He'd obviously not beat Novak, Sinner, Carlos, and even Medvedev, but even in patches, he's shown a good enough level in these last two days to indicate he could hang with the clowns that is the rest of the field right now even if he was his fitness levels from just two years ago. And again, this is a Rafa with zero match fitness or sharpness. I honestly expected him to be much much poorer in these two games given how poor he had looked on clay earlier this year.
Tennis 2024
- Thread starter Jippy
- Start date
At times this is like PlayStation tennis.
Fast court = advantage Sinner, as expected
My my what a rivalry this is
My my what a rivalry this is
I think he could do decently in the three set tournaments but it'd be rough on the ego I imagine for Rafa to basically admit he has no chance at the slams and go the Murray route. It'll suck for the fans who would still love to see him compete at any level but it's probably the best decision for his long term health .
He is retiring because half an hour playing his A game and he can barely walk.
Taylor Fritz really is Zverev's nemesis this year
Sinner is on another level currently. Scary form and Fritz is gonna be a toast tomorrow.
Jannik chose violence 
Poor Ruud
Anyways...Fritz continuing to win for the girlies is cool af, too bad he probably doesn't really stand a chance today. Even if he servebots his way to tiebreaks, when push comes to shove he's not gonna outplay Sinner in those key points i don't think
Poor Ruud
Anyways...Fritz continuing to win for the girlies is cool af, too bad he probably doesn't really stand a chance today. Even if he servebots his way to tiebreaks, when push comes to shove he's not gonna outplay Sinner in those key points i don't think
Be delighted if Fritz can make it respectable/a battle. Don’t really expect it and happy not to be seeing Zverev in any case!
Tennis has to be such a depressing sport at times though. Fritz level today was exceptional, and he never even get a sniff because on the other side was a goddamn terminator. That has to be hard to accept
Bye Rafa, nobody will ever win 14 French Opens again
GB have a good chance of getting to the BJK Cup final, as they’ll be favourites to beat Slovakia in the semis today. Boulter and Raducanu have yet to drop a set. I suspect Italy will be way too strong in the final though, unfortunately
Loved Federer’s post.
Nadal - what a player.
Nadal - what a player.
Very impressive from the Slovakia player to beat Boulter!
Agree on Italy, for both the BJK Cup and for the Davis Cup.
Especially from Boulter being a set up!
GB have had a disastrous start in the doubles as well, 0-3 down (and currently 30-0 in game four) in the first set.
GB have had a disastrous start in the doubles as well, 0-3 down (and currently 30-0 in game four) in the first set.
Why didn't Dart play any of these three games, all over after being 1 set from the final earlier
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I think that result may be my fault. When I went out Raducanu had won her match and Boulter was a set up in hers.
When I came back, Slovakia were one game from a place in the final. Oops.
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When I came back, Slovakia were one game from a place in the final. Oops.
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I put it on so think I definitely cursed us
I'm not crying your crying
Botic is the reincarnation of Francis Drake, pass it on
Botic is the reincarnation of Francis Drake, pass it on
Man I'm getting old when both Nadal and Federer have retired. Time flies.
Greatest warrior in the history of the sport and one of the classiest/easiest guys to root for in any sport.
His clay record will never be beaten.
Greatest warrior in the history of the sport and one of the classiest/easiest guys to root for in any sport.
His clay record will never be beaten.
She's been struggling with an injury by the looks of it.
Really thought they had a chance of following in the men's footsteps from a few years ago but it wasn't to be.
Don't get me wrong, the final would have been very tough but with Emma and Katie you've always got a good chance in the singles.
To say Rafa is a legend would be an understatement. Absolute giant.
The new generation is ok but tennis feels a little bit flat at the moment.
The new generation is ok but tennis feels a little bit flat at the moment.
Yeah just wanted to make the final and then see what happens, momentum went in that deciding set of second singles match
I don’t know, both these men and women end-of-year team competitions just seem glorified exhibitions to me, totally deprived of real gut (and superstars). While I appreciate the popular wankfest in my country as a result of Sinner and Paolini doing wonders recently, this thing in Malaga is a step too far imho… especially this other year when the real team competitions were the Olympics (and you can clearly see the difference in entries and level).
Wooooorld Chaaaaampiooons! I mean, Paolini was the only top 10 really into this and her old fox, gloroius sidekick Errani from our previous golden generation a great complement to pretty much secure any doubles point in this watered down format (to be fair, they won the gold medal at the Olympics as well, so no pushover at all). Ps. I will not be here celebrating Sinner and co., it will be @giorno hosting the strudel… sorry… the pasta party as usual.
Yep, further proof that tennis is the only sport that matters right now 
BJK Cup > Finals
Also the Davis is going back to the old format for the first rounds from next year? Honestly I don't dislike this current "world cup of tennis" format, but iunno, it's watered down and just lacks that special atmosphere of old for me. Bring back Bo5 and first to 3, bring back homefield advantage
BJK Cup > Finals
Also the Davis is going back to the old format for the first rounds from next year? Honestly I don't dislike this current "world cup of tennis" format, but iunno, it's watered down and just lacks that special atmosphere of old for me. Bring back Bo5 and first to 3, bring back homefield advantage
Australia pulls off the upset over USA thanks to Kokkinakis beating Shelton and questionable choice for the double by USA
One thing I don't dislike about this format is the tactical aspect. Argentina brought along Baez - their number 1, but also a clay specialist who is nearly useless on other surfaces - specifically so they can feed him to the wolves - Sinner in this case - while giving Cerundolo - their best hard court player by a mile - a fighting chance against the opponent's n2
One thing I don't dislike about this format is the tactical aspect. Argentina brought along Baez - their number 1, but also a clay specialist who is nearly useless on other surfaces - specifically so they can feed him to the wolves - Sinner in this case - while giving Cerundolo - their best hard court player by a mile - a fighting chance against the opponent's n2
I'm not mad at Argentina doing that to be honest and I think those kind of tactics have been done before, though probably less so in the old format. I'm not sure how you resolve it given the current format and calendar but having the Davis Cup finals held as one event as an indoor hardcourt event is possibly a bit unfair given it's not everyone's favourite surface/conditions. Argentina for example are put at a bit of a disadvantage if the final 8 is always played on an indoor hard court.
Logistically there isn't an easy solution if you don't go back to the old way of doing things though.
Honestly, the final 8 format is really cool actually, but yeah, single surface conditions isn't great. Mostly though my main issue is with the first to 2 and best of 3 format. The latter is acceptable still, but the former just doesn't work for me. Bring back first to 3 at least. I mean, take this Argentina - Italy match: if Cerundolo loses to Musetti, it's over, Italy wins 2-0 and the doubles don't even come into play. For Argentina basically the entire match depends on winning the first singles event. That's too much
I agree, I like the final 8 format too! I'd keep it best of 3 sets, I know what you mean about it being first to 3 instead - maybe that works best only for a final - or from the SF onwards otherwise the event might drag on too long.
Sinnettini, the greatest doubles of all time
(Seriously, Sinner+servebot has to be the best doubles in the world though atm)
Berrettini continues to carry Italy
(Seriously, Sinner+servebot has to be the best doubles in the world though atm)
Berrettini continues to carry Italy
Berrettini is a bit more than a servebot in fairness. Though I am disappointed he has not been able to add variety to his game in the past couple of years.
Italy wins the Davis Cup!
Inbefore Botic, Slayer of Spaniards, has different ideas
Inbefore Botic, Slayer of Spaniards, has different ideas
Just saw the joint IG post and couldn't believe it
Don’t mind that. Don’t mind that AT ALL.
Oh dear. Both the men’s #1 and the recently dethroned women’s #1 have both served doping bans in the same year. Not a great look, even if both cases are completely innocent mistakes.
Tennis is going downhill. The new generation does not have the pulling power of Federer or Serena, and they get embroiled in doping stories.
I don't think these stories are overly damaging when you look at the context. It's not to say systematic doping doesn't exist but contaminations or innocuous things can lead to positive tests.
It's not a good look though but I think tennis will be fine (at tournament level anyway).
Nice summary in the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ek-been-banned-and-how-serious-is-the-offence
Low levels banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) a heart medication were found during a blood test. Her defence was that it was unintentional and arose from contamination in a melatonin supplement she was taking for jetlag.
The ITIA sent some of her tablets and a new unopened pack of tablets from the same batch to be tested. The tests confirmed that the unopened pack of melatonin supplement had the same kind of TMZ contamination.