The Tennis Thread 2013

[NBC]

What I found hilarious today was the mention that with Murray's victory, more British men have won Wimbledon than any other nationality. It sure didn't take them long to forget about the 77 years of futility.

Annoying.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by NBC

What I found hilarious today was the mention that with Murray's victory, more British men have won Wimbledon than any other nationality. It sure didn't take them long to forget about the 77 years of futility.

Annoying.

They even said the umpire, when getting his medal, would remember this match forever as he witnessed British history.

The umpire is Swedish and calls hundred of matches a year, why would he care.

[jofillips]

NBC, if you hate Britain and Wimbledon so much then why are you in Sussex and watching tennis there??
of course they're gonnna go on about a local winner just as Canadians would and should if Raonic kicks ass!

If you've been in Britain any amount of time you'd realise tennis is the biggest thing in the world for a few weeks in June/July then it's the least important sport ever!

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by jofillips

of course they're gonnna go on about a local winner just as Canadians would and should if Raonic kicks ass!

speaking of our local boy, Raonic hits bottom of the barrel in Tignor's Wimby grades...even lower than Nadal and Fed:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2013/.../#.UdsIRYTna71

I don't think anyone not named Novak, Andy or Rafael is winning a major anytime soon, so that's some harsh treatment for poor Milos, but it does speak to how much more punishing it is when you have to live up to the media hype.

By those standards though, I would give Bernard Tomic an F- just for continuing to exist on the ATP tour.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by jofillips

NBC, if you hate Britain and Wimbledon so much then why are you in Sussex and watching tennis there??
of course they're gonnna go on about a local winner just as Canadians would and should if Raonic kicks ass!

If you've been in Britain any amount of time you'd realise tennis is the biggest thing in the world for a few weeks in June/July then it's the least important sport ever!

I don't think you quite realise just how OTT things are here right now.

[jofillips]

I probably don't realise how crazy it is there you're right.
But it is a little harsh to bitch about people being happy and partying over a winner!

[Barnet Flame]

A lot of Brits are themselves jaded with the hyperbole - PM rattling on about Knighthood, tv schedule for tonight changed, almost half the fricken news bulletin taken over by it - even now, papers full of it.

I wanted Murray to win, but all the resultant BS is excruciating - there is no escape.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by NBC

What I found hilarious today was the mention that with Murray's victory, more British men have won Wimbledon than any other nationality. It sure didn't take them long to forget about the 77 years of futility.

Annoying.

I'm not sure what kinds of huge predictions they were making for Murray's future in your broadcast, but here McEnroe casually threw out that he expected in the range of 5-10 slams. I just find it funny how the commentators either knowingly pander to the current moment, or lose all sense of historical perspective. 6 years ago I remember Mac freely gushing about how Roger's game is the best anyone has ever seen or may ever see, he's the absolute undisputed greatest, etc. 3 years later he's bowing to the mighty Nadal, whom he's almost certain will overtake Federer for total majors someday.

and now a 2 slam winner at age 26 is somehow going to get close to double digits, despite history saying that it won't be long before he gets into post-apex territory. off the top of my head I think Fed at the same age had 12 or so slams already, then started slowing down. I don't expect this to be Andy's last major, but to me it does feel like a certain amount of premature hype.

[polak]

Nadal is the only player that's winning right now that has even a remote shot at beating Fed's total.

[Drake]

[spiteface]

Originally Posted by Drake

he must have missed the final

[NBC]

Originally Posted by jofillips

NBC, if you hate Britain and Wimbledon so much then why are you in Sussex and watching tennis there??
of course they're gonnna go on about a local winner just as Canadians would and should if Raonic kicks ass!

If you've been in Britain any amount of time you'd realise tennis is the biggest thing in the world for a few weeks in June/July then it's the least important sport ever!

I'm not sure how you could have inferred this from my post. But It seems you did. For the record I do not hate either Britain or Wimbledon, merely the BBC and the relatively recent jingoistic hype surrounding Andy Murray and his quest for Wimbledon glory.

I've been here long enough to remember what it was like pre-Andy Murray. There was no great British hope and the attitudes were tempered and expectations were muted. However, since Murray's rapid rise to the top (near) of the men's game, the hyperbole and fervour has increased 100 fold. The BBC's entire coverage of the Championships revolves totally around Andy Murray and his "chances this year." I'll give you an example, after each set in the final, the BBC had a short montage of the set highlights, winners, aces, key points, etc, all in slow-motion. Each point they showed was a Murray point and the only time they showed his opponent is when he slipped at the net on an attempted volley on a point which Murray won. It is this that I find ridiculous.

I generally find that sports commentary here in the UK is fairly non-partisan, with a few glaring exceptions - Olympics, tennis and boxing. Most other sports are pretty good. I didn't hear much gloating and exhorting during the last 10 minutes of the 3rd Lions test. The British commentators were excited but weren't handing the trophy to anyone before the end of the match. I though that was right to do. Tennis on the other hand - and not just Wimbledon. They'll do the exact same thing at the US and Australian.

So essentially the problem, like most things, is with the media and the BBC to be specific. To turn the last part of the comment around, If you had spent any amount of time in the UK watching sports you'd know how jingoistic the BBC and the wider media are during certain sporting events.

Barnet Flame's response is exactly how lots of people, including my British better half, feel about this. The media here goes overboard time and time again - all to the detriment of decent people who just want a bit of news.

[NBC]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

I'm not sure what kinds of huge predictions they were making for Murray's future in your broadcast, but here McEnroe casually threw out that he expected in the range of 5-10 slams. I just find it funny how the commentators either knowingly pander to the current moment, or lose all sense of historical perspective. 6 years ago I remember Mac freely gushing about how Roger's game is the best anyone has ever seen or may ever see, he's the absolute undisputed greatest, etc. 3 years later he's bowing to the mighty Nadal, whom he's almost certain will overtake Federer for total majors someday.

and now a 2 slam winner at age 26 is somehow going to get close to double digits, despite history saying that it won't be long before he gets into post-apex territory. off the top of my head I think Fed at the same age had 12 or so slams already, then started slowing down. I don't expect this to be Andy's last major, but to me it does feel like a certain amount of premature hype.

I heard him say he'll win 6 more.

[killer_carlson]

I wonder what kind of letdown he will have. So much pressure, so much build up, so much focus.

Will he pull a Duvall and disappear? Lendel is probably more important now than ever.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I wonder what kind of letdown he will have. So much pressure, so much build up, so much focus.

Will he pull a Duvall and disappear? Lendel is probably more important now than ever.

I think holding half the slams currently means he's gotten over the mental blocks that plagued him earlier, and he'll be a regular fixture in finals for a couple of years like Djoker became in 2011. but staying at the top is a new challenge unto itself because the hunter becomes the hunted. Andy likely spent countless hours watching tape of himself and opponents to break down weaknesses and tweak everything to perfection. of course his rivals were doing the same with him but now that's going up to a new level.

even in early rounds with the unseeded guys, there's a fine line between "I'm so scared of this guy, I've got zero chance" and "I probably won't win anyways so I'm just gonna bash the ball freely and see what happens". it's remarkable how consistent the top 4 guys have been getting to the end of majors and escaping 5 set scares in the first week, but I will no longer be crazy surprised whenever one of them gets stunned in rounds 1-4.

[Mango]

Canada is going to host Serbia in World Group 2 Federations Cup action next Feb. They'll likely end up playing in Vancouver, considering the success of the Davis Cup:

http://www.tenniscanada.com/index.ph...D-CUP&pid=4755

Canada's ranked 14th, while Serbia sits 4th.

I'm glad that Canada didn't draw France. While playing Serbia is always a challenge, the French women are really making their mark on the WTA right now.

[GirlySports]

Tsonga's participation at the US Open is in doubt, his statements are very worrying: "Not sure about my comeback. Could be in 6 weeks or in 6 months. Too soon to tell"

He has already withdrawn from Washington .Full interview here in French: http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013...l-us-open.html

[polak]

Can Janowicz pass Milos by the US Open?

[GirlySports]

yes he can. Milos has more points to defend and isn't playing Hamburg this week.

[Mango]

A great run by Pospisil at Claro Open. He's in the SF tomorrow vs Falla.

Also, props to Karlovic. He's in the SF vs Anderson. A very remarkable return for the big man after nearly losing everything to meningitis earlier this year.