Tennis thread 10: Federer's emotional goodbye

[baxus]

18 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

Regarding doping....I'm not sure if a person who wouldnt take a vaccine would try potentially risky methods to maintain his physique/health. Thats just my opinion though.

Djokovic was not the same person in 2021 as in 2010/2011. The same goes for all of us, obviously.

[Tywin et al.]

52 minutes ago, baxus said:

So? Nadal was not injured by some opponent sliding in studs up and tearing his ankle ligaments in the third round of a Grand Slam or by playing on substandard courts or anything like that. And don't forget that Djokovic also had a serious elbow injury, supposedly the reason why Del Potro bitchslapped him in Rio Olympics

Speaking of Del Potro, there's a player whose career was ravaged by injuries. Not Nadal.

It's because his foot is dead and he's balding in an unlucky way. My point was of the three he's going to be the most disappointing to see, limping around with wisps of hair. 

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I'll never say Djokovic transformation is not suspicious, but why is Nadal any less suspicious? 

Because Nadal didn't get better later in his career? Nor did Feds. Novak hasn't really declined. Different sport, but Bonds got better as he aged which is the red flag. Even Jordan was a lesser player as he aged (and there's a funny argument this actually helped him). It wouldn't shock me if Nadal took some HGH when he was injured, but of the three Joker is the most suspicious. 

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Regarding Serena, if a male player was as physically dominant over his competition as she was over hers everyone would scream their lungs out.

She was like that when she was young and her sister was the same. Again, wouldn't shock me if she took something when she had a long injury period, but when she had her second run the power and speed wasn't really there anymore. 

[BigFatCoward]

39 minutes ago, IheartIheartTesla said:

Regarding doping....I'm not sure if a person who wouldnt take a vaccine would try potentially risky methods to maintain his physique/health. Thats just my opinion though.

IIRC Lance tried a somewhat similar defence, 'i wouldn't put something in my body after what i've been through blah blah blah'. 

Maybe he was pre loading a line of attack on any positives, 'do you really think i'd dope if i wouldn't even take covid vaccine'. 

[baxus]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

It's because his foot is dead and he's balding in an unlucky way. My point was of the three he's going to be the most disappointing to see, limping around with wisps of hair. 

His foot being dead is not his only injury, he had issues with knees almost from the start. Remember all the bands below his knees and all that? When Nadal first came onto the scene, everyone predicted he'd have issues with injuries. He even managed to play for lot longer than most predicted.

As someone who shaved his head for the first time in his early 20s, when I noticed the first signs of my hair thinning, let me be perfectly clear on this. Going bald is not an injury.  

Just now, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Because Nadal didn't get better later in his career? Nor did Feds. Novak hasn't really declined. Different sport, but Bonds got better as he aged which is the red flag. Even Jordan was a lesser player as he aged (and there's a funny argument this actually helped him). It wouldn't shock me if Nadal took some HGH when he was injured, but of the three Joker is the most suspicious.

First of all, Djokovic was at his peak levels in 2011, the year when he turned 25. Later on, he matched that, but I wouldn't say he ever performed better. Either way, it's not as if he came out of nowhere and started winning everything.

And Nadal fell apart as he grew older, due to his playing style that relied heavily on strength and endurance, a couple of traits commonly improved with PEDs.

Just now, BigFatCoward said:

Maybe he was pre loading a line of attack on any positives, 'do you really think i'd dope if i wouldn't even take covid vaccine'. 

Maybe the vaccine would've "clashed" with his doping regime, if any.  

I doubt that was his motivation though, since he could've easily gotten the vaccination certificate in Serbia without getting vaccinated, just like he got the positive test result (for various reasons, I'm 100% certain he hadn't actually tested positive) so he would be eligible for medical exemption.

[3CityApache]

Bugger, another 2 AM match.

[Tywin et al.]

1 hour ago, baxus said:

His foot being dead is not his only injury, he had issues with knees almost from the start. Remember all the bands below his knees and all that? When Nadal first came onto the scene, everyone predicted he'd have issues with injuries. He even managed to play for lot longer than most predicted.

As someone who shaved his head for the first time in his early 20s, when I noticed the first signs of my hair thinning, let me be perfectly clear on this. Going bald is not an injury.  

Yeah, his style of play took a toll on his body. If I was making an argument for him not taking the juice it would be that his serve badly fell off and he basically has to win by being incredibly strategic. But it is weird he was able to win several more titles when in the mid 2010s it looked like it was over for him.

And I agree with your approach. Nadal doesn't. The over the top shots when he isn't wearing a hat are not flattering. 

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First of all, Djokovic was at his peak levels in 2011, the year when he turned 25. Later on, he matched that, but I wouldn't say he ever performed better. Either way, it's not as if he came out of nowhere and started winning everything.

He nearly completed a rare calendar slam in 2021 at 34. That's a bit weird. 

[baxus]

24 minutes ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

He nearly completed a rare calendar slam in 2021 at 34. That's a bit weird. 

He was a reigning champion of all 4 GS at one point in 2016 (2015 Wimbledon and US Open and 2016 Australian Open and RG), at the age of 30, too.

Again, it's not some insane leap in quality in the later stage of his career, it's an achievement on the same level as things he's been doing over his career.

EDIT:

He was on the verge of completing calendar slam last year, too. He was 36 then.

Edited January 17 by baxus

[3CityApache]

Oh boy, Iga really escaped the axe in this second round against Collins, trailing two breaks in a decider, and then 2-4 0:40. 

Her draw here is kinda insane. 2020 AO champion in the first round, 2022 finalist, who defetead her here in semis then in the second, Svitolina, who defeated her in the last Wimbledon in 1/8, her nemezis Ostapenko who defeated her in every single match they played in quarters, Rybakina who defeated her easily here last year in the semis. Paradoxically, potential final against Sabalenka seems like the relatively easiest of the bunch.

Edited January 18 by 3CityApache

[Tywin et al.]

Well I've woken up to a wild third set tiebreaker. 

ETA: Just your everyday 22-20 tiebreaker to knockout the 3 seed. 

Edited January 18 by Mr. Chatywin et al.

[3CityApache]

It was her ninth or tenth matchpoint, insane.

Edited January 18 by 3CityApache

[Tywin et al.]

How can they play so late? 

[BigFatCoward]

2 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

How can they play so late? 

Australia and the US open are stupid, I would tell them to get fucked if I was still on court at 0300, how do people get home? 

[3CityApache]

On the other hand, as a spectator, I would prefer to watch two matches in the night session on the same ticket instead of just one, like at RG. 

Edited January 18 by 3CityApache

[Tywin et al.]

4 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Australia and the US open are stupid, I would tell them to get fucked if I was still on court at 0300, how do people get home? 

Yeah, it's pretty insane at times, both for the players and fans. There was nobody left in the stands for a great match and the players were gassed. 

[3CityApache]

Djokovic just spent another day in the office.

[Tywin et al.]

And just like that, Iga is gone. Sabalenka, Gauff and Azarenka should be the faves moving forward. 

ETA: I do really hate clicking on ESPN for basketball scores only to see the results of the Aussie Open. Bah!

Edited January 20 by Mr. Chatywin et al.

[3CityApache]

19 hours ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

And just like that, Iga is gone.

And of course she has lost in the only round I didn’t mention as a potential threat in my earlier post. 
 

Would be shocked if anyone but Sabalenka or Coco grabbed the title. 

[baxus]

@3CityApache I find it interesting how much you seem to follow women's tennis. I get that it's because there are great Polish women players, but we in Serbia also had 2 women who reached #1 (Ivanovic and Jankovic) and no one cared much (I'd even dare say at all) about it. We even had Tipsarevic ranked #8 and Troicki at #12 as well as top-ranked men's double player (Zimonjic), and not even that gained more attention. It's all about Djokovic, ever since he started winning things.

Hopefully, the madness stops when he retires.

[3CityApache]

2 hours ago, baxus said:

@3CityApache I find it interesting how much you seem to follow women's tennis.

I would say I’m equally interested in both men’s and women’s tennis simply because I find it equally compelling. Iga does play a role in that, obviously, but it’s not like I lose interest in women’s draw the moment she’s eliminated. 
There were periods in the last decade or so when I thought women’s tennis was genuinely much more interesting than men’s. 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Gauff won the US Open when Swiatek was bounced out, so this does increase her chances (since she has such a lopsided record against the latter). Still, you make your own luck as they say.

She does need to get that monkey off her back at some point to start inching towards greatness though.