The Random Tennis News Thread

by The Special Juan Sat 4 May - 19:17

First topic message reminder :

There's not really a thread up for random tennis news that perhaps doesn't require it's own topic.

First of all, it's sad to hear of the death of Brad Drewett, Chief Executive of the ATP. I don't know if anyone's mentioned that and I've missed it.

Secondly, here's an interesting bit of tennis gossip about Evert and Connors: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/04/tennis-connors-evert-idUKL3N0DL05G20130504

by **laverfan** Thu 15 Aug - 16:04

JuliusHMarx wrote:
laverfan wrote:Tsonga... I will miss his smile at USO 2014.
He's going to miss next year as well?!

LOL, JHM! Good catch. rose

by The Special Juan Fri 6 Sep - 16:42

Tomic Sr is sentenced to 8 months in prison!! However he won't actually go to prison but should/will be banned from all future ATP tournaments. After reading about the guy's injuries, I wonder how hard Tomic Sr can head-butt someone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23986389

by socal1976 Fri 6 Sep - 19:24

The Special Juan wrote:Tomic Sr is sentenced to 8 months in prison!! However he won't actually go to prison but should/will be banned from all future ATP tournaments. After reading about the guy's injuries, I wonder how hard Tomic Sr can head-butt someone.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23986389

That is funny Juan, Tomic Sr. is officially a member of team kick ass, he reminds me of a character in one of the true epics of cinema a little picture called "Dazed and Confused", one of the small characters had a great line that applies, "I am at this party to drink beer and kick ass, and I am all outta beer."

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 6 Sep - 19:36

Was the character also a mindless thug like Tomic Sr?

by socal1976 Fri 6 Sep - 19:40

JuliusHMarx wrote:Was the character also a mindless thug like Tomic Sr?

Yes actually he was, he mauled some poor nerdy kid really badly in one of the funniest scenes of a comedy classic. Someone of your puerile and juvenile tastes would certainly enjoy it.

by **JuliusHMarx** Fri 6 Sep - 19:44

socal1976 wrote:
JuliusHMarx wrote:Was the character also a mindless thug like Tomic Sr?
Yes actually he was, he mauled some poor nerdy kid really badly in one of the funniest scenes of a comedy classic. Someone of your puerile and juvenile tastes would certainly enjoy it.

Probably - I enjoy your posts.

by kingraf Fri 6 Sep - 21:31

Good retort

by The Special Juan Sun 8 Sep - 21:14

"In a Battle of the Sexes, WTA No5 Li Na will face ATP No1 Novak Djokovic on Sept 27th in Beijing. It's for charity, but still odd."

For Novak's sake he should let Li Na win!!

by socal1976 Sun 8 Sep - 22:19

The Special Juan wrote:"In a Battle of the Sexes, WTA No5 Li Na will face ATP No1 Novak Djokovic on Sept 27th in Beijing. It's for charity, but still odd."

For Novak's sake he should let Li Na win!!

What a bad decision for Novak. If he lets her win some games people will dog him, If he wipes her out in double bagel the way he can he will be seen as bully.

by The Special Juan Thu 19 Sep - 17:30

"Andy Murray OUT of Asian tournaments due to "minor" back surgery he's having next week. Doubtful for WTFs in London, hopeful for 2014."

I know it's early days (and may not even be true) but could this be the beginning of the end?

by LuvSports! Sun 22 Sep - 17:01

Not very random at all in regards to tennis but Gulbis & Simon won titles in st.petersburg and Metz with ernie beating GG lopez, with a run of 11 straight games to somehow comeback from 6-4 4-1 down and win in 3 sets and Tsonga lost out in straight sets.

by ryan86 Sat 28 Sep - 11:24

Benneteau has made another final. Will it be 9th time lucky?

His opponent, Joao Sousa (the Portuguese one), is his opponent, so we'll be sure to get another new ATP title winner.

by Born Slippy Sun 29 Sep - 12:03

Benneteau had a match point for a straight set win but eventually lost in three. Possibly the most agonising of all his final defeats.

by kingraf Wed 2 Oct - 17:35

Novak and Stan looking good for a doubles title in China, they beat the #2 seeds and the Bryan Brothers are knocked out...
Cakewalk

by kingraf Wed 2 Oct - 22:01

Novislas, or Stanovak, are through to the semis... Nole only has one Doubles title. Given that Roger has an Olympic gold, Rafa has three Masters titles and a Grand Slam semi final

by kingraf Wed 2 Oct - 22:02

Novislas, or Stanovak, are through to the semis... Nole only has one Doubles title. Given that Roger has an Olympic gold, Rafa has three Masters titles and a Grand Slam semi final, and that Murray has a OG mixed doubles medal, Nole has to do some catching up regarding his doubles rep.

by The Special Juan Tue 28 Jan - 19:38

I read somewhere that DelPo has been having injections into his troublesome wrist. If I find a link to it I'll put it up. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

by The Special Juan Tue 28 Jan - 19:39

http://www.tennispanorama.com/archives/43698

by The Special Juan Sat 5 Apr - 20:20

In absolutely no news whatsoever, Mischa Zverev is currently playing Alex Zverev in Houston. I can't think of too many brothers who have played each other at ATP level, at least not recently.

by **laverfan** Sat 5 Apr - 23:59

The Special Juan wrote:In absolutely no news whatsoever, Mischa Zverev is currently playing Alex Zverev in Houston. I can't think of too many brothers who have played each other at ATP level, at least not recently.

Not recent, but...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=G049&oId=G048

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=M047&oId=M048

Melzer (Gerald and Jurgen), Djokovic (Novak and Marko), Jensen (Murphy and Luke) have not played each other

The following may be interesting too...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B765&oId=B711

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B588&oId=B589

by socal1976 Sun 6 Apr - 2:47

laverfan wrote:
The Special Juan wrote:In absolutely no news whatsoever, Mischa Zverev is currently playing Alex Zverev in Houston. I can't think of too many brothers who have played each other at ATP level, at least not recently.

Not recent, but...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=G049&oId=G048

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=M047&oId=M048

Melzer (Gerald and Jurgen), Djokovic (Novak and Marko), Jensen (Murphy and Luke) have not played each other

The following may be interesting too...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B765&oId=B711

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B588&oId=B589

Stunned that patrick mcenroe took a set off of older brother John, not surprised he lost all three matches. Pat did play one of the classic matches over 5 sets with Connors. But bigger brother was a better player and broadcaster.

by The Special Juan Thu 24 Apr - 15:25

laverfan wrote:
The Special Juan wrote:In absolutely no news whatsoever, Mischa Zverev is currently playing Alex Zverev in Houston. I can't think of too many brothers who have played each other at ATP level, at least not recently.

Not recent, but...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=G049&oId=G048

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=M047&oId=M048

Melzer (Gerald and Jurgen), Djokovic (Novak and Marko), Jensen (Murphy and Luke) have not played each other

The following may be interesting too...

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B765&oId=B711

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=B588&oId=B589

Thanks LF, I never noticed this until now.

by The Special Juan Thu 24 Apr - 15:26

Novak's announced his girlfriend (or are they married now?) is pregnant. Will this be a distraction or will it spur him on?

by DirectView Thu 24 Apr - 17:14

The Special Juan wrote:Novak's announced his girlfriend (or are they married now?) is pregnant. Will this be a distraction or will it spur him on?

It will be a case of both , he will lose focus on initial part of the tournament but could very well spur him to some new heights when some luck fall his way on come back matches in later stages.

My prediction will be he will play some awesome matches as well rubbish ones in the upcoming months.

by **laverfan** Thu 24 Apr - 17:14

I think Djokovic is getting what he needs on the home front (despite Jahu's claims to the contrary), so he should be relaxed and ready for FO 2014.

by Born Slippy Fri 25 Apr - 13:33

Interesting to see Kyle Edmund has qualified for a clay Challenger and then obliterated Bedene and Guez - both ranked well over 100 places above him. He faces Bolelli in the QF today which, especially in Italy, will probably be a step too far. He has also announced Rusedski as his new coach. Aim presumably is to be top 200 at least by the end of this year.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 15:37

Yes Edmund has been steadily climbing up the rankings since the beginning of this year. Things beginning to look up for him.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 15:41

By the way Bolelli has won the first set on a tie-break (7-3).

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 16:08

Edmund showing he isn't finished yet and breaks in the second set to lead 3-2.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 16:18

Bolelli breaks straight back though to lead 7-6 4-3.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 16:45

And Edmund takes the second set on a tie-break against Bolelli to take the match into a deciding set.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 17:03

Simone Bolelli streaking away with the third set and leads 3-0 in the third set.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 25 Apr - 17:14

Bolelli wins 7-6 6-7 6-0. Not sure what was the reason for the last set scoreline - perhaps fatigue from Edmund as match ran for 2 hours 35 minutes.

by The Special Juan Tue 17 Jun - 18:47

Tommy Haas has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Will we see him back? I think we will, although he'll be 37(?) by then. You have to admire the man's commitment.

by The Special Juan Wed 16 Jul - 19:24

"Alexander Zverev (d Youzhny in Hamburg R16) is first 17yo to beat a top-20 player since Nadal & Gasquet in '04; youngest since Nadal in '03."

by Silver Wed 16 Jul - 21:10

Cracking result for him, that's a huge stat.

Lydian in danger of taking socal's crown in the Nostradamus stakes.

by lydian Wed 16 Jul - 21:24

by lydian Thu 17 Jul - 9:47

...and Zverev rises another 54 places to 231.
Just 2 months ago he was ranked #774!
Remember this kid is not long turned 17...

Perhaps the next generation of superstars is coming through...

by The Special Juan Thu 17 Jul - 11:26

I always thought they wouldn't come from the likes of Dimitrov, Nishikori and Raonic as:

A) They're not that much younger than Murray, Djokovic and Nadal who are far superior players.
B) They're not that good.

Young Mr Zverev is now ranked higher than his older brother (by 9 years!!), who you may remember was double bagelled by Federer at Halle last year.

by lydian Thu 17 Jul - 11:58

Yes, its going to be the Thiem's, Zverev's, Kyrgios's, Coric's we'll be looking out for. I do think Dimitrov will be the full article though to be fair.
Interestingly Coric is 17 too...and ranked slightly higher than Zverev.
He's 5 months older and 6'1 (Zverev is 6'4)...so will be interesting to see if he can make waves in the main ATP draws that Zverev seems capable of.
Oddly, Youhzny won the Halle doubles tournament in 2008 with Zverev's older brother...

I think Jack Sock may be another youngster about to make a big push but at 21, near 22, I don't think he'll be a potential future star.

But what a contrast from 2 years ago when there wasn't anyone under 19 in the top 400. Now there's 10. If you include 19yo's it goes up to 20 inc. Kyle Edmund Smile

Perhaps shows it was a lack of talent issue rather than physicality...and that we have a good future in tennis.

by The Special Juan Thu 17 Jul - 18:09

Having seen Sock a couple of times he seems quite streaky. When everything clicks he's nigh unplayable and has one of the best forehands in the game. In the doubles final v the Bryans he hit a couple that made Del Potro's look tame.

As for A. Zverev, he's taken down Giraldo in straight sets today and will face Kamke in the quarters. I didn't realise Hamburg was on clay - the surface seems to suit him.

by **laverfan** Thu 17 Jul - 21:08

lydian wrote:Perhaps shows it was a lack of talent issue rather than physicality...and that we have a good future in tennis.

But if there progress stalls, then physicality is back on the table. Wink

by lydian Thu 17 Jul - 22:58

Wow, Zverev is setting the tennis world on fire! Wales

This week he's so far beaten #49 ranked Haase 60 62, then #22 ranked Youhnzy 75 75 and now #34 ranked Giraldo 64 76. Hasn't dropped a set!

He's in the QF of formerly Masters Hamburg 500, where all 16 seeds are top 45 players. This is no challenger.

This is also ridiculous! He's just 17y and 3m! Oh...and his ranking is now 198, that's 90 places jump for the week so far. As Dire Straits sang..."Hey, the boy can play..."

Dan Cox in challenger QF in US...moves up 15 places to 218. Edmund out at R2...but continues his steady rise to 261.

LF...nah, you don't beat 4-5 top50 players in 10 days as a 17yo without being some major new talent.

by The Special Juan Fri 18 Jul - 12:54

Having been bagelled in the first set, Zverev took the second 7-5 and is an early break up in the 3rd...

by The Special Juan Fri 18 Jul - 13:28

Yep, another win for Mr Zverev as he takes the final set 6-3...

by ListenUp Fri 18 Jul - 13:41

The Special Juan wrote:

As for A. Zverev, he's taken down Giraldo in straight sets today and will face Kamke in the quarters. I didn't realise Hamburg was on clay - the surface seems to suit him.

Sascha was runner-up in the French juniors last year (remember him beating Kyle Edmund on his way to the final). I saw him a couple of weeks later practising on the grass at Stoke Park - it took me a while to twig who he was, having only seen pics of him before, but he was hitting with Mischa, so it finally dawned. Then he had a hit with Djokovic, at which point the press came sniffing around wanting to know who he was. (I wonder if they remember that now!)

He didn't get that far at Wimbledon juniors, but I think he retired injured so I don't know how well he'd really got on with going from clay to grass. When he finished the year as the Junior no. 1 he didn't have a junior slam win, so I was very pleased he won the Australian junior title, he didn't need clay to shine.

He's certainly been making good use of his plentiful wild card opportunities - but this week's performance is something else!

by lydian Fri 18 Jul - 18:53

Wow, he's in the semis and the youngest ever to reach the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour 500 event!

Hard to see him beating Ferrer on clay...and Ferrer had an easy match today too, Zverev must be feeling his legs after the 3 setter and long 2 weeks. If he won it would be outrageous.

So he climbs to #160, that's up 125 places in a week!

by The Special Juan Sat 19 Jul - 18:24

Er.... Not the young man's day today but still, an excellent performance this week. Ferrer wins for the loss of 1 game. The most important thing Zverev can do now? Look at the week as a positive and build on it rather than let today's result set him back. He's had first hand experience of playing a top 5 player today and I hope he's learned some things. Obviously he and Ferrer are so different that there's not much in the way of game plan he can pick up but more about how Ferrer attacked his weaknesses.

by The Special Juan Sat 19 Jul - 18:25

ListenUp wrote:
The Special Juan wrote:

As for A. Zverev, he's taken down Giraldo in straight sets today and will face Kamke in the quarters. I didn't realise Hamburg was on clay - the surface seems to suit him.
Sascha was runner-up in the French juniors last year (remember him beating Kyle Edmund on his way to the final). I saw him a couple of weeks later practising on the grass at Stoke Park - it took me a while to twig who he was, having only seen pics of him before, but he was hitting with Mischa, so it finally dawned. Then he had a hit with Djokovic, at which point the press came sniffing around wanting to know who he was. (I wonder if they remember that now!)

He didn't get that far at Wimbledon juniors, but I think he retired injured so I don't know how well he'd really got on with going from clay to grass. When he finished the year as the Junior no. 1 he didn't have a junior slam win, so I was very pleased he won the Australian junior title, he didn't need clay to shine.

He's certainly been making good use of his plentiful wild card opportunities - but this week's performance is something else!

So he looks like a fairly decent all surface player? Good to know, cheers

I remember last year's FO performance, mainly because John Inverdale was almost proclaiming his love for the young man.

by The Special Juan Sun 20 Jul - 12:29

Tomic has somehow wormed his way into a final v Karlovic. It's the first tournament performance I've been surprised by this year.

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