The Random Tennis News Thread

by The Special Juan Sat 4 May 2013 - 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 Danny_1982 Thu 21 Aug 2014 - 23:31

lydian wrote:Verdasco is something of a bogeyman for Murray as he seems to like Murray's game, much depends on which Forehando turns up. If USO is fast then FV has the ability to blow people off court. Probably won't happen though as he's older, brittle and lacking confidence more than Murray right now.

As Murray is not in the upper reaches, he'll probably play a lot of matches off Ashe. He will probably play a few on Armstrong, which he hates. He claims it plays differently, faster, but I suspect its mostly a mental thing... but he always plays awful on there.

if Murray v Verdasco is on Armstrong, may be worth a few quid on the upset.

by The Special Juan Thu 21 Aug 2014 - 23:39

There's no guarantee Verdasco will make it Whistle

Danny makes an excellent point which I haven't thought about. If he's on Armstrong there will be a first week exit I reckon. Tsonga onwards should be on Ashe though?

by Born Slippy Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 0:30

lydian wrote:Verdasco is something of a bogeyman for Murray as he seems to like Murray's game, much depends on which Forehando turns up. If USO is fast then FV has the ability to blow people off court. Probably won't happen though as he's older, brittle and lacking confidence more than Murray right now.

Erm, isn't Nando something like 1-10 against Murray - with the 1 being when Murray was fairly obviously ill? Murray is awful this year but Nando will need him to play really badly.

That said, dreadful draw for Andy. Only good point is that if he can get past Tsonga he should at least be sharp for Novak.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 6:57

Born Slippy wrote:
lydian wrote:Verdasco is something of a bogeyman for Murray as he seems to like Murray's game, much depends on which Forehando turns up. If USO is fast then FV has the ability to blow people off court. Probably won't happen though as he's older, brittle and lacking confidence more than Murray right now.

Erm, isn't Nando something like 1-10 against Murray - with the 1 being when Murray was fairly obviously ill? Murray is awful this year but Nando will need him to play really badly.

That said, dreadful draw for Andy. Only good point is that if he can get past Tsonga he should at least be sharp for Novak.

Spot on Born Slippy.

Exactly how I read it. Obviously, in the form and mindset he is in at the moment any match is a potential banana skin but hopefully the fact this is a slam can fire him up and inspire his game to a level he can and should be playing at more consistently.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 7:45

James Ward has beaten Vincent Millot 6-4 6-4 and faces Moldovan Radu Albot in the final qualifying round for the US Open much later today. This is a match Ward should win but he must guard against any complacency.

by The Special Juan Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 11:46

Wardy!! If he wins this he will have managed to qualify for all majors outside of Wimbledon which is no mean feat for British players.

by lydian Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 13:07

BS, more that they often have close matches...they have played something like 10 x 76/75 sets in those 11 matches so it's not a given win in my book. Indeed their last 3 matches have been very close across 3 surfaces and to be honest FV should have beat Murray at Wimbledon...but hey ho, like I also said FV rather tends to be a bit of a headcase who gets scared of the finishing post...loads of talent, but not much mental strength unfortunately.

Great news re: Ward.

by Josiah Maiestas Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 15:50

Unbelievable news today:

http://www.universetoday.com/114072/stolen-meteorite-found-at-a-tennis-court/

by Born Slippy Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 17:48

Lot of close sets in Fed v Rod as well but I don't see Roddick as Fed's bogeyman. Murray matches up very well against Nando.

by The Special Juan Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 20:04

Wardy's having a stinker v the guy he's playing. Down a double break in the first set, guy serving to take it 6-1. Ireland's James McGee is up a break in the decider of his match.

Coric eventually takes the first set on a TB from Wang.

by CaledonianCraig Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 22:32

Ward lost the first set 6-1 but levelled at one-set all by winning the second set 6-3. The third set was on serve with Albot leading 1-0 when play was suspended due to rain.

by slashermcguirk Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 23:04

Delighted to see James McGee qualify for Ireland. Conor niland achieved the same in 2011 but got djokovic in round one. Hope McGee can push forward, a very good player. Come on Ireland! :-)

by CaledonianCraig Fri 22 Aug 2014 - 23:55

Sadly, that rain break seemingly killed all Ward' momentum as he lapsed back to his first set form and lost to the Moldovan Ablot 1-6 6-3 2-6.

by LuvSports! Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 2:07

Rosol-JJ final!

by The Special Juan Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 11:27

Jamie Murray and John Peers are in the doubles final!

by lydian Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 13:33

Can't really say JJ/LR thrills me much LS...2 big servers, with big flat FHs who don't move very well...the future of tennis I'm afraid.

by LuvSports! Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 13:39

Fairs.
I still hold out for old JJ of making inroads ala wimby '13 or paris masters '12.
Also for his 6'8 frame, JJ is a very good mover.

by lydian Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 13:53

Yes a good mover 'relatively' speaking for his size but I'd far rather watch genuinely talented movers like the top 3 than guys who have to rely on outright power to cover up their agility issues. I also don't care for JJ as a person much, arrogant and showy. Plus his display vs Sousa left much to be desired and he should have lost that match but for effectively cheating.

by The Special Juan Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 13:55

What did he do?

(I agree he's a twonk)

by lydian Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 14:05

Didn't concede the point when a Sousa ball clipped JJs racquet but went out so won the break point when Sousa was serving for match.

by The Special Juan Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 14:08

Wow. Shocking, but not surprising.

by lydian Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 14:10

JJ admitted he touched it too but wouldn't give the point. Yes shocking and don't like the guy even more now.

by lydian Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 19:52

By the way, the 'shutting' of the NTC re: basing of UK elite players is actually quite big news and a big deal. I really still can't believe Draper spent £40m building the NTC, it showed how little he knew about what drives players and systems to be successful.

Like Judy Murray said, they could have built 40 x £1million indoor centres across the country. It was a criminal waste of money and time. Some of the HPCs are also losing their status too from what I can gather, seems the regional centres will be the existing IHPCs (Gosling, Bolton, Nottingham, etc).

The question is what Brett/Downey do next...they need to understand UK club structure is centred around social doubles, and club - not performance - coaches. More local indoor/outdoor academies are needed...once they've got more young players taking up the sport. That said, to be honest though there are loads of boy/girl players between 6-11 in the current system, the key is bringing them on. I fear it's too late though even for these kids before new structural changes can have a meaningful impact at world level. So we may be looking 10-15 years ahead...

by Josiah Maiestas Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 20:05

I highly doubt they would get the planning permission for 40 of those centres and all at 1 million.

Rosol is a much more likeable individual than Jerzy.. he just doesn't get noticed for being the juvenile he is because he isn't elite yet

by The Special Juan Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 20:10

ASHE DAY:
Collins-Halep
Date Krumm-Venus
Wawrinka-Vesely
ASHE Night:
Sharapova-Kirilenko
Djokovic-Schwartzmann

ARMSTRONG:
Fichman-Aga
Haase-Murray
Stephens-Beck
Daniel-Raonic
GRAND
Kerber-Pervak
Tsonga-Monaco
Kavcic-Young
Rybarikova-Woz

by Silver Sat 23 Aug 2014 - 21:24

Fair play to Rosol, saved two MPs to beat JJ. He'll be at #27 from Monday, career-high so well done to him.

by sirfredperry Sun 24 Aug 2014 - 11:42

Rosol's win over Rafa at Wimbledon seems to have kick-started his career in the same way that Karlovic's over Hewitt all those years ago. Thought the same thing might happen to Stakhovsky when he beat Rog at Wimbledon last year. But it didn't.
By the way, Special Juan. Hope all that talk about Ashe Day and Ashe Night (see above) is not a preview of what European airspace might be like if the Icelandic volcano erupts.

by The Special Juan Sun 24 Aug 2014 - 12:48

sirfredperry wrote:Rosol's win over Rafa at Wimbledon seems to have kick-started his career in the same way that Karlovic's over Hewitt all those years ago. Thought the same thing might happen to Stakhovsky when he beat Rog at Wimbledon last year. But it didn't.
By the way, Special Juan. Hope all that talk about Ashe Day and Ashe Night (see above) is not a preview of what European airspace might be like if the Icelandic volcano erupts.

It's all the matches which will be cancelled by ashe.

by Josiah Maiestas Sun 24 Aug 2014 - 13:01

sirfredperry wrote:Rosol's win over Rafa at Wimbledon seems to have kick-started his career in the same way that Karlovic's over Hewitt all those years ago. Thought the same thing might happen to Stakhovsky when he beat Rog at Wimbledon last year. But it didn't.
By the way, Special Juan. Hope all that talk about Ashe Day and Ashe Night (see above) is not a preview of what European airspace might be like if the Icelandic volcano erupts.

Rosol still moves like an elephant on ice tbf. He will hover between 40 and 60 within a year, Stakho is 93rd in the world lost to Jaziri and Ginepri (bagel) last 2 events

These gimmicks are good for tennis though.

by The Special Juan Thu 18 Sep 2014 - 12:52

Li Na is set to retire unfortunately.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/29252343

by Josiah Maiestas Thu 18 Sep 2014 - 20:34

Indeed it looks like it. Last match was Wimbledon thumbsdown

Carlos Moya stepping down as Spain DC coach.

by temporary21 Thu 18 Sep 2014 - 20:37

She did always express her desire for a family, and shes in her 30's so I can understand. would have been nice to see her maybe try to defend her Aussie title, maybe she still will?

by The Special Juan Thu 18 Sep 2014 - 23:25

GB drew America in the Davis Cup again. I don't think we'll be lucky this time with the Isner injury and the Wardy win over Querrey. It'll be at home so Murray's about 99.999% likely to win both his singles matches (if he's fit/playing, etc) but we'll have to rely on either a shock singles win or Murray to play a blinder in the doubles v the Bryan brothers.

by temporary21 Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 2:26

Oh Troicki's back on the tour. Hes climbed from unranked to 170 in 8 weeks. I wonder if wel' see him on the main tour next year

by LuvSports! Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 18:32

ALLLEEEZZZZ GOFFIN! What a win! 6-1 first set loss to come back in 3 in front of a raucous French crowd, brilliant!

by lydian Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 20:20

Yay! What a win...in Tsonga's own backyard too!
Anyone still doubting this guy's talent/ability?
Allez... Smile

by LuvSports! Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 20:58

That should be your catch phrase for goffin Lydian.
In a corny kinda, "heyyyy is anyone stillllll doubting this guy's talent/ability now? Wink

(go to the cheesy backing singers!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHzjgNoRmjg

by lydian Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 21:06

Lol, like it Smile

Yes I think it is LS...I just remember being called a fool on here for getting behind a "lightweight" who could never achieve anything.

by LuvSports! Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 21:13

Personally, I'd recommend you get a hold of a cocker spaniel, tie your suspect down on a chair with a potty on his head, then pop his todger between two floury baps and shout "Dinner time, Fido!"

Btw i resent the pm. If ya get the chance please look, ta.

by It Must Be Love Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 21:15

lydian wrote:Lol, like it
Yes I think it is LS...I just remember being called a fool on here for getting behind a "lightweight" who could never achieve anything.

Hmmm. Well I'm still in the doubters camp, I think the highest ranking he will ever achieve is number six.

by lydian Fri 19 Sep 2014 - 22:21

Lol, that sounds something like Blackadder would say...
Cheers...I did get it thanks, just have been chokker with work. Promise will reply!

IMBL, in the space of 2.5 months the guy has gone from #110 to #40, winning 3 straight challengers & 1 ATP, has gone 32-2 W:L and now beaten Tsonga on home turf indoors, now in his 2nd ATP semi in just over a month. It's impressive stats for most players on tour.

Why the change in form? Well after his run at FrenchOpen12 where he played Federer much was expected of him...after that he got to 3rd round of Wimb beating Tomic. Then he played DC straight after and they lost, with his coach directly blaming him for Belgium losing so he lost a lot of confidence (was only 21yo) and it affected his 12 months afterwards...remember him losing 60 60 to Nieminen? (Who he's beaten twice in past 2 months)
He lost it mentally. Then he broke his wrist this time last year to top it all off. He's now changed coach and working hard, toughening up physically too. Ok, we're not talking slam winner but he can do much further than people perhaps felt...he was written off too early but the point being his career was derailed but now he's getting back on track again. He's proof that tennis players don't have to be >6'3 to get into top #50 ranking. His ability is taking the ball early.

by The Special Juan Sat 20 Sep 2014 - 11:01

JWT doing exactly what everyone expected and not kicking on from that Rogers Cup triumph.

by The Special Juan Sat 20 Sep 2014 - 21:36

Goffin will play Sousa in the final, with Monfils winning less games against Sousa than Struff did against Goffin. Oh Gael...

by lydian Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 5:04

Go Goffin!
He's now ranked #36, if he wins he'll be nearly top 30.
(...written live from Beijing!)

by LuvSports! Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 10:25

You're in Beijing????
awesome.

by LuvSports! Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 15:33

GOFFIN WINS HIS 2nd TITLE! Very Happy

by The Special Juan Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 15:37

The tournament was all over after the QFs when Tsonga was beaten. Goffin would have fancied his chances against anyone including La Monf.

by lydian Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 18:09

Yep LS...warm and humid here Smile

Cracking stuff from Goffin, just dropped the 1 set all week. He's starting to have a truly remarkable year if you consider where he was this time last year, no confidence, broken wrist, plummeting ranking. What a turnaround! He's now ranked #32 and 'only' 600 points off Top 20 ranking...considering he didn't do much for first half of 2014 this has to be a great possibility. This guy must be most improved ATP of the year?

by temporary21 Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 18:22

Got to be, is it me or is he looking more "beefy" lately? Like hes taken the pundits advice and gotten stronger?

by The Special Juan Sun 21 Sep 2014 - 19:57

He looks different with the new hair - he looks less like a little kid and perhaps that's a small psychological advantage? I managed to catch some of the match and he was hitting his forehand with venom. I wish I'd seen the Tsonga match which would have provided insight into whether he was better on the day or Jo had a meltdown.

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