The Tennis Thread

[chippy17]

for all things tennisy, I'll start:

big congrats to Heather Watson for becoming the first woman in well a long time to win a WTA tournament, I can see both her and Laura in the top 10 within 2 years!! Is this another long term bet?!

[chippy17]

Vocal Minority said:

Have all the rest been draws then? *sniggers*

sorry.


I think they are both doing very well. Best female players for a couple of generations and they are still improving.

I wish i could get the joke but am too thick!

[chippy17]

how about a little sum up:

Murray loses to Djokovic in Shanghai, I believe he had 5 match points, 2 racquets smashed I guess it was a bit tense

Del Petro finally beat Federer, well deserved win imo, really want him to win another gs, by all accounts a top bloke

Federer pulls out of paris, a wise move but he will lose his no.1 spot as of Monday

Djokovic loses in 1st round of Paris to Querry, even though he won the first 8 games and thus bagelled Querry in first set

Edited by chippy17 on Thursday 1st November 10:10

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

chippy17 said:

how about a little sum up:

Murray loses to Djokovic in Shanghai, I believe he had 5 match points, 2 racquets smashed I guess it was a bit tense

Del Petro finally beat Federer, well deserved win imo, really want him to win another gs, by all accounts a top bloke

Federer pulls out of paris, a wise move but he will lose his no.1 spot as of Monday

Djokovic loses in 1st round of Paris to Querry, even though he won the first 8 games and thus bagelled Querry in first set

Edited by chippy17 on Thursday 1st November 10:10

Nice sum-up, my prediction is that Murray will win at least one Grand Slam in 2013 and will make it to world number one by the end of the year (2013 not 2012!). Although Djokovic will still be a force I suspect he'll never again match his achievements of 2011 and, whilst Federer and Nadal remain great players - and will be a threat in individual tournaments - I'm not sure either will challenge for the top spot again. Del Potro has done well to come back from wrist surgery and I can see him continuing to climb the rankings in 2013; however, next year is Murray's big chance and I think he's good enough - and playing well enough - to take it!

I think you are right, I can possibly see him winning 2 (Aus and Wimby) and yes world no.1, 2013 is the year of the Murray

Nadal (assuming fit/off his ped suspension)) and Djokovic will always be a threat as they are all the same age, Fed I think wanted the no.1 spot one more time and pushed himself hard to get it and has I think look knackered and off his game ever since, he will now put all his efforts into slams as he is too old to keep up the schedule required to make it to no.1

Delpotro is also a couple of year younger than Nadal/djoker/Murray so i agree will be a real threat in the next few years

who will take the WTF title, 3 way competition imo Murray/Fed/Delpo?

[chippy17]

Murray just been knocked out by 6ft 7 Pole! had a match point

that's twice now he has had match points and then lost, i do that when I play!

[chippy17]

psgcarey said:

This is the third tournament that Murray has played since the US Open. In all three he has had match points in the matches he lost.

Federer to win the WTF. He's resting this week, Nadal is injured, Djokovic's dad has just been taken ill and is hospital, Murray has forgotten how to close out a match, Ferrer not best suited to indoor hard courts, Berdych a possible dark house, Tsonga out of form, Del Potro probably knackered after playing alot recently....ah but he has just tanked in Paris against Llodra, Tipsarevic, Tipsarevic just no, and whichever of Almagro / Monaco end up as the alternates in case of another withdrawl have no realistic chance.

yes you are quite right re 3 matches he had a mp against Raonic?

hope this is not the start of a trend!?

I hope you are right I would like to see Fed take it, yes I think djokovic is very distracted, forgot about Berdych yes he could pull a surprise

is it not a bit silly to have the tourny the week before wtf as anyone who has def qualified to wtf before the tourny are not going to be massively motivated? seems 3 top players have effectively tanked...

[chippy17]

chippy17 said:

psgcarey said:

This is the third tournament that Murray has played since the US Open. In all three he has had match points in the matches he lost.

Federer to win the WTF. He's resting this week, Nadal is injured, Djokovic's dad has just been taken ill and is hospital, Murray has forgotten how to close out a match, Ferrer not best suited to indoor hard courts, Berdych a possible dark house, Tsonga out of form, Del Potro probably knackered after playing alot recently....ah but he has just tanked in Paris against Llodra, Tipsarevic, Tipsarevic just no, and whichever of Almagro / Monaco end up as the alternates in case of another withdrawl have no realistic chance.

yes you are quite right re 3 matches he had a mp against Raonic?

hope this is not the start of a trend!?

I hope you are right I would like to see Fed take it, yes I think djokovic is very distracted cannot blame him for that his father is very ill aparently, forgot about Berdych yes he could pull a surprise

is it not a bit silly to have the tourny the week before wtf as anyone who has def qualified to wtf before the tourny are not going to be massively motivated? seems 3 top players have effectively tanked...

[chippy17]

although a Fed fan i was surprised by this result, I thought Murray would have him and it certainly looked like it for a while but Fed really turned it on... although...I do wonder if the crowd booing him when he changed his racquet had an effect on Murray

Murray was also, dissapointingly, back to his old ways of tantrums, leg holding etc and swearing loudly

he does have a new one (or perhaps I have just not noticed) of playing with his willy like a 6yr old...very odd...now I will be unable to watch Nadal vs Murray as one of them will be picking his arse and the other playing with his winkle

[chippy17]

Ali2202 said:

chippy17 said:

now I will be unable to watch Nadal vs Murray as one of them will be picking his arse and the other playing with his winkle

I'm here all week, try the veal

[chippy17]

Ali2202 said:

Jetl3on said:

Anyone know where to buy "How To" Tennis DVD for kids, all the ones I have seen are for beginners, looking for something technical.

£15-£25 for an actual lesson is definitely the best place to start. There's plenty of lessons on Youtube if you go looking but that's no substitute for going for a hit and being taught the basics!

agreed, you could also find your local club and they should have group lessons on offer which makes it a bit more fun for the kids too and will probably cost you about £5 per session but you would have to sign up for say 10 sessions, my children really enjoy it

[chippy17]

Jetl3on said:

Is there a big problem with drugs in Tennis?

why do you think Nadal happens to be 'injured' for almost exactly 6 months!

not big but there have been issues in the past

[chippy17]

so who do we think is going to win tonight:

tough one to call, if 2 sets i would say Fed, if 3 sets Djoker

[chippy17]

Jetl3on said:

chippy17 said:

Jetl3on said:

Is there a big problem with drugs in Tennis?

why do you think Nadal happens to be 'injured' for almost exactly 6 months!

not big but there have been issues in the past

Really? Like who? Your joking about Nadal right? You better be, My son will be devastated.

I am sure it is not true but it is doing the rounds of world tennis forums, they are cynically questioning his injury but it is just gossip

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

Well done to Djokovic but Federer must be kicking himself as he ought probably to have won in straight sets rather than losing without winning one! He had the upper hand all the way through the 2nd set but when he failed to serve it out from 40-15 up at 5-4 it all felt very similar to the US Open semi back in 2011; there was no magic return of serve from the Djoker to ignite the comeback this time but once Fed failed to serve out the set you felt that was it and sure enough he didn't win another game.

Probably fitting that the number one player in the world lifted the trophy but as a Fed fan disappointed he didn't manage to do it. However, the match was a good illustration of there being a very fine dividing line between winning and losing at that level; if literally two or three points had gone the other way at the business end of each set the result would have been completely different!

a great match and like you I am a Fed fan so was rooting for him but Djoker is just such a mental beast, he never lets up and deservedly won but it was sooo close, I think Fed actaully won more points in the first set

it was Fed's serve that let him down, in all the crucial games and moments his serve deserted him, I think he will be gutted to not win this one

[chippy17]

Jetl3on said:

pablo said:

becuase its a sign of respect, for the same reason that people dont cheer during the middle of an act in the theatre. you wait for an appropriate place to show your appreciation. if people can not sit quiet for less than 15 seconds then quite frankly they shouldnt be allowed at public events.

Some sports lend themselves to supporters cheering, others do not. yes its ok to cheer halfway through a track cycling race for the same reason that its ok to cheer at football matches, the game is underway and you cheering is hugely unlikely to affect the outcome.

At any athletics meet, the start of a race is silent, or when someone is preparing to jump, its normally quiet unless they want your support where they will indicate accordingly and start a rhythm by clapping, some do, others dont.

Eh? You cant compare sport to Theatre, thats madness, 2 entirely different fields and one's mindset.

Sticking with the subject, just to be clear I am talking about cheering your preferred player, not ridiculing the opponent.

Penalty takers are put under huge pressure from opposing fans, but they learnt that from an early age, as most penalties are scored. At the Olympics, runners, jumpers, throwers, team sports, the audience were encouraged to make as much noise as possible, as it gave the athletes encouragement. You are right that some sports lend themselves better to audience participation, such as snooker or darts where minuscule hand shake can make a huge difference, but Tennis? Roger Federer is a classic example, nothing fazes that man, he is like a robot on court, no emotion whatsoever. A little cheering wont faze him one iota.

it does occasionally:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd_ISSzxyZk

Edited by chippy17 on Wednesday 14th November 09:39

[chippy17]

calm down everyone

but never heard him called Potty before, assuming I am even thinking of the right person, DelPo yes Potty never

oh and he is commonly refered to as Djoker NOT Joker:

http://www.nickhess.com/portfolio/the-djoker/


are you making these up?!

[chippy17]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I was just teasing

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

Away from nicknames and back to the subject of 2013, I really do think this is Andy Murray's real chance to step up and become the top player in the men's game. I think we've now seen the best of Federer (still fantastic when playing well but now has more off-days than he used to) and I'm not convinced Nadal will ever be quite the player he was following all his injury problems. Djokovic will be tough to beat but I don't think he'll ever repeat the year he had in 2011 and he was certainly more vulnerable in 2012 (all things being relative of course!). Therefore, with Murray continuing to improve steadily while the rest of the top four tread water or go backwards, I really think 2013 is a year of opportunity for him. Only time will tell but now he's got the monkey off his back by winning his first Grand Slam I really think he'll go on to win more and I'd be surprised if he didn't add at least another one in 2013.

Del Potro looks the most likely to challenge the top four on a regular basis and it's nice to see him back after a lengthy time off following wrist surgery. However, I don't see him finishing next year in the top four unless one of the players who's there already has their season wrecked by injury!

didn't you say Fed would never win another slam over a year ago!?

I can see it being Murray's year next year and into 2014 but I think we will have to wait until Aus to see how Nadal is, I think after Aus you will have a good idea who is going to be up for it, although I find Aus the most boring slam due to the speed of the court, personally I do not want to see another 20hr final

I think djoker will be well up there and will play like he did in 2012, would like to see him knock Nadal off his FO perch

I agree I can really only see Del Potro being a challenge next year, i hope he does it as he is one of my favourite players and seems like a good bloke

[chippy17]

JNW1 said:

chippy17 said:

didn't you say Fed would never win another slam over a year ago!?

I didn't think he had another one in him but, as a confirmed Federer fan, I was delighted to be proved wrong! He now has the luxury of being able to play fewer tournaments than the other top players and it may be that that allows him to arrive a little bit fresher at the Grand Slams (in which case he will certainly be a threat). I actually believe that at his best he still hits the ball better than anyone but the question is how often can he produce his best tennis? My feeling is not often enough to get back to number 1 and probably not often enough over 5 sets to win another GS either. However, I was wrong last year and will be happy to eat another helping of humble pie if this time next year he's got another GS under his belt!

just teasing, I hope to serve you that piece

i do think Fed has more tennis in him than people think, everyone has been writing him off since 2009 or even before and he is still here, I think he may be scheduling back his tournys but that will only mean he can hang around just that bit longer, i would not be surprised to see him still playing at the highest level at 35

[chippy17]

so who do we fancy for the Aus Open?

Nadal is out which will help old man Fed, slow courts, you gotta fancy Murray and Djokovic

any dark horses? Berdych/Delpo

any up and coming youngsters? would love to see Dimitrov having a good run he has the makings of a great player, big fan of Dolgopolov as well...perhaps Raonic