Tokyo Olympics/North American hardcourt summer swing

First topic message reminder :

Thought it was worth putting up a joint thread to cover the Olympics tennis tournament in Tokyo and the hardcourt summer swing build up to US Open.

The inclusion of tennis in Olympics seems to be polarising but it does look like its here to stay in the games.  For me, I view it like the (pre-revamped) Davis Cup - a nice change for players to play for their country and win medals.  Since it was reintroduced in 1988 it has had a couple of surprise winners and finalists though really since Agassi beat Bruguera in 1996 its really only the 2004 tournament, won by Nicholas Massu (remember him?!) against Mardy Fish (Mardy who?) which sticks out.  The 2012 one was v memorable - held on the green grass of Wimbledon, that big win for Murray over Federer really setting up his career, whilst who could forget the heroics and passion of Del Potro in both 2012 and 2016.

This build up of course has been marred like the rest of Olympics by the Covid pandemic - the positive tests and a significant number of players out.  However, Djokovic is there, and raring to go, never having won a gold, and the likes of Rublev, Zverev, Tsitsipas and Medvedev are in the tournament.  There's also the doubles, and the most notable result of the tennis in Olympics this year so far has been (Andy) Murray and Joe Salisbury beat 2nd seeds, the highly accomplished Herbert and Mahut.

The quarter-final line-up is likely to see:
Djokovic v Rublev,
Zverev vs Karatsev/Fucsovics/Hurkacz,
Schwartzman v Tsitsipas,  
Carreno Busta/Cilic/Felix A A v Fognini/Medvedev

So, can Djokovic get the gold, and set himself up for a unique calendar year golden slam or will the likes of Schwartzman or Tsitsipas take it, with the extra motivation of winning Gold for their country?  Onto the doubles, can Jamie Murray/Skupski or Andy Murray/Salisbury go all the way?

laverfan wrote:... "If, read by Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal" ...

Laverfan: are you aware that Rudyard Kipling is for some a hated figure - being judged by certain modern progressives as representing everything that is now to be rejected in a modern society moving forward.  For example:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44884913

No name Bertie wrote:

laverfan wrote:... "If, read by Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal" ...

Laverfan: are you aware that Rudyard Kipling is for some a hated figure - being judged by certain modern progressives as representing everything that is now to be rejected in a modern society moving forward.  For example:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44884913

Relevance?

Soul Requiem wrote:Relevance?

See Laverfan's post.

Belinda Bencic has taken the Gold in the tennis. Long three-setter in the final. Switzerland's first singles Gold, I believe.*

Bronze went to the honeymooning Svitolina.

Zverev looked overcome with emotion after winning the semi so who knows what state he'll be in if he takes Gold tomorrow.

* Whoops. Forgot Marc Rosset who took Gold in 1992.

sirfredperry wrote:I would not like to see sports people who are fit mentally and physically pulling out of events simply because they fear failure. Failure is part of sport.

If their fear of failure is such that they are pulling out of events, then they are not fit mentally. Fear of failure can cause panic attacks and anxiety, but even if it is not to that extent, there is clearly a problem that needs to be dealt with. Murray pulled out of the singles, but was fit enough to play the doubles. Why is it acceptable to pull out of an event if not 100% physically fit (and thus can't perform to the required level) but not acceptable to pull out of an event if not 100% mentally fit (and thus can't perform to the required level)?

If you're a sportsperson and your fear of failure is causing you anxiety, your probably in the wrong profession.

Or you just take a bit of time out, see a sports psychologist, get it treated and come back. Sports psychology is getting to be a huge business.

Edit - for example, when a pro golfer gets the yips, which is often down to performance anxiety/fear of failure, they could just say to themselves 'I'm in the wrong profession, time to get a proper job' or they could get professional help to overcome it, as many of them do i.e. they take time to prioritize their mental health.

Zverev takes Gold. I fancied the German in today's final but thought it might be a tough match.

But he's won 3 and 1 and only faced one BP.

Zverev looked to be in a terrible state with his serve at Wimbledon but has obviously got it sorted out for the Olympics.

Clearly playing for medals is a different animal to the main tour and the Slams. Who would have thought, for example, that Djoko would be medal-less in FOUR Olympics.

Still find it a bit weird tennis is even in the Olympics. Haven't seen Zverev's reaction to winning today but if his emotion after winning the semi is anything to go by they may have to wipe his tears off the court.

The hard court season is going to be interesting.  I think the "top three" have been in decline for sometime and now we have the likes of say Zverev appearing to make a significant step up. Ultimately consistency is going to distinguish the greats from the good - although maybe we are moving into an "inconsistent era".

I think we have to have, say, two or three Slams in a row won by someone not part of the Big Three to consider we've gone to a new, even an "inconsistent", era.

Thiem won the USO last year and although it was a terrific win, you have to remember Djoko was disqualified and neither Rafa nor Rog played.

I've just seen some clips of Rafa practising in Washington in front of a vast crowd. He's number one seed at W'ton this week and will be looking for form and match practice before NY.

Remains to be seen if Rog or Andy will play, while Djoko may not be in the best of shapes. For me, the USO each year offers the non-Big Three the best chance of success.

Zverev is one of those players with a very impressive peak form that appears now and again. If he can somehow bring out a similar level of play a bit more consistently then he'd be very tough to beat. For me, he has the most potential of the non-big 3 players but he has been let down by passive play and some massive serving woes (he had 20 double faults in one of his matches at Wimbledon!). The US open will be very interesting, there is now a good selection of contenders on hard courts so we could be in for some cracking matches in the latter stages!

As long as Djoko is fit, I would still make him favourite for the USO but I agree with the posts above that this could be one of the more interesting Slams.

I'm still coming to terms with just how bad Wimbledon was and how a player as limited as Berrettini could have got to the final. In the women, Barty won having played only one decent match.

So I'm really hoping for some good play at the USO. I think we'll get it.

Appearing in San Jose this week as a WC is Emma Raducanu. Be interesting to see how she gets on.

No name Bertie wrote:

laverfan wrote:... "If, read by Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal" ...

Laverfan: are you aware that Rudyard Kipling is for some a hated figure - being judged by certain modern progressives as representing everything that is now to be rejected in a modern society moving forward.  For example:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44884913

Yes, I understand the sentiments expressed. Cancel culture has its negative connotations as well. Kipling's literary works, seen through the lens of Imperialism do a disservice to him.

Sole Requiem wrote:Relevance?

If you get a chance, please see If — Rudyard Kipling - 1865-1936. AELTC considered it relevant for Federer/Nadal to read it.

laverfan wrote:

No name Bertie wrote:

laverfan wrote:... "If, read by Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal" ...

Laverfan: are you aware that Rudyard Kipling is for some a hated figure - being judged by certain modern progressives as representing everything that is now to be rejected in a modern society moving forward.  For example:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44884913

Yes, I understand the sentiments expressed. Cancel culture has its negative connotations as well. Kipling's literary works, seen through the lens of Imperialism do a disservice to him.

Sole Requiem wrote:Relevance?

If you get a chance, please see If — Rudyard Kipling - 1865-1936. AELTC considered it relevant for Federer/Nadal to read it.

I wasn't enquiring about the relevance of them reading it but rather Bertie's inane comment about Kipling himself.

Two young Americans it might be worth keeping an eye on. Jenson Brooksby, 20, has been doing well, while 19-yr-old Brandon Nakashima has reached two successive tour finals.

Yesterday's final defeat for Nakashima was to Isner who took the Atlanta title for the SIXTH time.

Isner is a man for whom the tiebreak was invented - or else how would he ever win a set? He played at least one breaker in each of his matches in Atlanta. Opponents never grasp the fact that if you lose tiebreaks against Big John you have little or no chance of winning.

Soul Requiem wrote:I wasn't enquiring about the relevance of them reading it but rather Bertie's inane comment about Kipling himself.

You asked whether it was relevant.  Anybody who could read could see It was clearly relevant and it wasn't addressed to you.  You may think the modern world is inane but that is the opinion of an aged mind.  There seems to be a lot of things about the "modern world" you find inane -such as people with mental health issues.  Ultimately it seems you are a highly opinionated individual with a controlling personality.  Maybe you would like us to get your permission before making comments linked to the modern world.

No name Bertie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:I wasn't enquiring about the relevance of them reading it but rather Bertie's inane comment about Kipling himself.

You asked whether it was relevant.  Anybody who could read could see It was clearly relevant and it wasn't addressed to you.  You may think the modern world is inane but that is the opinion of an aged mind.  There seems to be a lot of things about the "modern world" you find inane -such as people with mental health issues.  Ultimately it seems you are a highly opinionated individual with a controlling personality.  Maybe you would like us to get your permission before making comments linked to the modern world.

So Kipling being considered a bit of a git in modern terms is relevant to Federer and Nadal reading a poem?

People with genuine mental health issues I have consideration for, people using it as an excuse for not performing I do not.

Rafael Nadal is back in action this week at the ATP500 event in Washington. Also competing are Auger-Aliassime, de Minaur, Dimitrov, Jannik Sinner, Dan Evans, Norrie and Opelka among others.

Rafa hasn't played the USO for two years. Could he - being refreshed - be the one to stop Djoko's Calendar Slam dream?

It would be nice if Murray and Federer can join Djoko and Rafa for the USO. May not be many GS occasions left when all four can appear.

I know there are some just itching for new names on the GS trophies. But a last flickering of the flame for those who have fired for so long would be good.

Djokovic had such a poor end of the Olympics - it looked traumatic - he had the chance of two gold medals and got none. We know what happened in the semi-final when Djokovic lost ten of the last 11 games after being a set and a break up. Then he lost the mixed doubles semi. Then he lost the bronze medal match and was pulled out of the mixed doubles bronze match. He is such a patriot and with all Serbian eyes focused on their "hero" - well it must hurt.

Also, as you mentioned, Djokovic was not too convincing at Wimbledon - and many have said overall the tournament was not too filled with quality and that this was likely due to the short turnaround between the end of Roland Garros and the grass season, to squeeze in "last years" Olympics into the schedule.

I think this year could be the year when we have others (non big three) also challenging very strongly in the US Open - Zverev, Medvedev, Shapovalov, Tsitsipas, Thiem ...

I still think we have to put Djokovic as favorite but I don't think he is an overwhelming favorite - maybe I will give him a 40% chance of winning it.

NNB - Spot on about Djoko being favourite but not overwhelming favourite.

I mentioned Jenson Brooksby (wonderfully named) in an earlier post. Yesterday in Washington he took out Anderson, who recently won a tournament.

Emma Raducanu went down 3 and 2 against experienced Shuai Zhang in San Jose.

Emma was a WC. Wonder if it would have been better for her to play the second-tier circuit to get some wins under belt. That may happen anyway as it's unlikely she'll get a WC for the USO.

You'll recall that after Murray did well in his first Wimbledon in 2005 he went back on to the slog of the Challenger Tour immediately afterwards.

Laura Robson got a career altering injury - too much too soon. From top 30 to nowhere. I remember watching her in some US small WTA tournament - she cut a lonely figure.

No name Bertie wrote:Laura Robson got a career altering injury - too much too soon.  From top 30 to nowhere.  I remember watching her in some US small WTA tournament - she cut a lonely figure.

I was at Wimbledon a few years ago to see Robson demolish a top 10 player with a terrific brand of tennis. I think she beat Kerber at Wimbledon one year. Very sad that her career has been so curtailed by injury.

sirfredperry wrote:

No name Bertie wrote:Laura Robson got a career altering injury - too much too soon.  From top 30 to nowhere.  I remember watching her in some US small WTA tournament - she cut a lonely figure.

I was at Wimbledon a few years ago to see Robson demolish a top 10 player with a terrific brand of tennis. I think she beat Kerber at Wimbledon one year. Very sad that her career has been so curtailed by injury.

June 25 2013, Court No 1, 19 year old Laura Robson facing the previous year's quarter-finalist and tenth seed Maria Kirilenko, went on to win 6-3 6-4.   She reached the 4th round of Wimbledon in what turned out to be maybe the highlight of her career.  Earlier in the year at the Australian Open she reached the third round having beaten 8th seed Petra Kvitova 2-6 6-3 11-9 in the previous round.   Then in August 2013 she had to pull out of a tournament due to a wrist injury.  She reached the third round of the 2013 US Open losing to Li Na who went on to reach the semi-finals. At the beginning of 2014 she had a recurrence of her wrist injury - and was never the same again.

One of the young Americans I said to look out for, Brandon Nakashima, has beaten Dan Evans 7-6, 6-0 in Washington.

Rafa will be back in action in a few hours - playing Jack Sock. Number two seed F AA will play another rising Yank star, Jenson Brooksby. (The Americans may not be dominating but they do go in for fancy names).

Rafa came thru in three hours v Sock but then went down in three to Lloyd Harris.

Rafa aggravated a foot in the first match but said it was better in the second.

Norrie, who needed treatment during the match, lost to Nishi.

Federer has pulled out of next week's Masters and has to remain a doubt for the USO.

In Washington, Nishi has reached his first semi for two years after being Rafa's conqueror Lloyd Harris in straight sets.

The fast-rising Jenson Brooksby is thru to the semis and will take on Sinner.

Rafa, Medvedev and Tsitsipas are all scheduled to play in Toronto next week, while Andy Murray has been given a WC.

Semi-final Line Up Washington Open ATP500:
Jenson Brooksby (20yr, #130, 6'4") vs  Jannik Sinner (19yr, #24, 6'2")
Mackenzie McDonald (26yr, #107, 5'10") vs Kei Nishikori (31yr, #67, 5'10")

Sinner defeated Brooksby in straight sets - 7-6(2), 6-1. Nishikori is playing third set with McDonald 2-3 15-15.

Nishi edged out 7-5 by McDonald.

I got it wrong about Andy M. He's not playing this week. His WC is for Cinci next week.

Querk of the draw in Toronto means Rafa could face Lloyd Harris again. Doubt if Rafa will lose again, though. Last week he'd had a three-hour match the day before and had a slight foot injury.

ATP have announced that the temporary - and ultra-confusing albeit necessary - ranking system reverts to normal this month.

Means that one or two players will face a tumble down the rankings and it will also be easier for those doing well to climb quicker.

sirfredperry wrote:Nishi edged out 7-5 by McDonald.

Sinner took the Washington title - his third. McDonald put up a terrific fight, coming back from 2-5 in the final set . Sinner will shortly turn 20.

There was a long period of around nine or ten years when no teenager even reached a main-tour final. But a number have won tournaments in recent years.

Jannik Sinner aged 18 reached the French Open quarter-finals in 2020.  He reached the 4R of the French Open this year.  In both years he came across Rafael Nadal who beat him in straight sets.  He performed well in the first set then faded away in both those matches.   He seems to be good on hard courts and clay but as yet hasn't made an impact in the slams other than in the French.  The key as always is going to be consistency and overcoming injury setbacks (or avoiding them). He turns 20 in a weeks time.

Not playing in the Olympics has helped a number of players to have good runs (Sinner, Brooksby, Nakashima and, in the women, Danielle Collins).

I recall some years ago a tall, young player who was beginning to get noticed suddenly bursting forward with FOUR title wins during a time when most were preparing for, or playing in, the Olympics.

I thought that even with a number of the top players absent, this guy must be something to have notched up so many wins in such a short space of time. His name?  Juan Martin del Potro.

They've just made up the rankings and Tsitsipas has pushed up to number three. It's probably many years (13, 14?) since only one of the Big Three was actually in the top three.

Not sure it has been mentioned above - but the ATP ranking system will be returning to normal (pre pandemic system) later this month (Aug 23).  It should see some dramatic movement in the rankings.

Toronto has begun and, as expected, Rafa will have to face Lloyd Harris for the second week running.

Bublik beat Dan Evans who isn't having much of a run at the moment. Good win for Briton's Harriet Dart who qualified and won her first-round match.

Nadal had to withdraw from the Canadian Master because of his left foot injury giving him too much pain. It is unclear what is happening - if this is a chronic injury then maybe he is going to have to withdraw from more tournaments.

Rafa's participation in the USO must now be in doubt, alas. As the Big Boys enter their mid-30s it's getting harder for them to shake off the injuries.

In Toronto, Cameron Norrie lost a three-setter to Khachanov while Tsitsipas was taken to a final set before beating Humbert. Dimi added to a way-too-long list of fairly dismal early exits in tournaments by losing to Opelka.

I would like to know what the annual medical costs are for Nadal, Djokovic and Federer - it would also be nice to know exactly what medical issues they are facing - but I guess that is a competitive secret. Potentially there is some leading edge medical science going on to keep these guys as pain free as possible and functioning smoothly. Tennis at the elite level can be considered as extreme athleticism as everyone has to push towards the maximum and beyond.

No name Bertie wrote:Semi-final Line Up Washington Open ATP500:
Jenson Brooksby (20yr, #130, 6'4") vs  Jannik Sinner (19yr, #24, 6'2")
Mackenzie McDonald (26yr, #107, 5'10") vs Kei Nishikori (31yr, #67, 5'10")

All four semi-finalists entered the Canadian Masters this week:
Jenson Brooksby lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili in his first match (first round): 6-2 0-6 4-6
Jannik Sinner lost to James Duckworth in his first match (bye into the second round): 3-6 4-6
Mackenzie McDonald lost to Benoit Paire in his first match (first round): 3-6 4-6.
Kei Nishikori won his first round match then pulled out injured before his second round match.

Federer out 'many months' with 3rd surgery on right knee.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/federer-many-months-3rd-surgery-184846498.html

The Associated Press
Sun, August 15, 2021, 11:48 AM

Roger Federer is going to miss the U.S. Open and be sidelined for what he said will be “many months” because he needs a third operation on his right knee.

Federer announced the news Sunday via a video message on Instagram. He said he’ll be “out of the game for many months.”

Federer turned 40 on Aug. 8. He hasn’t played a match since losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last month. The Swiss star then sat out the Tokyo Olympics, saying he had hurt his knee during the grass-court season.

Federer missed more than a year of action after first having his knee repaired shortly after the 2020 Australian Open in February of that year. He had a follow-up procedure that June.

Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all tied for the men’s record with 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

The season’s last Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open, starts Aug. 30 in New York.

Daniil Medvedev wins Toronto for the first time after he outclassed America’s Reilly Opelka 6-4 6-3. A fourth masters title for the Russian. He needs to get a major on his impressive cv as that’s the only level he’s failed to conquer so far.

Roger Federer seemed to be saying that he went for the surgery because he would need it for pain free mobility for his medium and long term health. He also indicated that he can't guarantee that he will be competitive at the top level on his return but that would be his aim.

This looks like the end for Fed as this is clearly a major knee operation.

Knees are so tricky. I recall that New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe had SEVEN knee ops and it still didn't clear the problem up.

But the tour goes on. Wild Card Andy Murray could have done with an easier first-round at Cinci where he takes on......Richard Gasquet.

Murray beat Gasquet 4 and 4, a victory that included 14 aces. Good win. Next up for Murray is likely to be Hurkacz.

Evans, not having a great run, was beaten by Schwartzman in three.

Heather Watson, who has been having a fairly dismal season, managed to qualify for Cinci and then beat a fellow qualifier in the first round. Watson now plays.....Barty.

It's no good looking for these matches on the BBC Sport website. They are so bad and so late in posting news that they have Watson and Evans held up by rain and, according to them, the Murray match has not even started.

I don't quite know why the BBC site is so awful for the latest tennis news. They're OK with other sports.

Rain-interrupted day at Cinci again. Rain may not have helped Cameron Norrie who was leading Isner before they had to come off but lost in three when they returned.

If you follow Dimi you must tear your hair out. Faced with an, on paper, easy first-round opponent he can just as easily lose. He had RBA last night....but won in straight sets.

The Watson-Barty match was held over. Halep, hit by injury this season, won her first match since May. Today is an intriguing Gauff-Osaka clash.

I've not heard news of either Rafa or Novak concerning participation in the USO. It could be that only Murray of the old Big Four will appear. Today Andy takes on Hurkacz. Saw a few clips of the match with Gasquet and Murray looked to be doing OK.

Dominic Thiem has withdrawn from the US Open and the rest of the season.  He says his wrist injury sustained in June had flared up again - so he is taking the rest of the season off to recover.  Thiem turns 28 in just over two weeks time.

Both Nadal (foot) and Djokovic (shoulder + ...) are also doubts for the US Open.

Murray lost in straight sets to Hurkacz but, importantly, felt he played well and, even more importantly, felt fine. So it sounds like he should be OK for the USO.

Medvedev takes on Dimi today. The Russian could be a good bet for New York particularly if the currently-crocked stars fail to make it.

In Chicago, Emma Raducanu had an excellent win over top seed Van Uytvanck, who has been ranked as high as 37. Don't know if Emma will get a WC into the USO. If not, she may even need a WC into the qualifying.

With the news on Federer's knee injury and Nadal's foot problems it definitely feels like the Fedal era is coming to a close. Shame about Thiem too - I think his body is paying for playing too many tournaments in early part of his career.

Got to admit I've no idea how serious Djokovic's injury is - would be a shame if injury stops him from having a go at calendar year slam and making history. I agree that Medvedev is probably next favourite, his hard court results speak for themselves. At this moment on time and on this surface having won Olympics I'd probably put Zverev ahead of Tsitsipas.

It doesn't bear thinking about but Federer may have already played his last match, which would be an awful anti climax for perhaps the most popular player of all time. Hopefully this knee surgery goes better than the one he had last year which seemed to make the injury worse if anything.

In an ideal world, Fed converts championship point at Wimbledon 2019 for his 9th Wimbledon, 21st slam and perhaps most significantly, his first ever slam beating both Rafa and Novak back to back. Then he could announce his retirement for the end of 2019, enjoy all the farewells in New York and in Basel etc while still leaving at near the top of the sport. I think then his GOAT credentials would be very strong even if Novak and Rafa eventually overtook 21. But as we know too well, sport isn't always a fairytale.