2015 Tennis Thread

[Inglewood Jack]

yeah when they put King Hank up on the screen, the cheers were nearly equal to those for when Fed won the match. also he smiled, raised his glass and instantly everyone in attendance was pregnant.

I guess now that all the Canadians are out we can just talk about how dreamy Lundqvist is for the remainder of the tennis season...

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

yeah when they put King Hank up on the screen, the cheers were nearly equal to those for when Fed won the match. also he smiled, raised his glass and instantly everyone in attendance was pregnant.

I guess now that all the Canadians are out we can just talk about how dreamy Lundqvist is for the remainder of the tennis season...

Hahahaha. What a gentleman.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Canadian Fed (Felix Auger) nearly had a great win today over one of the top ranked junior players Tommy Paul (FO champ), saved a few match points but ultimately lost 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. But he's without a doubt, from reading tennis writers anyways, the biggest young prospect in tennis. Still only 15 so the sky appears to be the limit. TSN says they'll have highlights later (if they can actually switch over to the proper feeds).

[CroFlames]

Cilic just challenged the closest call I can remember. The ball was in by literally a hair. Wow.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Canadian Fed (Felix Auger)

Felix Unger

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Canadian Fed (Felix Auger) nearly had a great win today over one of the top ranked junior players Tommy Paul (FO champ), saved a few match points but ultimately lost 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. But he's without a doubt, from reading tennis writers anyways, the biggest young prospect in tennis. Still only 15 so the sky appears to be the limit. TSN says they'll have highlights later (if they can actually switch over to the proper feeds).

16 year old Shapovalov is into the next round

[GirlySports]

That alot of people.

[Acey]

I don't really like watching Venus vs Serena. Even with so much on the line, I'm only checking on the score from time to time.

[GirlySports]

They used to hate playing each other but more recently the last 4 or 5 have been really good including Venus winning in Montreal last year.

[Inglewood Jack]

how nice of Serena to gift a set to her sister, it's like in the old days when you were playing your friend who's terrible at Street Fighter II, so you let him have the 2nd round to make them feel not as useless. but I've always liked Venus' personality so much more, it's a shame that she wasn't the one who ended up being the all-time great.

oh and I was told my pics on the last page stopped working for whatever reason, hopefully they're fixed now.

[Resolute 14]

Gift is the right word. I knew there was no chance that Venus would even think about standing in Serena's way of a calendar slam. It was only a question of how good they made it look. And 6-2, 1-6 for the first two sets does not scream "tightly contested match" like they hoped splitting the first two sets would make it seem.

[Resolute 14]

In other news, ESPN continues its relentless efforts to ruin tennis: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...iews/71902212/

[CroFlames]

Very likely looks like another Djokovic-Federer classic final, but I'm really hoping Cilic can pull of an upset.

A back to back US Open win would be incredible with Novak and Roger still in the mix.

Fun fact, Cilic is from the next town over from where my parents are from

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

In other news, ESPN continues its relentless efforts to ruin tennis: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...iews/71902212/

they won't get any player over 27 years old to agree probably, but the youngsters won't know any better, so it will become standard by next generation if they push it. if they really want to start introducing gimmicks from other sports, I vote that they have a combine for players about to turn pro. doesn't anyone else want to see how many pull-ups Felix Auger can do?

regarding Cilic, I was in Split last year and he was barely on the radar, just coming off a drug suspension. but people were more than happy to reminisce about the crazy party they had when Ivanisevic came home with the Wimbledon championship. I think at some point during the celebration he lost his pants.

[polak]

I hope Anderson can upset Wawrinka and then I hope Federer can beat him.

To be honest, even though Fed has been playing almost like vintage Federer lately, I'm primed for his 2012+ quarters or semi's loss.

[polak]

Suh-weet. Feds in the Semis. Hope he can get past his countryman.

#OneMoreForRoger

If he does win, how epic would it be if he retired in the post match interview?

[Senator Clay Davis]

At this point I don't see any reason Roger can't play 2-3 more years. I think he can manage the schedule to the point he plays around 12-15 events but keeps his ranking high enough up to keep getting easy draws to at least R4 of majors. His fitness level and movement is still incredible and he doesn't get hurt it seems.

And he's the best server ever and the best server in the world right now. As long as that serve is at an elite level, he's going to avoid the long, gruelling matches that Djokovic and Murray and Nadal seemingly cannot. He's definitely giving the Olympics another go next year, so he'll be doing next year at least. Even if he loses 2 steps from this current form, that's still a top 5 player in the world. His legacy beyond being the greatest is the amazing longevity at the highest level. Never seen it with any other athlete, including Fed's idol, His Airness.

[polak]

Yeah I don't think he will do it either. He doesn't seem like he has any intention of doing so, especially since he has seemed to step his game up again in the last couple years. I'm just saying, it would be pretty bad ass if he retired on top (although, it'd be even better if he held the #1 spot when he did!).

Personally, I'm still holding out my faint hope of 20 slams!

[Inglewood Jack]

geez imagine if Fed switched racquets 5 years ago. that demolition of Gasquet was impressive no doubt, but it looked to me like the winner count was so high because sweaty Richard barely tried to chase anything if it wasn't down the middle. how he managed to take out Berdych mystifies me.

it's hard to compare prime Roger from 2006 to the current version, they're actually very different. back then he used to just hang out at the baseline and casually rally with his opponent until he got bored and instantly ended the point with a sniper shot into the corner. no lie, I remember watching one of the USO semis (a huge feat for almost anyone else on tour) and he appeared to be just practicing, because the match was his no matter what the other guy was doing. I think that level of effortlessness is actually what turned a lot of viewers off and drove them to cheer for Nadal instead, because with that guy you can see every ounce of exertion which I think is more relatable.

nowadays, perhaps a combination of slightly decreased accuracy and tougher opponents mean he can't win that same way. but I think I like this new all-court attacking style even more, and if they ran a simulation I honestly think 2015 Fed beats 2006 with his increased versatility. Polak is right though, the one thing missing from a decade ago is the day in/day out reliability of his game, that's the one edge Djokovic will hold for the remainder of his own prime.

[polak]

Is it true that Roger saved a kid from being crushed by fans trying to get his autograph last night? Saw it on FB but couldn't click the link.