperform others in elite sports. If advantages from the intake of performance- enhancing drugs can be present long after its traceability, it leads to dystopic consequences for elite sports: one can use performance- enhancing drugs before even being considered for an anti-doping programme, involving minimal risk of getting caught, and stand on top of the podium in the Olympics much later. In elite sports, the margins are often small, and a 2% improvement in performance can be the difference between winning and coming last in a 100 m race.

Considering this, even a small residual effect of former doping, whether it resides in an epigenetic imprint, increased number of nuclei or retained muscle mass, the result is the same: former doping could lead to an advantage even long after the doping took place. In light of these observations, even longer exclusion periods should be considered, and novel methods with the potential to detect previous doping use should be explored."

"I love the thinking that Sinner, the #1 player in the world would intentionally “dope” when random and frequent drug testing is a given."

I'm not saying he did anything intentional, plenty of top athletes across many sports have doped, knowing that testing was regular and knowing the risks.

I love the (naive) thinking that drug testing technology is anywhere near the level of doping technology...

Now let’s do Iga.

Yes, R300, but sadly since 2023, other than Indian Wells, the only hardcourt events with Alcaraz wins over Sinner have been at 500 events. Since USO '22, outside of IW, Carlitos' hardcourt feet have been too wobbly to bring home GS/1000 trophies or to see Sinner in the final 8.

Flavio from ATP tennis hot on Instagram.

Nobody wants to do Iga

Sinner meeting the Pope. They talk in Italian.

As opposed to Esperanto? Or Pig Latin?

Sinner is the new Novaxx. Hate him.

Carlitos team forever.

Sinner seems nothing like Novaxx to me, beneath the surface.

Sinner is the opposite of Novaxx in terms of overall character. He’s soft-spoken almost to the point t of appearing to be shy; he’s very unassuming. If anything he gives the impression of being a kid from Hicksville.

The only thing they seem to have in common is general tennis strategy and playing style.

Sinner is in no way the 'new Novaxx' - he's low-key, humble, softly spoken. I'm not a particular fan, but to compare him to Djokovic as some kind of super-villain figure is pretty ridiculous.

R234, English would be the obvious answer. Eyeroll.

Why would it be English? The official language of the Vatican state is Italian. They are both fluent in Italian —it is their common language.

R329 Why?

Can't thank you enough, R308, for posting that. Very interesting. I loved the Andy-Novak pairing and was a little sad when it didn't continue, but it makes perfect sense.

And I'm also super bummed that Cobolli shaved off his body hair.

[quote]super bummed that Cobolli shaved off his body hair

less flayvah :-(

Sinner has slowly grown on me. I never liked him from his emergence, but readily admitted that it wasn't really based on anything tangible other than he seemed fairly "boring." I still don't love him, but, again, he's grown on me and think he's a good representative of the post Big 3 era.

It's sad this mew generation of players are all dopers

Mew!

Mew!

It's sad the miserable instant contrarianism of DL has made its way to the otherwise harmless and decent tennis threads.

Please don’t feed the doper troll.

Casper back where he belongs - the Gstaad 250.

Chrissie can finally put the pencil away.

EUGENIE BOUCHARD IS RETIRING AFTER 174 YEARS ON THE WTA TOUR!

^^^^

Yay! She should now have more than enough time for a proper bikini wax.

I agree with R335 and long for the purity of the Cilic-Sharapova years.

R342 doping's been an issue in sports generally for decades, which is why it needs to be treated consistently and properly when it comes up.

Sharapova had one of the more believeable excuses for failing a doping test I've heard and was still banned for 15 months (which was fair)

Cilic claimed he'd taken contaminated glucose tablets (similar to the Sinner/Swiatek excuse) and was banned for 9 months and had all his money and points stripped.

Sinner/Swiatek didn't have any points or prizes stripped and got to choose when they served their very short bans.

So the Cilic-Sharapova years might not have been pure but they did take doping more seriously than now

Jarry recently got an 11 months ban. One assumes they match the ban to the perceived seriousness of the offence (he had 2 banned substances detected, I think)

In other news... my armada of Argentinian hotties is sailing through the rounds in this week's 250s. Francisco Comesaña and Camilo Ugo Carabelli sealing their spots in the Quarter Finals in Gstaad and Bastad, respectively.

It's sad that the juvenile name calling of DL has made it to the tennis thread, oh wait...

If you're gonna come here and slag is off, please get your facts straight. It's also because Peppa wears a lot of pink.

P.S. Please take up your complaint with Mike White, Miss R346...

Ons Jabeur has announced she's taking some time off from tennis.

Ons and off.

The PTPA curse strikes again!

Oops. Wrong thread.

[quote]Oops. Wrong thread.

I thought it was going to be one of those random A. Zverev pictures again

Britain’s Tara Moore, who was previously cleared of an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV), was handed a four-year ban on Tuesday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld an appeal filed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

Moore said she had never knowingly taken a banned substance in her career, and an independent tribunal determined that contaminated meat consumed by her in the days before sample collection was the source of the prohibited substance.

Sucks to be her!

Roger Federer paid a special visit to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca this Thursday morning, accompanied by his wife Mirka and their children

What did Mirka gobble down?

I’s a winnur in Cabo!

Amanda needs to drop a few pounds to get ready for Forest Hills.

The surfer dude next to her at r358.

Some shocks so far today - Casper flops to Cerundolo ( Juan Manuel) and Griekspoor falls to fellow Dutchie, De Jong.

My lovely Camilo gets a big semi on! Straight sets win over Misolic, and enters the top 50 for the first time.

R358, unless you're talking about her already well discussed chest, Amanda doesn't need to lose weight. She's very fit.

R360 I'm telling you now so I don't have to later but Camilo is taken so beat it! I'll thank you now to look elsewhere.

I literally have Camilo's ring on my finger, as I type R362!

first come, first served!

Mi Camilo, demonstrating his preferred position for our hook-up session later tonight.

[quote]first come, first served

or first served, first cum?

LOL R365

I's in finul in Caboh!

Darderi and De Jong into the Bastad final - defeating the Argentinians, Cerundolo and Ugo Carabelli, respectively.

Cerundolo family honour upheld in Gstaad by Juan Manuel, who joins Bublik in the final.

Agassi is working with Holger Rune.

What is it with these former legends blowing their credibility by working with clowns - see also: Rafa and Zverev???

Oh, yeah...$$$$$

La butch Boisson is into the Hamburg final

Now Rafa is a marquis, he should be at home exercising droit de seigneur on all the Mallorcan peasant boys.

R371 good for Loïs

Is this where we talk about Hopman Cup?

No

Amanda A is back to practicing.

[quote] Amanda A is back to practicing.

Tennis?

Judging by that horrible serve, she's picking up where she left off.

He is the Bublik enemy.

When Shapo match start?

R371 The smell of success!

F. Cerundolo.

J. Cerundolo.

I claimed Camilo before any DL slut here. I want all these used up slop holes out of here

Shapo match on. Who watching Shapo match?

He's so cute and so fucking sexy

Shapo, r388?

Shapo wins first set.

Kovacevic has a large black mole on his right arm.

R380 Camilo. I love DL boyfriends but I do not want to share Camilo.

Hilarious that the guy saying “right on” after Amanda misses a serve by about 4 feet.

Shapo wins!

Where's Mubadala City located? Is it in India?

I’s won Cabo tornuhment!

R393 Come on, that's a huge improvement over her serving in the Wimbledon final!

Draper has pulled out of Toronto and Cincinnati with a left arm injury.

Two entertaining 3-set finals in Gstaad and Bastad, respectively.

Thicc Darderi defeats De Jong in Sweden, while Bublik eventually overpowers Cerundolo (JM) in Switzerland.

And Loïs Boisson shows her Roland Garros run was no fluke, taking the Hamburg title over Bondar, and she shoots into the Top 50 for the first time.

R400 Category is...Butch Queen!

Lois has a manly strut. Butch!

[quote] the lonely life of a tennis player

She look lika man.

Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz have also pulled out of Toronto.

Poor Toronto, the perennial wfh event

It's my time to shine in Toronto, bitches!

Flavio Cobolli playing against FAA at Hopman Cup on Tennis Channel now.

Flavio wins.

Flavio slays.

Sinner, Carlos, Novak, Draper all withdrawing from Toronto... what say us, DL?

Darderi is def fuckable.

....

A topless Darderi ran out of shirts during the celebration and had to call for back up!

oh, yes

I'd have also brought him a helpful change of shorts, clearly needed.

Sad, sad, glad, and sad, R411.

With the exception of Novaxx I’d like to see the other 3 rested, ready, and healthy for the Open.

[quote] for the Open.

The Mubadala Citi DC Open?

So happy for Felix and BiBi. Oh Canada!!

Are we excited for Venus' return this week at Citibank??

Hope the rumours og Serena making a comeback at USO doubles are true.

Wouldnt it be great if Serena returned to USO singles and won the whole damn thing!!!

R344, i guess that explains why Jarry came out of nowhere a year ago beating everyone

How did Serena lose weight so fast? Ozempic?

She's thinner than ever!

Who would partner with Serena?

[quote]How did Serena lose weight so fast? Ozempic? She's thinner than ever!

I didn't even recognize her

[quote] How did Serena lose weight so fast? Ozempic? She's thinner than ever!

Perhaps she lost the baby weight?

Serena and Peppa = the Dream Team!

Serena had a baby?

Two!

"Sinner, Carlos, Novak, Draper all withdrawing from Toronto... what say us, DL?"

Back to back Masters in summer heat aren't always an attractive proposition for top players who expect to go deep in each event. Plus some players may genuinely be injured. Has Cincy become more premiere than Canada even if they're both Masters?

[quote] Back to back Masters in summer heat aren't always an attractive proposition for top players who expect to go deep in each event.

That's why the wise strategy is to play at 250s between majors.

Get rid of the two-week 1000-level tournaments.

R433 the tours hace made an intentional choice to emphasize those events. It’s part of the reformation of the tours now in process…

True, r434, but I think they might have to rethink the two-week format. You can’t have four two-week slams and nine ATP-combined-WTA two-week events in the same year, especially when these nine ATP 1000 events and all 10 WTA 1000 events are mandatory, usually as lead-ups to the GSs. You’re practically penalizing the best players who are constantly making the latter rounds and forcing them to choose between a 1000 event and a GS. Guess which ones they’re going to opt out of by citing some form of injury. And let’s not forget that at least two of these slams, the AO and USO, are played under unimaginable conditions and are preceded by 1000 events that are usually just as gruelling. R431 and r433 are right, and, despite the sarcasm, r432 isn’t too far off the mark either.

Everyone I am arooting for always loses. JM Cerundolo for example. And Carilots lost the Wimbledon final.

[quote]Are we excited for Venus' return this week at Citibank??

She's 45 and hasn't played competitively in over a year. Should be a compelling performance.

The top European players will all skip Canada yet they will all show up in Cincy. Carlos hasn't played Canada in 2 years. Watch him lose early in Cincy..