2018 Tennis Thread

[dash_pinched]

Acapulco match update - Denis and Kei are in the 3rd set with Denis up a break (Nishikori took the first set in a tie-breaker, Denis won the second set 6-3)

[dash_pinched]

Denis takes the match winning the third set 6-1 - Some concerning match stats however, Shapo had 11 aces, but also 11 double faults and his first serve percentage was a paltry 45%

[Nadal Fan]

FML Nadal reinjured his hip. Hope he gets healthy for Clay season nothing else matters just brutal

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

Denis takes the match winning the third set 6-1 - Some concerning match stats however, Shapo had 11 aces, but also 11 double faults and his first serve percentage was a paltry 45%

Just means Kei is crap.

[dash_pinched]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Just means Kei is crap.

Thanked for brevity lol

[Senator Clay Davis]

Pretty much the story of Rafa's life, follow up a great year with an injury plagued one. That would be one of the reasons I would put Novak ahead of him on the greatest list. Because if longevity isn't a factor, then it's simply a "who, at their absolute best, is the best ever", and then the list becomes a lot harder to put together. Like where do you put Stan? When he's reaches that Stanimal level, he overwhelms opponents almost unlike anything we've ever seen, just blasting guys off the court on both wings, with extremely clutch play too.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Because if longevity isn't a factor, then it's simply a "who, at their absolute best, is the best ever", and then the list becomes a lot harder to put together.

I dunno how much weight the "best at their absolute peak" factors into the goat list. certainly anybody in the top tennis.com's top 10 had periods in their careers where they were totally invincible. but then a lot more players outside the hall of fame also have those moments. for example Cilic at USO 2014 stomped on his final 3 opponents like some angry tennis kaiju, and nobody from any era was going to stop it. but then he never reached that level again, except for like 1 set in the final last month.

I agree that peak Djoker likely takes down prime Fed and Rafa, especially on hard court. but I don't think it's enough to cover the majors spread. if he comes back healthy for clay, is able to take advantage of an ailing or possibly even absent Rafa, then he might be the first of the 3 to grab two of each slam...then that scale starts to tip a bit more his way.

speaking of which, it would suck to lose Rafa again for a big chunk of this year, but if the worst happens and he's not there to defend Roland Garros, does Fed give it one more try? I'm still gonna guess no, but it would be fascinating to see how his current game translates. would it actually work or would he just end up looking like Sampras out there?

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

I dunno how much weight the "best at their absolute peak" factors into the goat list. certainly anybody in the top tennis.com's top 10 had periods in their careers where they were totally invincible. but then a lot more players outside the hall of fame also have those moments. for example Cilic at USO 2014 stomped on his final 3 opponents like some angry tennis kaiju, and nobody from any era was going to stop it. but then he never reached that level again, except for like 1 set in the final last month.

I agree that peak Djoker likely takes down prime Fed and Rafa, especially on hard court. but I don't think it's enough to cover the majors spread. if he comes back healthy for clay, is able to take advantage of an ailing or possibly even absent Rafa, then he might be the first of the 3 to grab two of each slam...then that scale starts to tip a bit more his way.

speaking of which, it would suck to lose Rafa again for a big chunk of this year, but if the worst happens and he's not there to defend Roland Garros, does Fed give it one more try? I'm still gonna guess no, but it would be fascinating to see how his current game translates. would it actually work or would he just end up looking like Sampras out there?

Hopefully Rafa is back for the clay season, that's all I care about now. Get a couple more Masters 1000 titles and add an insane 11th RG title would be nice.

I don't think Fed will play clay, the type of tennis is brutal and he can't play 50 second service games at RG like he can at Wimbledon. Also Fed loves Wimbledon and he wants his own La Decima like Rafa at RG. Playing RG hurts his chances at Wimbledon IMO.

Even a 50% Rafa is still enough to win the French, he literally destroyed the competition last year and it wasn't even close. It was the most dominant performance in an individual sport I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. He lost a total of 35 games in 7 matches. Never went to a tie breaker, the closest anyone got to beating him in a set was winning 4 games. He took a peak former champion Stan Wawrinka and gave him a beatdown in the finals. The gap is just too large and the French is also 3 months away, you know given Rafa's fighting spirit if there is even a 1% chance he can play.

BUT if he is out for the French then I'm fairly confident in Dominic Thiem to win even if Fed plays. Thiem was the only man to beat Rafa last year on clay so I think Thiem becomes the favorite.

[dash_pinched]

Should be a dandy of a match between Shapo and Thiem later today, the Shapo backhand versus the Thiem forehand.

Edit: Match will be shown on TSN2 starting at 5 pm Mountain time.

[Inglewood Jack]

a bit of an upset today as Rafa goes #3 on the goat list:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/...l-nadal/72420/

please don't shoot the messenger Rafa fans, I would have put him ahead of Laver. one concerning stat I saw, he has either withdrawn or retired from every tournament he's entered after Shanghai last year. that's 6 consecutive tourneys he's had to cut short...a lot of missed reps to catch up on in order to be in top clay form. I'm thinking he's not going to come to the US at all this spring. with these old guys, they're gonna miss tournaments either by choice, or because they're forced to...the former option is much more preferable.

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

a bit of an upset today as Rafa goes #3 on the goat list:

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/...l-nadal/72420/

please don't shoot the messenger Rafa fans, I would have put him ahead of Laver. one concerning stat I saw, he has either withdrawn or retired from every tournament he's entered after Shanghai last year. that's 6 consecutive tourneys he's had to cut short...a lot of missed reps to catch up on in order to be in top clay form. I'm thinking he's not going to come to the US at all this spring. with these old guys, they're gonna miss tournaments either by choice, or because they're forced to...the former option is much more preferable.

Obviously I'm going to disagree with this, as Rafa was able to get 16 Grand Slams (so far) while playing in an era with Federer and Djokovic. I know Laver won a lot as well, but that was a long time ago and I don't think the competition was as strong then as it is now.

This is an annoying injury but the one shred of hope I'm clinging to is that Rafa must be close if he made the trip to Mexico, he must think he can go but the Dr's told him no. Take this year as maintenance, play some clay events skip Wimbledon and try for another US Open title for his 4th which would put him 1 back of Fed and Sampras.

[GirlySports]

Don't be shocked if Laver is #1

Perhaps in this type of poll Nadal is penalized for winning on clay and only 1 Wimbledon and Federer won only 1 French and didn't beat Nadal to do it.

Laver is the only man to win each Grand slam 3 times and created the open era.

[Nadal Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Don't be shocked if Laver is #1

Perhaps in this type of poll Nadal is penalized for winning on clay and only 1 Wimbledon and Federer won only 1 French and didn't beat Nadal to do it.

Laver is the only man to win each Grand slam 3 times and created the open era.

Even though his 2nd Wimbledon title came against Berdych it still counts

[Inglewood Jack]

well the list is gonna be questionable either way since 3 of the top 5 are still active and padding their resumes. I think if Rocket Rod goes #1, it's not exactly in the realm of TheScore.com NHL power rankings, but it'll clearly be to generate more clicks and "lively" discussion.

anyhow Rafa and Fed elevated the game globally in ways none of their predecessors ever could. Roger even got a bit teary eyed talking about what his rival means to him during the Laureas Sportsman acceptance speech.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Yeah, no, that would be ridiculous. Roger isn't just the best tennis player ever, he's in the "all-time sports legends" category with Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Babe Ruth, Pele... It would be like having a top 100 hockey players list and having the top 3 go 1. Howe, 2. Gretzky, 3. Orr.

[dash_pinched]

Polansky and Pospisil still alive at the Indian Wells Challenger event, but this is good news for the upcoming tourney in Drummondville...

https://twitter.com/user/status/968945243465764864

[atb]

Heading to Indian Wells for the first time this year! Anyone whose been have any tips?

[Mango]

Originally Posted by dash_pinched

Denis takes the match winning the third set 6-1 - Some concerning match stats however, Shapo had 11 aces, but also 11 double faults and his first serve percentage was a paltry 45%

Shapo fell to Thiem 6-2, 6-3. He struggled with double-faults (albeit fewer than versus Nishikori) and his first serve was just 51%.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by atb

Heading to Indian Wells for the first time this year! Anyone whose been have any tips?

arrive early, security is rigorous and they'll go through every person's bag, plus metal detectors, wanding, etc. you're allowed to have a backpack though as long as it's not ginormous. it helps with any swag you might pick up during the day as well.

they do permit liquids and their containers. I recommend bringing a big vacuum insulated water bottle filled up with ice, you'll be hitting the filtered water fountains frequently. and pack the strongest sunscreen you can find, sunglasses and hat...preferably wide brimmed, you won't really care how uncool you look after sitting in the desert sun for a couple hours. you can even try bringing a sports towel and soaking it in water to drape over your head/shoulders for when it really starts scorching.

check the posted practice schedules for when your favorite players hit the courts. this is as close as you'll probably ever get to them and it's fun watching the speed of their hits at ground level. the biggest names (Fed/Rafa) will practice on big courts, and fill every seat so if you want to catch them you have to arrive minimum half an hour before they do.

be prepared to spend lots while you're on the grounds, but it'll be worth it. Indian Wells has the biggest and best tennis pro shop I've been to at any tournament. the food is expensive of course, but most of it is delicious, and you can go anywhere from quick takeout to fancy sit-down sushi or italian.

on your days away from the grounds, hit up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Joshua Tree National Park, do some outlet shopping, and take it easy by the pool. downtown Palm Springs has many excellent restaurant choices. I recommend booking a table at Birba for some top notch pizza.

here's my photo tour from last year:

https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...&postcount=638

[atb]

Originally Posted by Inglewood Jack

arrive early, security is rigorous and they'll go through every person's bag, plus metal detectors, wanding, etc. you're allowed to have a backpack though as long as it's not ginormous. it helps with any swag you might pick up during the day as well.

they do permit liquids and their containers. I recommend bringing a big vacuum insulated water bottle filled up with ice, you'll be hitting the filtered water fountains frequently. and pack the strongest sunscreen you can find, sunglasses and hat...preferably wide brimmed, you won't really care how uncool you look after sitting in the desert sun for a couple hours. you can even try bringing a sports towel and soaking it in water to drape over your head/shoulders for when it really starts scorching.

check the posted practice schedules for when your favorite players hit the courts. this is as close as you'll probably ever get to them and it's fun watching the speed of their hits at ground level. the biggest names (Fed/Rafa) will practice on big courts, and fill every seat so if you want to catch them you have to arrive minimum half an hour before they do.

be prepared to spend lots while you're on the grounds, but it'll be worth it. Indian Wells has the biggest and best tennis pro shop I've been to at any tournament. the food is expensive of course, but most of it is delicious, and you can go anywhere from quick takeout to fancy sit-down sushi or italian.

on your days away from the grounds, hit up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Joshua Tree National Park, do some outlet shopping, and take it easy by the pool. downtown Palm Springs has many excellent restaurant choices. I recommend booking a table at Birba for some top notch pizza.

here's my photo tour from last year:

https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpo...&postcount=638

Awesome, thanks, that's all very helpful!