The General Tennis Thread

KB, I'd be interested in seeing your prediction on Wimbledon. Who ya got?

 

messed around with the game a little bit yesterday and really played today. My backhand is still pretty reliable and I finally started finding my forehand halfway through the second and final set. Tennis has always been one of my favorite sports to play by far and I've missed it. Glad I finally found a couple people in the Army who want to play.

Now if I could just convince my platoon SGT to give me mornings off so I could watch Wimbledon. Can't believe (ok, really I can) that Woz already got eliminated. Just enough to talent to be the next great thing, but she's never going to get there. I know KB prefers the men's game, but there's only two players with one dark horse in Fed to watch over there anymore.

 

I think the men's game is still interesting because of the unreal level of tennis the top guys play.

 

I think the men's game is still interesting because of the unreal level of tennis the top guys play.

 

No one is dominating or taking over the women's game (except for maybe the injury bug), but their level of play is still unreal as well.

 

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It's a shame I dont play anymore. My in-laws have a court in their backyard. But getting spanked by an 8th grader at science hill my senior year was the death blow to my tennis career.

 

volfanjo used to play back in the day and I know just a couple of years ago he was still trying to play some. at worst, we could bring KB along and have a doubles match.

 

Haynesworth lives on the other side of the courts. We could invite him over to play.

 

Gun to my head I'm going Djoker. But I do think this tournament is a bit more wide open than the past few. Just a bit, but still a bit.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:

The KidB belated Wimby preview.

(1) Can Fedsmug beat "is Wayne Brady gonna have to" Djokovic on grass?

No. Not in an outdoor five set match. And, yes, I will be glad to put my money where my mouth is if this comes to be.

(2) Is anybody going to beat Wayne Brady before he would get to Fedsmug?

Unlikely to quite unlikely. Feel free to comment if you disagree. Sorry guys, but I wouldn't put my mortgage on young Harrison. Especially since he already lost in straight sets.

(3) Can Andy Murray beat TGGRN on grass?

I actually think he can. I have a weird feeling about Murray in this tournament. I could be wrong. It has happened before. But I think he might be able to take out TGGRN. I wouldn't bet on it, though. I do think it is more likely than Fedsmug taking out Wayne Brady.

(4) Who might take out TGGRN before he would get to a semifinal matchup with Murray?

a. Tsonga
b. Your mother.

Regarding (a): never mind, this isn't happening.
Regarding (b): is your mother playing? Oh...she isn't playing? Well, then nobody will be taking out TGGRN.

(5) Who might take out Murray before a semifinal?

Delpo if he can stay healthy. Though I don't love the way Delpo moves on grass. Also, keep an eye on Raonic, though I would like to see him perform better on return games. I'm not ready to go all in on him.

(6) Of the so-called "Big Four"*, who has the toughest path to the semis?

Murray. That quadrant is straight nasty. Arguably nastier than your momma. Check it: Murray, Ferrer, the artist formerly known as Andy Rod****, Delpo, Cilic, Raonic, Dimitrov, Baghdatis, Karlovic. That is UNQUESTIONABLY the strongest quadrant of the four. No home cooking for Murray in the SW19.

(7) Hey KidB, how come all of your predictions essentially just predict TGGRN and Wayne Brady in the final with a possible threat from Delpo?

This is the way KidB sees the world.

(8) Are you some kind of unoriginal bastard, or what?

Don't be talking trash! I'm giving Murray a chance in this tournament. I'm changing it up a little bit.


*Which is really being nice to Murray

 

I think that's got to be the picks as well. I was listening to McEnroe break down the draw and apparently Fed has a cakewalk until the Semis. If he could roll into the semis without exerting much energy, that's about the only way I'd give him even a remotely decent shot at pulling the upset.

Also, McEnroe said today that if Fed beats Joker in the semis, Fed goes to #1. I don't understand how that's possible.

 

I heard another announcer say that if Fed won the tournament outright he went to #1, but I wasn't really paying attention. If Johnny Mac said it, it's probably true.

So what happens with tennis rankings is that they are done on a 1 year rolling basis. So if you win a major you get 2,000 points as a result (if you get to the final of a major you get 1,200, semifinal 750, etc. etc.)*. For purposes of your ranking, you keep those points for a year. So when they say djokovic has "points to defend", what that means is that he has 2,000 points that he picked up by winning Wimbledon 2011 are about to drop off, and so in order to prevent his ranking from dropping he has to again win Wimbledon. If he goes to the semifinals and loses, he loses 1,250 ranking points. Federer, on the other hand, only made it to the quarters last year, and so if he advances to the semis this year, he is picking up total points because he'll be earning more than what he has falling off.

That's the first time I've ever tried to explain the tennis ranking system. Hopefully that wasn't gibberish.



*When you hear somebody refer to a "Master's level" tournament or a "Master's 1000" tournament, what that means is that the winner of the tournament gets 1,000 points. So some tournaments are more important than others. ATP Rankings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Nadal down 2 sets to 1. Crazy, I didn't see this coming.

 

Nadal wins the 4th to force a 5th, but he's down a break.

 

Nadal serving to stay in the match now.

 

Nadal holds. Rosol serving for the match.

 

Nadal is toast.

 

That matched ruined my day.

 

It's got to be one of the biggest upsets of all time.

 

It's the biggest men's tennis upset that I can recall.

Interestingly, the biggest women's tennis upset that I can recall was Serena at the French.