The Tennis Thread 2014

[Hot_Flatus]

Milos is always talking about being able to win when you're not at your best (believe this is from Sampras). He certainly can say he did just that against Sock today and hopefully is a sign of better things to come after conquering first round jitters.

He will need to be much cleaner moving forward if he's going to make it all the way again this year.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Kudos to Milos for saving a few Tennis Canada executives from suicide watch. Trend so far in his hardcourt season is very few breaks and a lot of tiebreakers. Not a bad strategy against lower opponents but being unable to break doesn't figure to end well at the 4th round and beyond stage of the US Open.

Also just saw the ump in Toronto rip some of the annoying fans, saying "if you don't like the match, please go home". Not sure I've seen that before but good for telling the drunk idiots to piss off.

[CedarMeter]

Just finished watching the Milos match..Was anyone else a little annoyed with the Toronto fan base. Like cheering madly when Sock doesn't get his first serve in. I know it's home court advantage but it seemed a little classless to me.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Sock agreed, apparently.

Tennis Connected ‏@TennisConnected

Sock said in press that there were one too many rude comments by the Canadian fans tonight & Milos was treated better in D.C. last week.

[Inglewood Jack]

with all the Canadian tennis fever, my guess is that the stadiums have been packed with newer fans that aren't familiar with the etiquette. unfortunate because it makes us look like bandwagon dummies...the only remedy would be sustained exposure to the sport so that the hockey-style cheering and heckling can be fixed.

I noticed a similar thing happen when Li Na got popular and her newly minted fans would yell out in the middle of points or during service motion. she ended up having to police them herself until they figured it out.

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Anyone knows where in Calgary I can pick up tennis apparels? The mint Federer polo looks sweet, but your friendly neighborhood Sport Chek won't carry it.

didn't see any response to this yet...I go to Racquet Central for my equipment needs and they carry apparel as well, but I've never actually paid attention to whether it's the signature ATP tour stuff. Merchant of Tennis is a Canadian online retailer that would probably have the named clothing, and I'd expect the shipping to be a lot more affordable than ordering from somewhere like Tennis Warehouse in the US.

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Sock agreed, apparently.

There was likely a few comments that crossed the line, but Sock didn't do himself any favours with the glare after the Milos heater that missed him by a considerable margin and challenging calls that were more than a foot out. As for the crowd in DC, were there even 200 people in the stands that watched the Sock - Raonic match? Fewer people generally leads to fewer idiotic comments.

[Fire]

I think they were chanting: "You Sock!"

[GirlySports]

I think we have taken it a bit too far. Why is Raonic wearing a maple leaf? It's not Davis Cup.

If Sock wore the stars and stripes next week in Cincinatti or in New York we'd laugh at him.

[Senator Clay Davis]

You should know this Girly, but there are as many or more fans in the crowd cheering for Canada as there are people who love tennis. This is sort of what we hope Milos and Genie can do and that's bring more people around to loving tennis and not just the Canadian players. The crowds in both Montreal and Toronto have been horrible and I'm sure the players are noticing too. Amazingly Serena is probably the biggest crowd favorite in Montreal, primarily cause she's been speaking French all week.

[CedarMeter]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I think we have taken it a bit too far. Why is Raonic wearing a maple leaf? It's not Davis Cup.

If Sock wore the stars and stripes next week in Cincinatti or in New York we'd laugh at him.

Wouldn't bother me if he wore a little 2x4 flag on his shirt

[GirlySports]

I agree. So in this case the tournament organizers are shooting themselves in the foot. This has been a Masters or Super 9 tournament for decades. It's always gotten good crowds for bringing in the best players in the world. It's the one Canadian stop for the entire year.

All of a sudden this year because of Raonic's success, Djokovic and Federer are not worth seeing anymore?

Rogers has really messed this up.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Arash Madani ‏@ArashMadani

Good news for Vasek Pospisil. The MRI on his right leg/hamstring came back clean, and the Canadian will play in Cincinnati next

[Mango]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Amazingly Serena is probably the biggest crowd favorite in Montreal, primarily cause she's been speaking French all week.

Speaking of whom, I have a reporter friend in Montreal and apparently SW has been the most accommodating player at the tournament thus far. She's been hanging out with the ball kids and signing autographs until everyone is taken care of. In years past, everyone has avoided her like the plague because she hasn't been very...shall we say...friendly?

Must be the poutine.

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I think we have taken it a bit too far. Why is Raonic wearing a maple leaf? It's not Davis Cup.

If Sock wore the stars and stripes next week in Cincinatti or in New York we'd laugh at him.

I don't know, I don't see anything wrong with showing some pride in your country (Davis Cup tie or not). I've seen plenty of American players in the past wearing patriotic garb at the US Open and I don't have a problem with it. As for the crowd, the only time it bugs me is when they shout out during the point.

[dash_pinched]

Kevin Anderson has eliminated Stan Wawrinka and Jo-Willy Tsonga is up a break in the first set against Joker.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Somewhat predictably Shelby Rogers get destroyed by Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-0. Sharapova down a set and a break to Suarez-Navarro.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by Mango

Speaking of whom, I have a reporter friend in Montreal and apparently SW has been the most accommodating player at the tournament thus far. She's been hanging out with the ball kids and signing autographs until everyone is taken care of. In years past, everyone has avoided her like the plague because she hasn't been very...shall we say...friendly?

Must be the poutine.

It's funny cause I've always disliked Serena for her on court attitude and demeanor, but really never heard anything bad about her off the court. Maybe she's not as bad as we think.

[dash_pinched]

Tsonga took set 1 6-2 and is currently up a break against Joker in set 2.

[dash_pinched]

I guess we shouldn't be all that surprised that Tsonga eliminated Joker considering the time off that Novak has taken (getting married etc.), but 6-2 6-2 is still quite the scoreline.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Top half of the draw is there for someone to take. Tsonga, Murray, Anderson and (likely) Dmitrov. I know who the ladies are rooting for (that Murray is a sexy beast after all...).