Wimbledon 2015

RosyLily

Memnoch wrote: »

I wouldn't say no chance. But it was a close match, and this was despite Stan having to play three days in a row, and his last match was a five setter too. In the end fatigue took its toll.

I have no doubt that a fresh Stan with a day's rest that he should have had, would have beaten Federer in the semis last year.

Stan won in straight sets against Lopez before facing Federer in the QFs last year. Playing 3 days in a row didn't help but I don't think a rest day would have made all the difference. Wawrinka seems to thrive on the slower court like clay and the Plexicushion hard court used in Melbourne.

I doubt Ferrer would have done much damage. He was due to play James Ward but is replaced by Luca Vanni. Ward has good shot of making the second round.

Tomorrow's order of play.

mickmackey1

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Ferrer is out with an elbow injury.

Ends a streak of 50 consecutive majors.

smurfs5

SO excited for Wimbledon to start tomorrow. Anyone on the thread heading over this year? (I got middle Saturday tickets for Centre Court in the ballot but unfortunately, I can't make it over. So disappointing).

Few things :

A really interesting piece on some of the important behind the scenes figures and some nice little gems (including Tomas Berdych's use of fake tan) : http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/28/wimbledon-2015-strawberry-growers-home-renters-bakers

Ben Rothenberg's predictions, some of which I find strange and some of which I agree with. Have a look : https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/615214564532162560

Sad to see Hewitt go but he can be assured that Australian tennis is in a great place- 16 players in the main singles draw!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-28/lleyton-hewitt-wimbledon-swansong-australian-tennis/6574986

Memnoch

Another interesting analysis. Quite well balanced this one. Novak does look like he has the toughest draw out of the top four.

http://www.stevegtennis.com/2015/06/wimbledon-2015-mens-draw-analysis-and-predictions/

I agree with most of his predictions except I expect it to be a Murray vs Djokovic final.

RosyLily

smurfs5 wrote: »

SO excited for Wimbledon to start tomorrow. Anyone on the thread heading over this year? (I got middle Saturday tickets for Centre Court in the ballot but unfortunately, I can't make it over. So disappointing)

Aw that's a pity!! And Centre Court tickets! I'd love to be going over but don't have the money atm. Maybe next year!:)

I read that article on the behind the scenes. Always knew Berdych was faking it!! Anyone read the one about airbnb? People living around Wimbledon are making a killing renting out their house/spare rooms. Nice way to supplement the income.

yerwanthere123

Does anybody else feel.. not ready for Wimbledon?! It seems to have crept up so fast, barely had time to think about it. Without having analysed things too much, I'm gonna go massively outside the box.... and predict a Murray and Serena win. As is often the case with tennis though, it probably won't work out this way. And this thread is gonna get interesting for the next two weeks :pac:

Floppybits

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Ferrer is out with an elbow injury.

Thank god for small mercies. One of the hardest players to watch on the tour.

So we are off and running at Wimbledon, Wins for Djokovic and Serena Williams. A shock is the ladies as Carlos Saurez Navarro the number 9 seed is knocked out by 18 year old Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-0. Good win for Liam Broady coming back from 2 sets down to win his match.

the_monkey

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Does anybody else feel.. not ready for Wimbledon?! It seems to have crept up so fast, barely had time to think about it. Without having analysed things too much, I'm gonna go massively outside the box.... and predict a Murray and Serena win. As is often the case with tennis though, it probably won't work out this way. And this thread is gonna get interesting for the next two weeks :pac:

Hardly outside the box, they are the clear favourites ..

Too soon for Wimbledon ? its a week late this year ..

yerwanthere123

the_monkey wrote: »

Hardly outside the box, they are the clear favourites ..

Too soon for Wimbledon ? its a week late this year ..

You don't do sarcasm do you :pac:

StillIntact

Should be a procession for Serena. Maybe Kvitova can take her on but realistically it should be straightforward.

For the men I can't see past a Djokovic Murray final. Although there could be a dangerous big serving floater in there to mess that up. Hard to see Wawrinka in contention on grass and despite his history Federer is one year older so the final might be past him.

yerwanthere123

StillIntact wrote: »

Should be a procession for Serena. Maybe Kvitova can take her on but realistically it should be straightforward.

For the men I can't see past a Djokovic Murray final. Although there could be a dangerous big serving floater in there to mess that up. Hard to see Wawrinka in contention on grass and despite his history Federer is one year older so the final might be past him.

That's what people said last year. And the year before.

Admittedly it's harder to see her messing up this year though.

yerwanthere123

Impressive from Bencic, beats both Radwanska and Pironkova on grass within the space of a few days.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Hewitt v Nieminen is going to go all night. Still 2 women's matches due on this court.

yerwanthere123

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

Hewitt v Nieminen is going to go all night. Still 2 women's matches due on this court.

Or not.

Stevecw

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Or not.

Great match tho, fair play to both of them. Got back from work early planning to get a few things done. Start watching this and couldn't turn it off it. Hewitt will be missed, his group of fans made a great atmosphere

RosyLily

Great crowd for Hewitt's last match. Sad to see him retire; enjoyed watching him play. Really gutsy player and always fought to the bitter end. The young Aussies can learn a lot from him!

Probably a step too far but I'd love to see Hewitt win the Davis Cup. Would be a fantastic swan song for him.

StillIntact

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

That's what people said last year. And the year before.

Admittedly it's harder to see her messing up this year though.

If she remains injury and illness free.

While I have great respect for what Hewitt achieved over the years, he probably should have retired by now.

yerwanthere123

Nice start for Venus, 60 60! Her first double bagel since Istanbul 2005, and her first at a slam since US Open 2002. Also, her first double bagel on grass since her very first match on grass, way back at the Eastbourne qualies 1997!

Memnoch

Dimitrov and Raonic also on Novak's side. Talk about a loaded top half. I would absolutely laugh if Nadal beats Murray in the quarters. After they did everything they could to make it as easy as possible for him.

Chivito550

Why has the name and format of Today at Wimbledon been changed? Wimbledon 2day sounds so juvenile, and the live audience makes it so tacky. And why has Claire Balding replaced John Inverdale? For a tournament steeped in traditions, this change is a bit out of character.

bing3

Chivito550 wrote: »

Why has the name and format of Today at Wimbledon been changed? Wimbledon 2day sounds so juvenile, and the live audience makes it so tacky. And why has Claire Balding replaced John Inverdale? For a tournament steeped in traditions, this change is a bit out of character.

Pretty cringey alright. Audience completely unnecessary and Mcenroe obviously bugs the **** out of Balding.

Chivito550

bing3 wrote: »

Pretty cringey alright. Audience completely unnecessary and Mcenroe obviously bugs the **** out of Balding.

I hope they revert back to original format and presenter next year. This is very unwatchable. Too many tweets, and non relevant stuff. Very little actual tennis shown, and Balding doesn't have great knowledge of the sport.

RosyLily

Oh that doesn't sound good! I really liked Today at Wimbledon. Thought there was good banter between Inverdale, Davenport and McEnroe and they actually seemed to like each other. The outdoor setting was really nice as well. Very English garden imo.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! Hopefully it won't be returning next year. As much as I like Clare, tennis isn't her forte.

yerwanthere123

Didn't watch it, but yeah, 'Wimbledon 2day' sounds pretty embarrassing. Although getting rid of Inverdale can only be viewed as a good thing.

Rjd2

Memnoch wrote: »

Dimitrov and Raonic also on Novak's side. Talk about a loaded top half. I would absolutely laugh if Nadal beats Murray in the quarters. After they did everything they could to make it as easy as possible for him.

Novak will play only one of Raonic, Dimitrov or Wawrinka at the semi final at earliest. The talk of a conspiracy to screw Novak is absurd, Niemenen next a journeyman. Then an out of form Tomic 3rd round and possibly Anderson in the last 16 who has never worried the top players.

Then Cilic who has done nothing all year or possibly Kei Nishikori in the quarters who came into this with an injury and not a long time ago was not expected to play here, he looked pretty poor today. You reckon the Wimbledon guys who modified the draw to screw Novak didn't know Kei wasn't well?

Semi final who knows he will get? The Wawrinka quarter is stacked.

He was 1/3 to reach the semi finals before today and now 1/4, the bookies aren't always right, but this time I think they are. He may screw up, but it will be a monumental surprise if he does not reach the semis at least and will play someone who could be knackered coming out of the toughest quarter.

Its not exactly the conspiracy that you are suggesting, and if it was, it hasn't been thought out to well.:P

MrKingsley

Djokovic was poor yesterday. Kohlscreiber bottled it at 4-4 in each set and he was actually playing quite well.

Djokovic was making a load of mistakes. Could be put down to a lack of match practise. But if he was to play like that against even an out of form cilic then he could be in trouble.

Having said that i fully expect him to sort his game out during the first week and then make it to the final

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

John Inverdale was a terrible presenter. They had so many complaints about him, he's been doing the show for years and yet still doesn't know the difference between a game, a set and a match. They were right to get rid of him.

That said the new format doesn't work for me. Maybe it'll improve given a few more days but it seems like they could have freshened it up a little bit without going to the extreme they have. Wimbledon crowd don't seem to be much craic either so the whole audience part seems unnecessary.

Memnoch

Rjd2 wrote: »

Novak will play only one of Raonic, Dimitrov or Wawrinka at the semi final at earliest. The talk of a conspiracy to screw Novak is absurd, Niemenen next a journeyman. Then an out of form Tomic 3rd round and possibly Anderson in the last 16 who has never worried the top players.

Then Cilic who has done nothing all year or possibly Kei Nishikori in the quarters who came into this with an injury and not a long time ago was not expected to play here, he looked pretty poor today. You reckon the Wimbledon guys who modified the draw to screw Novak didn't know Kei wasn't well?

Semi final who knows he will get? The Wawrinka quarter is stacked.

He was 1/3 to reach the semi finals before today and now 1/4, the bookies aren't always right, but this time I think they are. He may screw up, but it will be a monumental surprise if he does not reach the semis at least and will play someone who could be knackered coming out of the toughest quarter.

Its not exactly the conspiracy that you are suggesting, and if it was, it hasn't been thought out to well.:P

It's not designed to screw Novak. It's more that all the players who have the best chance of beating Murray are in the top half of the draw. Federer is the only one who might be able to beat him, but I don't think it likely.

the_monkey

MrKingsley wrote: »

Djokovic was poor yesterday. Kohlscreiber bottled it at 4-4 in each set and he was actually playing quite well.

Djokovic was making a load of mistakes. Could be put down to a lack of match practise. But if he was to play like that against even an out of form cilic then he could be in trouble.

Having said that i fully expect him to sort his game out during the first week and then make it to the final

He's not a mentally strong player at the end of the day.

I'm amazed he's #1 to be honest, it's an easy title for Murray.

lostcat

the_monkey wrote: »

He's not a mentally strong player at the end of the day.

I'm amazed he's #1 to be honest, it's an easy title for Murray.

lol

walshb

Memnoch wrote: »

It's not designed to screw Novak. It's more that all the players who have the best chance of beating Murray are in the top half of the draw. Federer is the only one who might be able to beat him, but I don't think it likely.

Jeez, let it go and just enjoy the tournament. Look at it this way, Murray has to be prepared to meet any player to win the tournament!

walshb

the_monkey wrote: »

He's not a mentally strong player at the end of the day.

I'm amazed he's #1 to be honest, it's an easy title for Murray.

How can some of us be so clear and certain with these prediction? The world of top level tennis is ridiculously competitive. Nothing is close to being a given.

the_monkey

I'm saying this myself about myself - you should know to ignore the tripe that comes from my posts in the next 2 weeks ...

RosyLily

the_monkey wrote: »

I'm saying this myself about myself - you should know to ignore the tripe that comes from my posts in the next 2 weeks ...

Post of the day!!:pac:

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Kvitova picking up where she left off last year. Demolishing Bertens here. Didn't lose a single point on her own serve in the first set, which only lasted 18 minutes.

Memnoch

Nadal looking good.

RosyLily

Took Petra 36 minutes to reach second round. Really impressive!! Double fault in the second...and that was the only serve error.:eek:

pconn062

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

John Inverdale was a terrible presenter. They had so many complaints about him, he's been doing the show for years and yet still doesn't know the difference between a game, a set and a match. They were right to get rid of him.

That said the new format doesn't work for me. Maybe it'll improve given a few more days but it seems like they could have freshened it up a little bit without going to the extreme they have. Wimbledon crowd don't seem to be much craic either so the whole audience part seems unnecessary.

Inverdale is commentating now, so they certainly haven't got rid of him.

walshb

He's an anchor, not a commentator!

pconn062

walshb wrote: »

He's an anchor, not a commentator!

Funny, when the caption came up on screen it said "Commentators John Inverdale and John Llyod". No mention of "anchor" anywhere.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

pconn062 wrote: »

Inverdale is commentating now, so they certainly haven't got rid of him.

I was referring to them getting rid of him off the highlights show. I've no idea why they'd have him as commentator instead. He could barely manage the few links he had to do before, how they expect him to be able to do an entire match now is beyond me. Typical BBC.

the_monkey

Memnoch wrote: »

Nadal looking good.

I hope Murray beats him 21-19 in the fifth set quarter final !! :P

walshb

pconn062 wrote: »

Funny, when the caption came up on screen it said "Commentators John Inverdale and John Llyod". No mention of "anchor" anywhere.

I can't say that I have ever heard him commentating on a match. It's usually Petchey/Lloyd/Wade/McEnroe or Castle. He does present the show and conduct interviews. If he is actually commentating on matches then god help the beeb!

Rjd2

the_monkey wrote: »

I hope Murray beats him 21-19 in the fifth set quarter final !! :P

20/1 Nadal, might have a speculative tenner on him later each way, very impressed today even if Bellucci is a bit of a waster.

WaterLily.

Just switched over briefly to see how Bouchard was getting on and the first thing that struck me is how thin she looks! I don't know if it's just me because I haven't seen her play in a while and she always looks like this but she looks like she's lost a lot of weight. I'm not a big fan of hers but I am starting to feel a little sorry for her, I do hope she can turn things around soon. She has too much potential for it all just to go to waste!

Good win for Heather Watson, she beat Caroline Garcia 8-6 in the third after losing the first set 1-6 and having to play over 2 days.

RosyLily

Bouchard does look thin!! Stress related perhaps? She just broke to go to 3-4. Not particularly fond of her but I hope she doesn't crash out today.

I has no idea Wawrinka featured in ESPN's Body issue. A lot of photos of him on my timeline yesterday!

RosyLily

Williams' have withdrawn from the doubles. Serena wants to concentrate on the singles. They were due to face Konta and Sanchez.

the_monkey

Some of these linesmen calls in favour of Murray are a disgrace ...

Balls right on the line ... not even close to being out called out ...

the_monkey

ah f*ck off Murray ...

RosyLily

Genie loses the match, she'll drop out of the top 20!!:eek: