Tennis thread 10: Federer's emotional goodbye

[3CityApache]

@Tywin et al.

Not sure I agree on Daniil the rubber man. He's the one who managed the most one-sided defeat of Djokovic in the final here after all. That was just two years ago. True, it was his best season by far, but he seems to be slowly getting there again. Having said that, I also think Alcaraz will win. I'm just not sure it will be an easy and comfortable win.

And I definitely disagree on Shelton. The kid has a huge potential, that's for sure, but not just yet. You need to win something substantial before you can walk on the centre court in a grand slam semifinal and play Djokovic without your knees trembling and your heart racing. I would be shocked if he could stand up to him.

Edited September 8, 2023 by 3CityApache

[Tywin et al.]

36 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

@Tywin et al.

Not sure I agree on Daniil the rubber man. He's the one who managed the most one-sided defeat of Djokovic in the final here after all. That was just two years ago. True, it was his best season by far, but he seems to be slowly getting there again. Having said that, I also think Alcaraz will win. I'm just not sure it will be an easy and comfortable win.

I just see him as a B+ player who gets a high ranking feasting on lesser opponents. He does have some impressive career wins, but I always assume he will lose to other top players. 

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And I definitely disagree on Shelton. The kid has a huge potential, that's for sure, but not just yet. You need to win something substantial before you can walk on the centre court in a grand slam semifinal and play Djokovic without your knees trembling and your heart racing. I would be shocked if he could stand up to him.

Across sports this is typically the case. You must suffer before you succeed. This kid feels a bit different though. He seems incredibly relaxed and so far the moment hasn't gotten to him. 

[3CityApache]

36 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I just see him as a B+ player who gets a high ranking feasting on lesser opponents. He does have some impressive career wins, but I always assume he will lose to other top players. 

And most of the cases you would be right. But this final here from 2021 is looming behind this opinion screeching.

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This kid feels a bit different though. He seems incredibly relaxed and so far the moment hasn't gotten to him. 

That’s precisely because he didn’t need to play the likes of Djokovic in a grand slam semifinal before. 

Edited September 8, 2023 by 3CityApache

[3CityApache]

This is actually even more an execution than I suspected. The kid is lost in the fog. 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Doesnt look like Shelton is the finished article just yet, but it all depends on what he learns from matches like these. Alcaraz let the occasion get the better of him on his first Slam final with Djokovic, but now he's greatly improved. Same with Coco. Not sure Shelton has what it takes yet.

[3CityApache]

Well, he did put up some fight in the end at least, but the final outcome was inevitable like the plague. 

[Tywin et al.]

That didn't go as expected, lol. 

[Tywin et al.]

 Yay Coco!!! 

[3CityApache]

The weather conditions at the WTA Finals in Cancun are a fucking joke. As well as everything else about this tournament for that matter. This really is mostly unwatchable. 

[Tywin et al.]

Iga reclaims the top spot in dominate fashion. Sucks that Pegula played terribly. 

[3CityApache]

Yeah, it was surprisingly one-sided. I knew Iga was in her zone again, especially after she has beaten Sabalenka, but so was Jess, or at least so it seemed until the final.

20 games lost overall in a WTA Finals tournament is unbelievable (second Serena lost 32). I wonder if it shows Iga's dominance or women's tennis weakness more though.

[BigFatCoward]

Tennis season is long man, with all the travel, and it being an individual sport it must be a bit shit to be honest. 

[Tywin et al.]

3 hours ago, 3CityApache said:

Yeah, it was surprisingly one-sided. I knew Iga was in her zone again, especially after she has beaten Sabalenka, but so was Jess, or at least so it seemed until the final.

20 games lost overall in a WTA Finals tournament is unbelievable (second Serena lost 32). I wonder if it shows Iga's dominance or women's tennis weakness more though.

I think it speaks to her consistency. Sabalenka's A game is better than Iga's, but the former's performances have a wide variance and that seems to be true of most of the top players. Iga, OTOH, rarely plays poorly. 

2 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Tennis season is long man, with all the travel, and it being an individual sport it must be a bit shit to be honest. 

It's probably the loneliest sport. However, it seems like in recent years the players are more friendly with one another. I always got the vibe they barely talked to each other a few decades ago. 

[3CityApache]

21 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

Sabalenka's A game is better than Iga's

I don't know man. Iga now leads their h2h 6-3, with five of these victories being easy, two-set matches, while all three defeats were tough three-setters that could go either way. 

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Iga, OTOH, rarely plays poorly. 

Just a few weeks ago, in Tokio, she lost to Kudermetova (with all due respect, who is Kudermetova?) after perhaps the worst performance she gave in the last three years, having made more than 50 unforced errors in a single match. And yet it just took her few more weeks to destroy 5 of 8 highest ranked players in the world, including #1, #3, #5 and all other grand slam champions of the year. Either she's unstoppable with her A game, or there's something terribly wrong with other girls' ability to present their A game.

Edited November 7, 2023 by 3CityApache

[Tywin et al.]

10 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

I don't know man. Iga now leads their h2h 6-3, with five of these victories being easy, two-set matches, while all three defeats were tough three-setters that could go either way. 

Iga can struggle against power. When Sabalenka is painting the lines with pace she's pretty unbeatable. But like I said, she can be erratic. 

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Just a few weeks ago, in Tokio, she lost to Kudermetova (with all due respect, who is Kudermetova?) after perhaps the worst performance she gave in the last three years, having made more than 50 unforced errors in a single match. And yet it just took her few more weeks to destroy 5 of 8 highest ranked players in the world, including #1, #3, #5 and all other grand slam champions of the year. Either she's unstoppable with her A game, or there's something terribly wrong with other girls' ability to present their A game.

I think it's the latter. And to be clear Iga's A game is at worst third best in the world. Her advantage over the field is that her floor is higher than most players' ceilings on a good day. Doesn't mean she'll always win and won't have bad performances. It happens. The scary thing is she has a lot of room to grow. 

[3CityApache]

58 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

When Sabalenka is painting the lines with pace she's pretty unbeatable. But like I said, she can be erratic. 

Well, then she’s erratic against Iga much more often than against any other player, given how consistent she was this past year. 

[Calibandar]

Djokovic still finishes as world number 1 after yet another incredible year for him but....Sinner and Alcaraz are close.

 

[IheartIheartTesla]

Australian open is the big one coming up, of course, and I think Nadal (and Raducanu) are staging comebacks; however, the Brisbane international is first up. A qualifying match there involving Thiem was interrupted because of a deadly snake, but thats Straya for you. 

[BigFatCoward]

Nice to see Osaka back with a win, and Raducanu, Murray also did quite well taking Dimitrov to 3 sets. 

I have no idea why Nadal is carrying on, what on earth does he have to prove? 

[IheartIheartTesla]

I mean, he planned 2024 to be his farewell year, so this is just him going out on his own terms. He did beat Thiem in his first singles outing, so he isnt quite a spent force yet.