US Open 2014

MisterAnarchy

Sky are using the American feed for the night match ,painful to listen to them ,they sound like 2 robots.

yerwanthere123

Pliskova serving for the match against Ana

yerwanthere123

Oh Ana. I thought she'd turned a corner this year.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Have to give credit to Pliskova there, she played well and kept her cool throughout. Pretty horrible performance from Ana though.

yerwanthere123

Yeah, Pliskova was great! All the Czechs seem to play the same, all capable of terrific tennis that can trouble the top players, but also extremely inconsistent. She could well lose the next round.

Vika looks like she'll be through to the next round, despite having played at about 7%.

Randomfriend

That Bellis girl put is putting up a decent fight again today, hard to expect a win from her thou, she's so small!

V. Estrella through to the 3rd round, what a man, 34 years old and only broke into the top 100 for the 1st time this year, great story.

I gave drawing the man a go today.

smurfs5

Bellis has just bagelled Diyas. Can't get over the fact that she's only 15! Amazing story but I wonder if she has the mental toughness to secure the 3rd set.

Comfortable win for Murray and a good performance against an opponent who was tricky at times. I can see Jo or Novak taking him out though.

I do think that the men's draw is quite open. Novak and Andy haven't been in great form, Federer is playing some great stuff , Stan could do very well after his win in Australia, Jo has the game to beat any of the top guys and has shown it but he's far too inconsistent and his mental strength isn't good enough. Then you've got the likes of Dimitrov, Kyrgios and Janowicz who are always dangerous and have shown that they're more than a one-off giantkiller and can go deep into Slams.

yerwanthere123

Watched a bit of Bellis last night, quite impressive. She plays like someone who's a few years older and already has a few years experience on the tour. Would be fun to see more from her.

What do we reckon for Sharapova-Lisicki later? Whilst Sabine obviously has the tools to trouble Maria, I think she'll make too many errors and Sharapova should be able to ride out the storm. Sharapova in three I'm thinking.

Looking at thr men's draw, Wawrinka has a very good chance of emulating last years performance.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Tomic has pulled out with a hip injury. Ferrer gets a walkover. Shame for Bernie, he's been pulling himself together lately, could have done with a bit of a run here. That said he'd probably have lost to Ferrer anyway.

bing3

Venus out against Errani in a topsy turvy match. Pity as thought she could put a decent run together here.
Halep out as well amazingly. 5-2 up in the first when last i checked. Anyone know what happened?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

What a brilliant win for Lucic-Baroni. How could you not be pleased for her after all she's been through.First time she's made the 2nd week of a slam since the Wimbledon SF in 1999. She plays Eranni for a place in QF now, good chance for her to win that too.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

And now Bencic just took our Kerber in straight sets. Bottom half of the draw has been blown to bits.

RosyLily

Seriously open now! I'd reckon on a Jankovic-Sharapova SF in the bottom half but, who knows at this stage!!

Could end up being something completely unexpected.

Feel sorry for Bernie. It's be a good year for him. He's getting some bother from that injury.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I am worried about Sharapova tonight. She's not been serving well all year and if Wimbledon Lisicki shows up she could be in trouble. Hopefully it's Lisucki that shows up

RosyLily

I'd love it if Wimbledon Lisicki showed up!! She rarely does anymore. Sabine had the game for hard courts so should be going further. But alas....she's as inconsistent as feck!

Rjd2

Lisicki does not do three wins in a row on anything important outside Wimbledon. Maria may start slow and even lose a set, but she will win.

smurfs5

You would think that Lisicki could steal a win but she's so inconsistent that it's become impossible to anticipate which Lisicki turns up. On paper, this match could be brilliant but if Sabine isn't really on it, a straight sets win for Sharapova wouldn't surprise me. The hard courts should, in theory, suit her game with the huge serve and monstrous ground strokes but she doesn't seem to produce the goods outside SW19. You'd wonder why the inconsistency has persisted for so long- she still has a potentially lengthy and successful tennis career ahead of her as she's only 24 but she's really going to have to straighten out these problems. Hiring a sports psychologist mightn't be the worst idea if she doesn't already have one.

yerwanthere123

Big chance now for Sharapova to get to the final, but I can't really see it. A Sharapova-Jankovic semi would be delicious though!

yerwanthere123

Alao, Dimitrov-Goffin could be interesting given how well David has been playing recently.

Rjd2

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Alao, Dimitrov-Goffin could be interesting given how well David has been playing recently.

Dimitrov will beat him, but I'd love it to be close, love watching both play.

Gasquet v Monfils in the next round, could be a car wreck knowing how mentally fragile both are, but it should be all sorts of fun.

On Maria, she is the second fav for a reason for the title, I'd be a little shocked if she did not reach the final. The wildcard could be Kvitova, who if she clicks can hammer anyone but I remain unconvinced that she has mastered this surface just yet.

smurfs5

Some interesting R3 matches ahead in the men's draw. Monfils-Gasquet looks really interesting and Kyrgios-Robredo and Dimitrov-Goffin look very intriguing as well.

The winner of Sharapova-Lisicki could potentially have Wozniacki, Errani and Jankovic on their way to the final which certainly isn't easy.

smurfs5

Just seen tomorrow's schedule and Bouchard gets a second night session match on Ashe. She really is being billed as the next superstar who will draw the crowds. Hard to believe she's only 20 as she seems so mature and level-headed so hopefully the hype around her doesn't have a detrimental effect on her and her game.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

People are moaning about Bouchard getting a 2nd night session but there's a lot of TV people influencing these decisions. Kyrgios as 2nd night match, for example makes sense for Australian TV, whereas all the Americans are on during the day session as it's the weekend and people will be at home to watch during the day.

Anyway.... very surprised to see Maria won last night, I was full expecting to wake up to a loss.

I watched Wozniacki against Petkovic last night and was expecting a great match but Caroline absolutely destroyed her. She's looking more and more like 2010/11 Wozniacki which is good for her but worrying for the Sharapova fans among us

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

smurfs5 wrote: »

You'd wonder why the inconsistency has persisted for so long- she still has a potentially lengthy and successful tennis career ahead of her as she's only 24 but she's really going to have to straighten out these problems. Hiring a sports psychologist mightn't be the worst idea if she doesn't already have one.

Thing about Lisicki is she's part of that "in-between" generation of players. I saw someone mention it yesterday about the men but I think it applies to the women too. You've got your senior players, Williamseses, Sharapova's, Li Na's etc. who have dominated the game for years. Then you've got people like Lisicki, Wozniacki, Petkovic, Kerber etc. who have been chasing the pack for years but never quite getting there. They're not young enough to just hang about a few more years until a few retirements mean they automatically become the top players.
What we've seen this year especially is that there's another generation on their heels now and they're making real strides and may well soon overtake them. Halep and Boucahard in particular are making real moves, even Kvitova is still quite young and has 2 Slams under her belt already.

In two years time I would not be one bit surprised if those I mentioned above were nowhere to be seen in the top 10/20 and the likes of Bencic, Keys, Krunic etc. have overtaken them.

RosyLily

Andy Roddick's birthday today. Can't believe it's 11 years since his U.S. Open win!!:eek:

Rjd2

Truly awful performance from Petra here, if she wins here, she will be slaughtered against Maria and Serena. She needs to be trashing nothing players like Krunic.

Rjd2

Krunic through, she is not that bad and seems quite likable but crikey a nothing player in Keys gave her a tougher game.

Without doubt the worst performance and result in Petras year and probably career.

PashaMasha

By the looks of the bottom half of the draw Sharapova should be getting to the finals anyways, but as always it's hers to lose. Wozniacki will definitely be tough but she still mightn't have enough belief in herself to take the match by the scruff of the neck. She'll be pushing and hoping for Sharapova UE rather than going for her shots.

Rjd2

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

People are moaning about Bouchard getting a 2nd night session but there's a lot of TV people influencing these decisions. Kyrgios as 2nd night match, for example makes sense for Australian TV, whereas all the Americans are on during the day session as it's the weekend and people will be at home to watch during the day.

I watched Wozniacki against Petkovic last night and was expecting a great match but Caroline absolutely destroyed her. She's looking more and more like 2010/11 Wozniacki which is good for her but worrying for the Sharapova fans among us

Their is no match that screams stand out anyways today, maybe some could argue Azarenka is more deserving of a midnight game than Bouchard as she has done more here, but that turned into a trashing any ways.

If you look at the betting, its not as close as Dellacqua v Pliskova, Suarez v Kanepi and Diyas v Makarova but no disrespect to those six girls but can't see tv companies falling over themselves for those games.

No beef with Kryigos getting the late game, its probably the toughest match to call today.

yerwanthere123

Bouchard obviously the favourite here, but I wouldn't completely rule out the upset, Strycova is decent.

yerwanthere123

PashaMasha wrote: »

By the looks of the bottom half of the draw Sharapova should be getting to the finals anyways, but as always it's hers to lose. Wozniacki will definitely be tough but she still mightn't have enough belief in herself to take the match by the scruff of the neck. She'll be pushing and hoping for Sharapova UE rather than going for her shots.

Going by how Sharapova has been playing thus far, that would seem a pretty good tactic. Keep making Sharapova play that extra ball and she'll make the error.

PashaMasha

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Going by how Sharapova has been playing thus far, that would seem a pretty good tactic. Keep making Sharapova play that extra ball and she'll make the error.

It worked for Kerber at Wimbledon anyways, but that tactic is risky as it won't work for the whole match, usually in the first set because Sharapova is a slow starter.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I'm trying to remember a match between Sharapova and Wozniacki and I'm drawing a blank. I know when Woz was at the peak of her powers Maria was out with her shoulder so I don't know if they ever played when Woz was #1.

EDIT: They played at Indian Wells last year, Sharapova won easily. She won their last 2 meetings before that as well. Woz hasn't won against her since 2011 but she did win their R16 meeting at the US Open in 2010.

As I said though I'm not sure they've ever played while both have been fit and/or on top of their game.

PashaMasha

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I'm trying to remember a match between Sharapova and Wozniacki and I'm drawing a blank. I know when Woz was at the peak of her powers Maria was out with her shoulder so I don't know if they ever played when Woz was #1.

Think they played at the US Open in 2010 and Wozniacki won well and in Indian Wells in 2011, but after that Sharapova took over

smurfs5

Incredible shot from Simon just there. This has 5-setter written all over it.

Rjd2

PashaMasha wrote: »

It worked for Kerber at Wimbledon anyways, but that tactic is risky as it won't work for the whole match, usually in the first set because Sharapova is a slow starter.

Its the way she always plays to be honest, she is a pusher and a bit of a wall.

Stick a fork in Ferrer, his career as a top player is done. Nice guy but his game bores the arse off me, won't be missed really.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I feel sorry for the people in the crowd on Louis Armstrong today. Two mugfests to watch. How long has Ferrer v Simon been on now? And they've still got the mental giants of Gasquet and Monfils to come.

Rjd2

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I feel sorry for the people in the crowd on Louis Armstrong today. Two mugfests to watch. How long has Ferrer v Simon been on now? And they've still got the mental giants of Gasquet and Monfils to come.

That for me is game of the day, stick 2 talented but insanely gifted bottlers on a court and enjoy the fireworks.

Rjd2

Such a predictable match really with Wozzy and Sharapova.

Maria cut out the errors and neutralising Caroline's strength.

Should have bet Maria when she went a set down. Free money it would have been.

mikeyjames9

Would she be able to cut out that godawful groaning if they penalised her for it

I bet she would.

It's ruining tennis as a television sport allowing it to continue

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

mikeyjames9 wrote: »

Would she be able to cut out that godawful groaning if they penalised her for it

I bet she would.

It's ruining tennis as a television sport allowing it to continue

There's this amazing button on your remote that turns the volume down.

mikeyjames9

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

There's this amazing button on your remote that turns the volume down.

It would be amazing if it could filter out the grunting

And leave the commentary

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

This match is great. Some really great shots from both players. Nice bit of tension between them too since the heat break.

RosyLily

Enjoying this match. Caro is playing so well!! Really impressed with her.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

That must be the greatest win of Wozniacki's career. Hope she doesn't flop to Errani now. Her matches against Serena over the summer have probably been the most intriguing so perhaps we'll get a decent final... if she makes it that far.

MisterAnarchy

Rjd2 wrote: »

Should have bet Maria when she went a set down. Free money it would have been.

Delighted the Banshee has been banished ,her shrieking is awful

Rjd2

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Delighted the Banshee has been banished ,her shrieking is awful

So happy I swerved that bet!

Pleased for Caroline, showed lots of bottle to get the job done.:)

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Granollers still sounds like he's giving birth.

yerwanthere123

Happy for Woz but sad for Maria. Was Woz good or was Maria as ****e as I anticipated?

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Happy for Woz but sad for Maria. Was Woz good or was Maria as ****e as I anticipated?

Woz was playing like she used to when she was #1. It's debatable whether that's good or bad, it seems to be a personal preference. She was basically hitting everything back to Maria and waiting for her to make the mistake.

It was a pretty good quality match though, in my opinion.