Tennis 2018

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Great post, BigMike, and to be really clear, I'm not saying anything bad about Serena, she is one of the 2 or 3 best female players ever and she has had a truly remarkable career, plus of course you can only beat whoever is out there.

My point is more from a historical perspective, you get a lot of people who seem to just look at total Grand Slam titles, and while she did win 13 before 2010, her last 10 have come since 2012, in that post Henin/Clijsters era I mentioned above whereas Navratilova, like Federer, had to deal with other alltime greats her entire career (Evert, then Graf, and Seles emerged right at the end). Serena does get credit for dominance over Sharapova, but mostly the top players in recent years have imploded when getting near the top, it's been kind of amazing to watch but not in a good way.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
Yeah, I do think the early 200s were the golden age of womens tennins and the fact that she won 25% of titles in the 2000s is a true measure of her greatness. The 2010s have basically been the nadir of womens tennis
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Federer is about as bad an example as you could have given here (and FWIW, I have always rooted for Serena and rarely for Federer), as he has overlapped with [1] two of the other greatest players of all time in Nadal and Djokovic, and even Murray and Wawrinka were [2] pretty great historically for being the 4th/5th players in the game. One way to differentiate is that all of those players were in contention virtually every single major, often making up the entire semis, whereas [3] no women's player has shown even a smidgen of consistency from Slam to Slam.
So here's some data to chew on. Let me pick some metrics that suggest consistency of high-end performance, without resorting to "grand slams won".

Total grand slam QF appearances, 2008-present (so, out of 41 opportunities), to roughly approximate the last decade:

WTA:
26: Serena Williams
16: Victoria Azarenka
13: Venus Williams (in her second full decade on tour; in her first, 1998-2007, she went to 24)
13: Maria Sharapova
10: Simona Halep (all since 2014)
10: Aggie Radwanska
10: Caroline Wozniacki
10: Petra Kvitova
9: Li Na (retired since 2014)
8: Angie Kerber
8: Svetlana Kuznetsova
7: Sam Stosur

-vs-

ATP:
35: Novak Djokovic
34: Roger Federer
30: Andy Murray
26: Rafael Nadal
16: Tomas Berdych
15: David Ferrer
15: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
15: Stan Wawrinka
11: Marin Cilic
10: Juan Martin del Potro
8: Gael Monfils
7: Kei Nishikori (2012+)


Tour Finals appearances, 2008-present (out of 10 opportunities), top 8 players on tour based on season's results:

WTA:
8: Aggie Radwanska
5: Petra Kvitova
5: Serena Williams
5: Victoria Azarenka
5: Caroline Wozniacki
4: Simon Halep (2014-present)
4: Maria Sharapova
4: Angie Kerber
3: Venus Williams
3: Li Na
3: Svetlana Kuznetsova
3: Sam Stosur
(top 12 have 52/80 possible slots)

ATP:
9: Roger Federer
9: Novak Djokovic
8: Andy Murray
6: Rafael Nadal
6: Tomas Berdych
6: David Ferrer
4: Stan Wawrinka
4: Juan Martin del Potro
3: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
3: Kei Nishikori
3: Marin Cilic
1: Gael Monfils (maybe shouldn't make this list but dammit I love him)
(top 12 have 62/80 slots; Tipsarevic has 2)
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Those are interesting, thanks. I'd say going back to 2008 is a little misleading for the top echelon of the men, because besides the top four legends (ok, three legends and Andy Murray), also Del Potro has always been a wild card on the rare occasions when he is healthy and Wawrinka came on in 2014 and has won 3 of the 22 GSs since, plus four other semis.

Also your lists made me think maybe I underestimated the career thus far of Radwanska but wow I did not. She has not only never won a Grand Slam, the only final she ever made was Wimbledon 2012. She is a perfect example of what BigMike and I are talking about, hasn't made it to more than one GS quarterfinal in a year since 2013 but is still a top 8 player at the end of ever year.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
man. I guess I called it noting the serve was 10mph off. let's hope it's just a little strain and won't keep her out of Wimbledon, because the rest of her game made her a contender still.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
I thought it was pretty odd that she was playing doubles this tournament also, she and Venus got eliminated yesterday, presumably when she got hurt also. Damn.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
The data above also illustrates why it's properly the "Big 4", and Stan Wawrinka is nowhere near in the club, even if he's got the same number of GS titles as Murray. He's pretty clearly in the Ferrer / Berdych / Tsonga / Del Potro second tier.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
The data above also illustrates why it's properly the "Big 4", and Stan Wawrinka is nowhere near in the club, even if he's got the same number of GS titles as Murray. He's pretty clearly in the Ferrer / Berdych / Tsonga / Del Potro second tier.
I explained why I disagree with that, as he took a leap around 2014.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
I explained why I disagree with that, as he took a leap around 2014.
He did take a leap - into the second tier of players.

GS titles: AM 3, SW 3
GS finals: AM 11, SW 4
GS SFs: AM 21, SW 9
GS QFs: AM 30, SW 15
GS Win%: 81.4%, SW 73%
ATP Finals: AM 8 (1 win), SW 4 (0 wins)
Masters 1000 titles: AM 14, SW 1 (Monte Carlo 2014)
Masters 1000 finals: AM 21, SW 4
Masters 1000 SFs: AM 32, SW 9
Masters 1000 Win%: AM 73%, SW 59%
Summer olympics: AM two gold medals, SW made the second round once
Year-end Top 5 ranking: AM 8 (plus a #6), SW 3 (plus a #8 & #9)
Career earnings: AM $60.8M, SW $30.9M
Career Win%: AM 78%, SW 64% (70.5% since 2014)
Record vs Fed, Nadal, Djok, + each other: AM 39-64 (38%), SW 19-65 (23%).

Like, pick any sort of career accomplishment other than GS titles, and Murray doesn't just edge Wawrinka, he destroys him. And being that Wawrinka is now 33 and not named Roger Federer, while Murray is two years younger, it's unlikely the accomplishments race gets much closer if at all, "leap" or no, in what remains of their careers.

I agree with your assessment of Del Potro - when healthy, he can match up with the Big 4, he's just tragically never healthy. I'll also agree that Murray isn't the same legendary status as the other three, though he'll surely be a HOFer. I just argue that he's much closer to the Fed/Nadal/Djokovic group than he is to Stan Wawrinka, even post-2014. I mean, Murray ended the year ranked #1 in 2016; Stan was 4th. It's simply not close.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Right, I wasn't ranking them and I am definitely not talking about career accomplishments. What I'm saying is that since 2014, despite 3-4 alltime greats still at the top of the sport (depending on how you want to count Murray), Wawrinka has had a 4-5 year run at the Grand Slams as a genuine threat to beat anyone. He has beaten Djokovic twice in Grand Slam finals and Nadal once, he is 3-3 alltime against Murray at Grand Slams, and while he has mostly been stomped by his countryman Federer, he even beat Fed in straight sets in the quarters of the 2015 French Open on the way to winning the title. Even if he is a clear #5, I still think he's more of a top level player than almost anyone the women's game has offered in recent years (besides Serena obviously), which was my original point.

Also this run might be over now, he has been bad and/or hurt for a full year now, since making the finals of last year's French.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Also this run might be over now, he has been bad and/or hurt for a full year now, since making the finals of last year's French.
Murray too - he hasn't played a match all year, not since Wimbledon last year. He had surgery and has had some setbacks that may keep him out of Wimbledon this year as well.

Kinda makes it all the more remarkable that Nadal has stayed on the court as well as he has the last few years. Since the start of 2015, he has played all but one grand slam (12/13, missing WM 2016), and all but 4 Masters 1000 tournaments (28/32, missing the first two this year, IW & Miami). His knees have always looked like their held together with duct tape and baling wire.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
More on Serena's injury.

Williams said she first sensed something was wrong in her otherwise confidence-building third-round win over Germany's Julia Goerges. But the first visible clues that something was amiss surfaced in the third set of her doubles match with sister Venus on Sunday.

Serena's velocity on first serves dropped from over 110 mph in the early going down to the 80s in the decisive set as the duo of Slovakia's Andreja Klepac and Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez shockingly bageled the sisters. The French television feed showed Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, hopping onto the court after the match and taking her bulky racket bag out of her hand before she could sling it on her aching shoulder.
Not good. Should put to bed any of the lingering "she's ducking Sharapova!" chatter, but the move to also play doubles in her first real tournament back will be second-guessed for a while.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Thiem is rocking The Good Zverev in the first quarterfinal, two sets thus far that weren't as close as the 6-4, 6-2 scoreline. I'm a fan.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Keys and Stephens both in the quarters fairly easily, they are in the non-Serena half and in separate quarterfinal matches. Really great showing by the US women. Stephens probably faces Woz next.
Keys into the semis and Stephens won the first set, so just a set away from these two meeting in the semis, pretty unexpected for both.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
I'm more shocked about Keys than I am about Stephens. Stephens' baseline game and spin forehands play very well on clay, but Keys is much more of a hard court player. She gave her absolute A+ game in order to get past Putintseva, and had a very small margin for error. Going to be a real match to watch if Stephens can meet her on thursday.

edit: Just watched the second set. Kasatkina served and took the first game, and then Stephens rolled off 6 games in a row including 3 breaks to utterly lay waste to her.
 
Last edited:

bostonbeerbelly

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 26, 2008
2,224
San Fran
I am at best a casual tennis fan. In that I will watch grand slam mens final matches if the finalists are one of the big names (seems to happen often, so I seem to watch 3-4 matches a year).

I have won the overseas ballot raffle for Wimbledon and got 2 seats to the Women's Final match on 7/15. This isn't like the Masters to me, or Final four tickets - those are bucket list, but this seemed to cool to pass up.

Any advice for attending Wimbledon? Advice on where to stay? I happen to be traveling to London from 6/28-7/8 and then will fly home for a few days and then back for the finals. I really have no idea what to expect.
 

swiftaw

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 31, 2009
3,434
I've been to Wimbledon multiple times (although not for a few years). Its easily accessible via Tube, so you can pretty much stay anywhere in London. Nearest stop is Southfields. From there you can walk down to the grounds or take the shuttle bus.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
That's awesome! I'm super jealous. The only time I visited the All-England Club was not during the Championships, my workplace (in the docklands) had done a field trip to a nearby park and a few of us went around for a quick tour. Centre Court gave me chills similar to the first time I visited Fenway as an adult (I was 6 the previous time and hadn't really appreciated it), it just has a magical feel.

I'd advise trying to wait in The Queue to get grounds passes sometime during the first week, when you're there anyway. Here's an overview. If all you want is grounds passes, you can get there by 7 or 7:30am and have no trouble, just a few hours' wait - but definitely read up on the queue beforehand as everything is taken super seriously. It doesn't get any more British than that, and you'll meet some fun people and have a good time. Queuing just to get grounds passes will be a great baseline for when you come back a week later. If going for rounds 1 or 2, Mon 7/2 through Thu 7/5, you'll see some legitimately famous players on the outer courts, so close you can touch them (attending a tennis major is a unique experience in this regard - you can just float between courts, seeing whatever or whoever looks interesting, and be right up close to the action). And when you're back with a pre-paid ticket to Centre Court for the Finals, you'll be comparably treated like a king.

It's a pain to get there. If you're taking the District line to Southfields, be prepared for a surprisingly long walk to the all-england club, they say it's 15 mins but it felt like 25-30. I'm pretty sure there are bus lines running there faster, and there's a shuttle bus, but I'm impatient.

There's a dress code for spectators. No sneakers or shorts, besides the (likely) obvious.

No real advice for you on where to stay, but we'll be happy to give you some pre-match info on who you'll see in the women's final, if you don't follow the women's tour. Let us know what you do.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Also, don't look now, but Djokovic is down 2 sets to 1 in his QF, to a no-name, italian Marco Cecchinato. He's up a break in the 4th, so this will likely go 5.
 

Schnerres

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 28, 2009
1,554
Germany
It seems like Cecchinato is the more consistent player, Novak is running out of gas and either has a lucky shot or Cecchinato couldn´t finish his great points in the tie-break here...8-8, unbelievable.
 

thehitcat

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 25, 2003
2,376
Windham, ME
Went to ‘Manic Monday’ in 1992 with some friends. We “camped” out overnight with a couple of Doner Kebabs, many cans of lager and eventually a little “sleep” on the sidewalk across from the main gates. We were able from the queue to get grounds passes and had a hell of a day. I watched my girl Gabriela Sabatini smoke someone on a court where I was so close that I was able to get her autograph just leaning forward from my seat. Then on a larger court (old court 1 perhaps) we watched Monica Seles bludgeon Gigi Fernandez long before the stabbing or even any calls for her to stop shouting “Vas y!” on every serve and two handed backhand. Heading from there towards center court I collapsed from heat exhaustion for the first time that day (a bad mix of too much lager, little sleep and an extremely rare day that hit 90) but managed to get some water and get back to it. I don’t remember the men’s match we saw on center court as I collapsed twice more and had to go to the medical area. Much water and begging later and I was back and wandering around the old place for late afternoon early evening matches before heading to the tube to Paddington, then the train back to Reading. One of the last things I did with many of my school buddies on my JYA as the year had just come to an end and we were all heading back to wherever was home over the next few weeks. One of my favorite memories (collapses aside) of a truly epic year.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Americans at the French Open:

Last man champion: Agassi, 1999. Likewise the last finalist and SF-ist.
Last man QF-ist: Agassi, 2003.

Since then, Americans in the R16:
- 2018, #9 Isner (#5 Del Potro, 3)
- 2016, #15 Isner (#2 Murray, 3)
- 2015, Sock (#6 Nadal, 4)
- 2014, #10 Isner (#6 Berdych, 3)
- 2010, Ginepri (#3 Djokovic, 4)
- 2009, #6 Roddick (#11 Monfils, 3)
- 2008, Ginepri (#24 Fernando Gonzalez, 3)

Last woman champion: Serena, 2015. Champion in 2002 and 2013, finalist in 2016.
- Shelby Rogers to QF in 2016
- Serena to QF in 2010, 2009, 2007, 2004; SF in 2003
- Venus to QF in 2006, 2004; lost Final to Serena in 2002
- Davenport to QF in 2005
- Capriati to SF in 2004 and 2002 (Serena)
- Chandra Rubin to QF in 2003

Men have been real snakebit; the women have at least shown pretty well even beyond Serena.
 

bostonbeerbelly

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 26, 2008
2,224
San Fran
That's awesome! I'm super jealous. The only time I visited the All-England Club was not during the Championships, my workplace (in the docklands) had done a field trip to a nearby park and a few of us went around for a quick tour. Centre Court gave me chills similar to the first time I visited Fenway as an adult (I was 6 the previous time and hadn't really appreciated it), it just has a magical feel.

I'd advise trying to wait in The Queue to get grounds passes sometime during the first week, when you're there anyway. Here's an overview. If all you want is grounds passes, you can get there by 7 or 7:30am and have no trouble, just a few hours' wait - but definitely read up on the queue beforehand as everything is taken super seriously. It doesn't get any more British than that, and you'll meet some fun people and have a good time. Queuing just to get grounds passes will be a great baseline for when you come back a week later. If going for rounds 1 or 2, Mon 7/2 through Thu 7/5, you'll see some legitimately famous players on the outer courts, so close you can touch them (attending a tennis major is a unique experience in this regard - you can just float between courts, seeing whatever or whoever looks interesting, and be right up close to the action). And when you're back with a pre-paid ticket to Centre Court for the Finals, you'll be comparably treated like a king.

It's a pain to get there. If you're taking the District line to Southfields, be prepared for a surprisingly long walk to the all-england club, they say it's 15 mins but it felt like 25-30. I'm pretty sure there are bus lines running there faster, and there's a shuttle bus, but I'm impatient.

There's a dress code for spectators. No sneakers or shorts, besides the (likely) obvious.

No real advice for you on where to stay, but we'll be happy to give you some pre-match info on who you'll see in the women's final, if you don't follow the women's tour. Let us know what you do.
Thank you very much for this. It is extremely helpful. I can't wait to visit the grounds and if I have a free day I will look into the queue you mentioned and enjoying the grounds for an extra day. I will keep an eye on the women's french open as that progresses to learn some of the current players. I selfishly am hoping Serena's shoulder bounces back as it would be great to see a legend like her on the centre court.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Schwartzman breaks Nadal three times in the first set and pulls it out 6-4, the first set Nadal has lost here in three years.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Here's a stream site that will get you Nadal-Schwartzman. Just click OK on the pop-up and then pick out the match from the Tennis section of the right bar. Doesn't look like any malware there, it's just a betting-stream site.

Schwartzman fights back from break point down early in the second set, holds, and then gets a break of his own when Nadal sprays a would-be-winner wide. Now serving up *2-1.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Stephens taking it to Keys. She lost the first set statistically, but converted her only break point, held off several of Keys', and hung on to take the first set 6-4. Now has largely outmaneuvered Keys and is serving for the match *5-2.

edit: Keys gets one break back, holds, now *5-4 Stephens.

edit2: Stephens hits a few corners for winners, hangs on for a 6-4 6-4 victory. She'll face Halep on saturday; either Halep will finally break her major-title hex, or Sloane freakin Stephens will be a multiple-time grand slam winner. And there's no retired multiple-slam winners who aren't in the HOF. Crazy.
 
Last edited:

Mr. Wednesday

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,590
Eastern MA
Only to suddenly break back at love. Total roller-coaster of a set so far.

Edit: Stephens has started to get into trouble with unforced errors. She was broken to lose the second set on a couple of unforced errors, and now has two errors to be broken to start the third.
 
Last edited:

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,699
Thiem was my dark horse after beating Nadal in Madrid, but damn, Nadal is just unbeatable on this court.
 
Rafa's win was so exciting it inspired exactly one post here. Not exactly a vintage slam in either singles event, was it?

I really wish Federer had been involved. I get why he wanted to save himself from the rigors of the clay court season, but skipping straight to Roland Garros would have been a worthwhile punt, wouldn't it? If he'd played himself into form, he almost certainly would have been Nadal's biggest threat in Paris; instead, that honor fell to Diego Schwartzman, when Rafa got help from the rain that he probably didn't need.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Rafa's win was so exciting it inspired exactly one post here. Not exactly a vintage slam in either singles event, was it?

I really wish Federer had been involved. I get why he wanted to save himself from the rigors of the clay court season, but skipping straight to Roland Garros would have been a worthwhile punt, wouldn't it? If he'd played himself into form, he almost certainly would have been Nadal's biggest threat in Paris; instead, that honor fell to Diego Schwartzman, when Rafa got help from the rain that he probably didn't need.
There is usually only a lot of discussion here if Federer is involved, if he is knocked out early, discussion dies off also.

Also personally I have always found the French by far the least compelling of the four Slams. The Australian and the US fit much better into my own personal schedule to watch, but also I find it hard to pick up the ball against the orange clay. I followed this tournament fairly closely, but I barely actually watched any of it.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Rafa's win was so exciting it inspired exactly one post here. Not exactly a vintage slam in either singles event, was it?

I really wish Federer had been involved. I get why he wanted to save himself from the rigors of the clay court season, but skipping straight to Roland Garros would have been a worthwhile punt, wouldn't it? If he'd played himself into form, he almost certainly would have been Nadal's biggest threat in Paris; instead, that honor fell to Diego Schwartzman, when Rafa got help from the rain that he probably didn't need.
I watched the first set before having to leave the house; early on, it looked competitive. Thiem had a pretty reliable forehand when he was going for winners, seemed unbothered by the high-kicking spin, and made Rafa look frustrated at times. Broken in the third game, Thiem broke right back, and rode that to 4-4, where he was giving Nadal the business. I walk away for a minute, come back, and it's now the second set.

It seemed like he had his chances, but they were gone in a flash.

Schwartzman certainly looked like he had the dice coming up in his favor several ways that day. If the rain had held off, I'm not sure he would have held out to retake the lead in the 2nd set, or win it in a tiebreak, but it would have been great viewing.

Frankly, I think it's Djokovic who kinda choked here, after all he's the only man on the tour who's beaten Nadal at RG.

I'm kinda pleased for Halep that she final won a slam, but wasn't this a match that Stephens lost more than one that Halep won? The women's game just isn't that impressive to me these days - with relatively few exceptions, whoever chokes least seems to win.
It's a different game, always has been. More defensive, with a few exceptions. Less spin, more net play. Many more points get to groundstrokes.

One viewer might see "choking", while another sees superior execution by the other player. Leaving aside obvious stuff like multiple double faults in a row, I think a lot of people have a propensity to see "choking" where and when their biases suggest to them they'd like to see it. When Serena was down 0-3 and two breaks in the third set at Wimbledon a few years ago, and rallied to win, was it Heather Watson "choking", or Serena raising her game and focus? The two can be mirror images of each other, depending on how you're inclined to look at it. If you ask me, trying to identify some sort of mental weakness in whoever loses is the easiest way to avoid enjoying a truly remarkable sporting moment - in any sport.

Let's remember, we're talking about players whose day-to-day work is defined by a constant see-saw battle with themselves between "go for bigger hits / more aggression" vs "at what point will it cost me enough higher error rate that it's not a good idea?". We've seen players ramp it up, go for more, we've seen players dial it back when they're spraying it everywhere, or mix it up when they need to change tactics. It happens on both tours, and is the essence of the sport: take a risk, or play it safe and maybe you end up regretting it when your opponent takes the risk instead.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
Well the Wimbledon draws are out.

Federer has the #1 seed, but played poorly in Croatia last week ultimately losing to Borna Coric in the finals. Coric has been having a breakthrough campaign, and gave Roger everything he could handle in a 3 set match at Indian Wells earlier in the Spring. If things go according to plan the 2 key 4th round matches would be
Federer/Coric
Theim / Djokavic

Murray is in the draw, and if he plays well would face uan Martin Del Potro in the 3rd round

Here are the draws, based on a chalk path for each of the quarters

Federer
Dusan Ljovic
Lukas Lacko
Leonardo Mayer 32
Borna Coric 16
Kevin Anderson 8

Cilic

Yoshi Nishioka
Guido Pella
Flip Krajinovic 28
Milos Raonic 15
G Dimitrov 6

Zverev
James DUckworth
Taylor Fritz
Damir DZumhur 27
Nick Krygios 15
Theim 7

Nadal
Dudi Sela
Michael Kukushkin
Marco Cecchinato 29
Diego Schwartzman 14
Juan Martin Del Potro 5
 
Does anyone here play tennis regularly and/or competitively? I'm wondering if I should start a separate thread about that...I've been playing in a local tennis league here in Scotland recently, my first competitive tennis in a very long time, and wondered if there's enough interest in that as a topic.
 

Verryfunny2

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
708
Leeuwarden
Does anyone here play tennis regularly and/or competitively? I'm wondering if I should start a separate thread about that...I've been playing in a local tennis league here in Scotland recently, my first competitive tennis in a very long time, and wondered if there's enough interest in that as a topic.
Start away, im game on that topic.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
you know it will never be chalk, but Roger's tourney opened up a bit today.

It is just so hard to take that step up to the next level, but Coric looked so good and really did beat Roger up while willing in Croatia last week. Today he gets blown off the court in straight sets by Daniil Medvedev.

Stan Warinka took out the #6 seed Grigor Dimitrov
 

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
3,999
SF, CA
That's awesome! I'm super jealous. The only time I visited the All-England Club was not during the Championships, my workplace (in the docklands) had done a field trip to a nearby park and a few of us went around for a quick tour. Centre Court gave me chills similar to the first time I visited Fenway as an adult (I was 6 the previous time and hadn't really appreciated it), it just has a magical feel.

I'd advise trying to wait in The Queue to get grounds passes sometime during the first week, when you're there anyway. Here's an overview. If all you want is grounds passes, you can get there by 7 or 7:30am and have no trouble, just a few hours' wait - but definitely read up on the queue beforehand as everything is taken super seriously. It doesn't get any more British than that, and you'll meet some fun people and have a good time. Queuing just to get grounds passes will be a great baseline for when you come back a week later. If going for rounds 1 or 2, Mon 7/2 through Thu 7/5, you'll see some legitimately famous players on the outer courts, so close you can touch them (attending a tennis major is a unique experience in this regard - you can just float between courts, seeing whatever or whoever looks interesting, and be right up close to the action). And when you're back with a pre-paid ticket to Centre Court for the Finals, you'll be comparably treated like a king.

It's a pain to get there. If you're taking the District line to Southfields, be prepared for a surprisingly long walk to the all-england club, they say it's 15 mins but it felt like 25-30. I'm pretty sure there are bus lines running there faster, and there's a shuttle bus, but I'm impatient.

There's a dress code for spectators. No sneakers or shorts, besides the (likely) obvious.

No real advice for you on where to stay, but we'll be happy to give you some pre-match info on who you'll see in the women's final, if you don't follow the women's tour. Let us know what you do.
Thank you for this - I was about to post to see if anyone had any Queue advice, as I will be in London visiting friends for about a week from 7/5-7/10 with only 7/8 and maybe 7/7 fully accounted for. My friends have to work on Friday, and maybe Monday, so this was something I was thinking about doing while they are busy.

Is there any strong reason to have a preference between 7/6 and 7/9, in terms of matches? I see the following summary for the 2 days:

Friday 06 July 2018

Third round matches Men's Singles Centre Court, No 1 Court
Third round matches Ladies' Singles Centre Court, No 1 Court
Second round matches Men's and Ladies' Doubles

Monday 09 July 2018
Fourth round matches Men's and Ladies' Singles Centre Court, No 1 Court , No 2 Court
Third round matches Mens' and Ladies' Doubles
First round matches Mixed Doubles

Queuing on Friday might be marginally easier for me, but it's hard to say right now. I'm actually staying in Cobham/Esher which is about an hour to 1:15 away by public from Wimbledon. I might be able to get my friends to drop me off but that's very early, and I'm assuming that parking there would be difficult (if I can borrow their car at all).

Also - are you sure about the dress code? This suggests that unless you are in the Royal Box that there's no dress code.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Manic Monday, that second monday, sees everyone remaining in both singles draws play their R16 matches (so, 16 total matches, all high-quality matchups). It's a feature unique to wimbledon, because they don't (hardly ever) play on Middle Sunday, so it's probably a hot ticket. The Friday prior, you'll get twice the matchups, but a little less buzz (and perhaps slightly less queue competition). I don't think it's a major distinguishing characteristic, but since it's got a name, Manic Monday has a little cachet.

I see lots of disagreement over the dress code. Here was something that had the ring of truth to it, to me:
There is no official Wimbledon dress code for spectators beyond a few forbidden items: no torn jeans, running vests, dirty sneakers, or sport shorts. Though this is all that will be formally enforced, visitors to Centre Court are still expected to dress up for the tournament in a way that is very different from most other sporting events. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of event you wear a jersey and face paints too. Wimbledon attire is much more refined. Men traditionally wear fashionable suits and ties at Wimbledon, and while women have a bit more latitude, they often wear white dresses, or similarly summery outfits. What to wear to Wimbledon is essentially what you might wear to an outdoor summer wedding – except of course that women can wear white. Sunglasses and summer scarves are some of the most-worn accessories at the tournament.
I won't claim to be an expert on that, best I got for ya.
 

jsinger121

@jsinger121
SoSH Member
Jul 25, 2005
17,676
Cilic is ousted. Federer has one of the easiest draws to a final maybe ever. The only possible threat left is Raonic which would be in the semis.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
20yo Californian Taylor Fritz just took the 2nd set off Sasha Zverev.

My impression is that he's one of our hottest young prospects on the men's side. Would be huge if he can upset the #3 ranked player at wimbledon. Not quite "Querrey over Djokovic", but there's still a big upset brewing.
 

BigMike

Moderator
Moderator
SoSH Member
Sep 26, 2000
23,244
Cilic is ousted. Federer has one of the easiest draws to a final maybe ever. The only possible threat left is Raonic which would be in the semis.
We'll see, He is looking at Anderson or Querry in the Quarters, and then likely Isner or Roanic in the Semi's. So he will likely still face two top 15 players on the way, but who knows.

On the other side, a Nadal / Del Potro quarter could be a war if JDP can stay healthy. He was incredible today