Tennis 2017

BigMike

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Wow, Thank god

Just some ugly tennis out there tonight for Roger. Played well for a stretch in the late 2nd/3rd, and played about as poorly as he can in the 4th, and even some points in the 5th. Roger plays another match like that one and he will be home very soon
 

jsinger121

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Wow, Thank god

Just some ugly tennis out there tonight for Roger. Played well for a stretch in the late 2nd/3rd, and played about as poorly as he can in the 4th, and even some points in the 5th. Roger plays another match like that one and he will be home very soon
Definitely should give some credit to Tiafoe who looks like the next great American which we haven't had in forever. The future looks bright with him.
 

BigMike

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Definitely should give some credit to Tiafoe who looks like the next great American which we haven't had in forever. The future looks bright with him.


TIafoe played well in stretches and he certainly might become a very good player. I'll reserve judgement on calling him the next great player. He certainly showed flashes, and he showed a lot of areas where work is needed. His Juniors profile also was good, but not elite level. I have seen way to much hype on the likes of Donald Young (never had anywhere close to the talent to be an elite player), or even Jack Sock (much better than Young, but far from a great player)

He is young, but roughly the same age bracket as Zverev (9 months older), who is in my book the favorite to win this Open. And on the other side Dennis Shapovalov is 15 months younger than Tiafoe

In terms of last night's match it was a mess where neither player was covered in glory. I saw one article where they classified only 2 good games in the 5 sets (not sure how that definition is derived), but I could buy it. Federer threw up 56 unforced errors (and boy it felt like more), Tiafoe had 49. An example was the break back in the 9th game of the 5th set. It got to Duece with Roger winning 3 service points, and 3 poor unforced errors. Tiafoe then hit 2 brilliant shots in a row for the break.
 

jon abbey

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Sharapova getting all she can handle from Babos, losing a first set tiebreak and on serve in the second, 2-3.
 

jon abbey

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Seeds are dropping left and right in both the men's and the women's, Tsonga (8) in straight sets last night, Berdych (15) just now, Pliskova (1) down a set now. Almost half the seeds are out, 18 men and 17 women left by my count.
 

BigMike

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Roger falling apart again today against You. Started well destroying him in the first set and getting up a break in the second but the wheels are off the bus Las he gave away the second and is down a break in the 3rd.

He might be playing the worst tennis of his career right now
 

Sam Ray Not

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So, what's the issue with Roger (down 2 sets to 1 now)? Consensus seems to be that his back is not right — not watching, does it look like it's bothering him? Or is he just better suited to grass courts than hard courts at this stage of his career?
 

Apisith

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I don't see it bothering him point to point. Maybe the pain is causing a loss of confidence.

Either way, his BH has been woeful. The worst I've seen him hit his BH in years.
 

BigMike

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Well after barging up a big lead he gets a break to survive the 4th.

As Apisith mention the BH is crap, and honestly he is playing like a guy who has no confidence in his game at all. His decision making in the Tiafoe match was horrible the other night. He was playing with panic. Trying to force plays that weren't there, rather than trying to set up 2 or 3 shots later in the rally as he normally does

The only thing I can think of is maybe the back is severely limiting or preventing him from practicing, and Roger is a guy who lives for those hard practices
 

Apisith

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Youzhny doesn't have the fitness to last five sets. His serve speed has dropped precipitously.

Federer should be able to see this out.
 
The men's side of this US Open looks very much like the women's side of many Serena-less slams in recent years, and other men's events between the Sampras and Federer eras: all of the seeds seem to sense that they could win the whole thing, so the pressure on them is so much more than their opponents in any given match, and the talent disparity is small enough that the pressure variation can be enough to cause so many upsets.
 

BigMike

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The only saving grace for Roger now is the next 2 matches look like comfortable matches. He has never lost to Lopez, and the most likely opponent after that is Kohlschreiber who he has also never lost to (or Millman who is a 28 year or jouneyman)

Obviously Roger has been absolute shit through 2 rounds, and survived only because he serves better than both of his opponents so far. Can he turn it around before the QF match looming potentially against Theim? Roger has played one quality set in both matches, so he has at least flashed decent tennis for very short stretches in the tournament so far,

The other saving grace is of course, this is a cluster F*** of a tournament, and no one is playing great tennis or looks unbeatable. If Roger could somehow find his game by Monday, it becomes a 3 match tournament
 

Schnerres

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At this point, I haven´t seen a clear favorite to win the mens title. I could say Del Potro and he could be gone vs. Bautista Agut or Thiem. I could say Isner and he could lose to Zverev. I could say Cilic and he could lose to anybody.

So I guess Nadal will step up and win, because it´s time to make a move to get to Roger´s GS no. (Federer: 19, Rafa: 15, Djokovic: 12). And if Nadal wants to get to the top (I don´t think he will get there because he should fade earlier due to physical ailments, but you never know), he has to collect this one, when everybody drops out.
 

BigMike

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I would be surprised if it were Nadal because well it isn't clay, and Rafa has been non clay Rafa this summer with a couple poor performances in Montreal and Cincinnati. On the other hand, it is really hard to look at his group through the QF and find someone who might beat him. Maybe the survivor of Goffin/Monfils/Rubiev in the QF could be dangerous. There just doesn't seem to be a hard court specialist in his grouip.

But in the end someone does have to win it
 

jon abbey

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Isner is now the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw, the top five players left might all be in the top half (Fed, Nadal, Thiem, Goffin, Del Potro).
 

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The USTA is going to think they've died and gone to heaven when they're able to schedule the Nadal-Federer SF for Friday night, prime time, and have the (relatively meaningless) final be the one to go up against the NFL on opening sunday.

Nadal will have a cakewalk to the quarters, though Goffin could be a tough matchup in those quarters as his game is best on hard courts.

If the seeds hold, Thiem-Delpo on monday is going to be must-watch for me.
 

jon abbey

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Isner out easily, one of these eight men will be in the Finals next Sunday:

Querrey
Zverev (the older, lesser one)
Lorenzi
Anderson
Shapovalov
Carreno Busta (the highest remaining seed in that half at #12)
Pouille
Schwartzman
 

jsinger121

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Isner out easily, one of these eight men will be in the Finals next Sunday:

Querrey
Zverev (the older, lesser one)
Lorenzi
Anderson
Shapovalov
Carreno Busta (the highest remaining seed in that half at #12)
Pouille
Schwartzman
Would love to see Querrey reach the final after reaching the semis at Wimbledon.
 

BigMike

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Isner out easily, one of these eight men will be in the Finals next Sunday:

Querrey
Zverev (the older, lesser one)
Lorenzi
Anderson
Shapovalov
Carreno Busta (the highest remaining seed in that half at #12)
Pouille
Schwartzman
Shapovalov certainly stands out as he is suddenly the next big thing

Schwatzman is just so tiny, he must have been smaller than a lot of the ball boys out on the court today. Just amazing he could be Cilic especially on hard courts.
 

jon abbey

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Shapovalov certainly stands out as he is suddenly the next big thing.
Not disagreeing with this, but he is 7-8 for his career in all ATP matches before this tournament, and previously best known for this bit of craziness in March (watch him at the top right after the point ends):

 

BigMike

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Not disagreeing with this, but he is 7-8 for his career in all ATP matches before this tournament, and previously best known for this bit of craziness in March (watch him at the top right after the point ends):

Well my suddenly the next big thing doesn't mean he will become that guy, but he is the new Golden boy of the sport, at least for this fortnight. And maybe in 10 years we will look back and say, well of course that was his first of many...

And Shapo might only have been 7-8 entering the tournament, but he has now has won 10 of his last 11 matches (counting qualifiers) including victories over Del Potro, Tsonga, and Nadal

The rest of the group are jouneyman pros, except maybe Pouille who is still somewhat young with some track record and potential to maybe break through a bit more

Not really predicting him to win or making a final. He just stands out in that group as the old "One of these is not like the others"

Most likely one of the journeyman types will have enough vet experience, mixed with playing well right now to make it through to the finals.
 
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Schnerres

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Shapovalov has never played 5 sets and lost his only 4set match. I don´t know what happens when he gets stretched out.
Kevin Anderson has some decent results this summer, only losing to (argh) Alex Zverev @Montreal QF(after wins vs. Querrey and the Busta) and @Washington Final (after beating Thiem earlier). Big guy. But I would not make a prediction about the lower half anymore :)
 

jon abbey

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Day session is still going at 8:30, they're in for a late one tonight.
 

jon abbey

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Good comeback by Keys to win in 3, 5 US women into the round of 16, which is the most the US has had since 2002 (7).
 

BigMike

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Roger played better last night. Pretty hard not to I guess.

He still had a handful of those loose service games that had plagued him the previous 5+ years, but hadn't really been an issue this year. I am referring to games often at the most inopportune times where he suddenly just falls completely apart.
 

jon abbey

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Shapovalov is the youngest man in the round of 16 in the US Open since Michael Chang in 1989, nice to see a lot of youth finally breaking through in both the men's and the women's game.
 

Schnerres

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Hm. Shapovalov led 5-2 and had 3 set-points, now it´s 6-6 in the 1st. And an easy mistake on a backhand volley for a mini-break. Re-break but another easy mistake from Shapo.
3-1 Busta. 4-1...3 mini-breaks on 3 services - Shapovalov has to calm down fast.
5-1 Busta. Half ace, 6-1. Another point Shapo, 6-2.
And with another unforced error, it´s 7-6 (2) for Carreno Busta, who hasn´t lost a single set so far.
 

Schnerres

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Carreno Busta just knew how to play calm in the decisive parts of the match.
7-6(2), 7-6(4), 7-6(3).
Total points: 128 Carreno vs 124 Shapovalov
Tie-break points: 21 Carreno vs. 9 Shapovalov
There goes the match...
 

BigMike

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Still a hell of a summer for Shapo. No idea if he will deliver on the promise and be the next big thing, but he made himself a lot of money this summer, as he is going to get a ton of sponsor dollars / ad deals
 

jon abbey

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OK, now one of these seven will be in the Finals next weekend:

Carreno Busta (the highest remaining seed in that half at #12 and the only one into the quarters already)

Querrey
Zverev (the older, lesser one)
Lorenzi
Anderson
Pouille
Schwartzman
 

gingerbreadmann

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Dispatched Mischa Zverev in 1:17 (not a typo) and looked unbeatable while doing so. Would love to see him continue this level of play against Anderson.
 

BigMike

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Dispatched Mischa Zverev in 1:17 (not a typo) and looked unbeatable while doing so. Would love to see him continue this level of play against Anderson.
Probaly would have been faster if Zverev didn't have the dr/pt out there a few times. Querrey was on top of his game/

Doglopolov vs Nadal out on Ashe now. A potentially interesting match. Obviously Nadal is the heavy favorite, but Dog at least has a chance if he plays well, and Rafa doesn't. A big step up from the first 3 guys Nadal played. Of course Rafa knows this and will probably come out firing from the start and not sleep through the first set as he has done in each of the first 3 matches

The review system I guess helps, but it sometimes sucks. Classic example Game is at Duece on Rafa service game. Dog is in control of point. Rafa ball is ruled long, Dog hits what would have been a clean winner. Review rules ball was in, Rafa gets to start point over with first serve and wins point.

ANyway, Dog isn't playing well enough, and Rafa is, so this looks likely to be quick
 
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swiftaw

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Dispatched Mischa Zverev in 1:17 (not a typo) and looked unbeatable while doing so. Would love to see him continue this level of play against Anderson.
I was at that match, he was unbelievably dominant.. Zverev just couldn't handle him.
 

BigMike

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Thiem demolishing Del Potro so far, 6-1, 4-0 (!!!).
And now Delpo Breaks at 3-5 in the 4th set to keep the match rolling forward, and a 4th set tiebreaker seems likely

And now we head off to the 5th set, as Thiem basically melted down at the end of the 4th. Crowd is going crzy, sounds like Beunos Aires in the Grandstand
 
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BigMike

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Del Potro wins as Thiem basically lets the nerves get the better of him. A shank on 2nd serve at match point which was initially ruled in, and then overturned ends the match.

Amazing performance by DelPo, but going to be hard for him to get back in shape for Wednesday

pam Shriver with the amazing skills.

"Juan Martin, how were you able to win the match"
 

jon abbey

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Darren Cahill said that was the best comeback he's ever seen, in his careers as player/coach/announcer, given everything.
 

thestardawg

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Del Potro has had such a hard road with wrist injuries and it's great to see that he has managed another comeback over the 12-14 months. Very easy to root for and I think he takes out fed in the quarters.
 

BigMike

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Darren Cahill said that was the best comeback he's ever seen, in his careers as player/coach/announcer, given everything.
Certainy has to rank, DelPo had NO winners on the forehand or backhand in the first 2 sets, and was sick. Given that he has been sick, it is going to be harder to recover

Federer has been ok through 2 sets, but is now off the court on a medical timeout. So that is a concern
 

BigMike

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Honestly this match has just been lifeless and dull. Federer isn't playing poorly, but is doing very little. Kohlschrieber is doing nothing out there. no great rallies. Just flat and dull

Federer just hit his first backhand winner of the match in 26h game of the match