Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XVI

[kihei]

From the quarters to the finals on a walkover and a six game default. I don't remember that ever happening before. Rublev has a 4-1 lead head-to-head but they have all been close matches. I'd bet on Rublev but not the house.

 

[Tuggy]

Alcaraz out of Rome.

So many injuries for the young players. Kinda concerning.

 

[kihei]

Alcaraz out of Rome.

So many injuries for the young players. Kinda concerning.

Yeah, it is. I wonder if all the advances in racket technology, analytics, coaching, fitness and diet regimens, demands of travel and too frequent competition, haven't had the unintended consequence not of making players stronger and more competitive but driving them to their physical and emotional breaking points. It seems you almost have to be super-human to win consistently at the ultra-elite level, and none of these guys are that.

Unrelated note: No matter the outcome tomorrow, Felix is back in the Top Twenty, if only be the skin of his teeth. He has a five point lead over Mannarino and a ten point lead over Cerundolo.

 

[kihei]

Felix and Andrei on serve 3-2 in the third set. Andrei is so good at sustaining his level of play late in matches, Felix not so much. Rublev is beginning to dominate from the baseline as FAA's errors start really piling up. I think I know how this ends and it is not in favour of Felix.

 

[kihei]

Rublev's second 1000-level clay court win elevates his reputation in my eyes. When one 1000-level is one thing, but two puts him in a slightly different category of achievement. His second victory on clay as well suggests that he is a better clay court player than he has often been given credit for. He has gone through some tough times lately, and it is good to see him respond with his excellent performance in Madrid.

 

[MsMeow]

As soon as Rublev won the 2nd I knew it was over for Felix.

 

[MsMeow]

Denis lost in 3 today. At one point he had over 50 unforced errors and his opponent was cramping up but he couldn't finish him off.

 

[kihei]

Can't do any worse than I did in Madrid. So here goes for Rome:

Djokovic over Ruud
Zverev over Musetti

Struff over Arnaldi
Nadal over Medvedev


Djokovic over Zverev
Nadal over Struff

Djokovic over Nadal.

 

[MsMeow]

Rafa is in trouble versus Bergs. Rafa broke early but has now been broken twice, including in his last service game where he double faulted twice, one being on game point. Bergs just hit a wicked slapshot to take the first set 6-4.

 

[Tuggy]

Thiem set to retire. Sad way for him to go out...

 

[Elvis P]

Novak Djokovic hit in head by water bottle, needed medical attention after opening win at Italian Open

Italian Open organizers said a water bottle accidentally fell out of a fan’s backpack while they were trying to reach down to get his autograph on Friday in Rome.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[MsMeow]

Rafa lost 1 and 3 to Hubie. Did anyone watch? I missed it.

 

[kihei]

It wasn't that Rafa played that badly so much as it was a case of Hurkacz dominating, and there was nothing Nadal could do about it. Rafa had a miserable time trying to get Hubie's first serves in play, and often Hurkacz simply exploited positional advantages as Rafa couldn't cover the court in his old manner. It was a dominant performance by Hurkacz who deserves full credit; there was never any point in the match where I thought that Rafa might turn the match around. I can see why Rafa felt depressed by his performance after the match.

 

[MsMeow]

Djokovic is down 2-6, 2-3 to Tabilo. I just got home 2 games ago so I don't know if he's playing badly or Tabilo is playing great or a combo of the two.

And it's over in straights. Djokovic was broken with a double fault in the end.

 

[MaxV]

Thiem’s has had a good career but there is certainly a “what if” there.

 

[kihei]

Playing some great tennis, Tabilo had his foot on Djokovic's neck from the word "go," jumping off to a 4-love lead in the first set and then never looking back. I was surprised how confident Tabilo looked and how little Nole could do about it. An indication of the dominance on display, the match took just over an hour to complete. With Carlos and Sinner recovering from injuries and Nole and Rafa suddenly uber-vulnerable, this is going to be the most wide-open French Open in over twenty years.

 

[kihei]

Nole suffered a possible concussion when a fan accidentally dropped a water bottle on his head following his 2nd round match. Speculation is the aftereffects of the blow may have been responsible for his erratic play today.

 

[Elvis P]

Nole suffered a possible concussion when a fan accidentally dropped a water bottle on his head following his 2nd round match. Speculation is the aftereffects of the blow may have been responsible for his erratic play today.

Novak Djokovic drops 'concerning' straight-sets loss 2 days after water bottle impact left him with 'nausea, dizziness'

Djokovic lost to World No. 29 Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open and said he feels like "a different player" two days after being hit with a water bottle.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[kihei]

FAA won the first set in a breaker but, though playing well, lost the second set to Demon 6-4. This is looking like it might well be the fifth (!) time this year that Felix will lose a three-set match after winning the first set (Montpellier, Rotterdam, Acapulco, Madrid). I wish him well, as always, but this is getting to be hard to watch.

Yup, 3-1 De Minaur in the third...

 

[MsMeow]

Novak Djokovic drops 'concerning' straight-sets loss 2 days after water bottle impact left him with 'nausea, dizziness'

Djokovic lost to World No. 29 Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open and said he feels like "a different player" two days after being hit with a water bottle.

sports.yahoo.com

I think he has a concussion and if he was a hockey player with these symptoms, he wouldn't have been allowed to play. But I don't think this is the only reason he lost. He hasn't been playing many tourneys and when he has, he hasn't gone deep. Plus, age. Plus getting rid of his coaches etc.

 

[Maverick41]

Muller in 3 over Rublev.
Have to admit I did not see that coming, especially after Rublev winning the first set.

 

[kihei]

A tennis player with a concussion is something new under the sun for me. If indeed he has a concussion, his symptoms might not abate for at least a couple of weeks, putting Paris in jeopardy. Even by quantum physics standards, the universe seldom gets more random than this.