2018 In Between Grand Slam Thread

yerwanthere123 · 22-09-2018 6:29pm

Osaka in the Tokyo final. Will be seriously impressive if she wins a title straight off the US Open.

Johnmb · 22-09-2018 8:09pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Osaka in the Tokyo final. Will be seriously impressive if she wins a title straight off the US Open.

I think she'll be the first first-time slam winner on the ladies side to do it in absolutely ages if she can. Even getting to the final is a huge improvement over what has happened over the last few years in the next tournament to most (all?) first time slam champs!

yerwanthere123 · 22-09-2018 8:23pm

Johnmb wrote: »

I think she'll be the first first-time slam winner on the ladies side to do it in absolutely ages if she can. Even getting to the final is a huge improvement over what has happened over the last few years in the next tournament to most (all?) first time slam champs!

Azarenka is the last one I recall doing it off the top of my head head, she won Doha after winning the Australian Open and went on a 22 match winning streak.

Would be an even bigger achievement for Naomi especially considering all that went on in that ridiculous final, and no doubt she's getting crazy attention in Japan as well. She's signed a couple of big contracts since so she's already a multi-millionaire at the age of 20.

Still way too early to tell how things should pan out for her, but the early signs are good.

Joe_ Public · 22-09-2018 9:05pm

Surely Naomi will do the business tonight/tomorrow. She’s been playing better opponents than Pliskova this week and brushing them aside with ease. I know it’s a dangerous enterprise to anoint stars on the WTA tour but she doesn’t seem to mind pressure and I’m as confident as I’d care to be that she is the real deal.

I did fancy Sabalenka to make the breakthrough before her but I think she may have just played herself out this season and could look at a slightly pared down schedule for the future.

mickmackey1 · 23-09-2018 11:02am

Pliskova shocks her 6-4 6-4.

Joe_ Public · 23-09-2018 11:37am

Well got that seriously wrong anyway! Bit disappointing from Naomi, no fight at all in the end, just seemed to give up last couple of games.

yerwanthere123 · 23-09-2018 5:09pm

Didn't see the match, but from what I've read it seems like fatigue caught up with her in the end. Can't believe it's only two weeks since she won the US Open, so much has happened it feels like longer!

Unsurprisingly she's pulled out of Wuhan, just Beijing and Singapore to go and then she can rest up for the season.

Floppybits · 01-10-2018 3:03pm

Verdasco getting a bit of stick for his treatment of a Ballboy (Can I still say that) when he wasn't fast enough getting the towel.
https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/spanish-tennis-star-fernando-verdasco-explodes-at-ball-boy-for-being-too-slow-to-bring-him-his-towel/news-story/2860959ecdca756d63f677ac07d6c289

CassieManson · 01-10-2018 3:26pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Didn't see the match, but from what I've read it seems like fatigue caught up with her in the end. Can't believe it's only two weeks since she won the US Open, so much has happened it feels like longer!

Unsurprisingly she's pulled out of Wuhan, just Beijing and Singapore to go and then she can rest up for the season.

When did ball boys also become towel boys? It's ridiculous and unhygienic!

yerwanthere123 · 01-10-2018 10:08pm

Yeah Verdasco's a cúnt. Bizarre that players are allowed treat ball kids this way without incurring code violations.

Johnmb · 01-10-2018 10:12pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Yeah Verdasco's a cúnt. Bizarre that players are allowed treat ball kids this way without incurring code violations.

Technically, if the umpire had the b@lls, he could have given Verdasco a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct...

yerwanthere123 · 01-10-2018 10:24pm

Baffling why he wouldn't tbh. The ball kids aren't treated as officials for some reason. So unpleasant to watch unpaid child volunteers being shouted at by privileged millionaires.

Joe_ Public · 01-10-2018 10:30pm

Read somewhere the atp is bringing in a new system where towels will be hung on a rack at the back of court and players have to fetch them themselves. Proper order. Nothing to do with the pig verdasco, more in order to speed things up I believe.

Floppybits · 01-10-2018 10:34pm

They should just ban the towels. Its rediculous the toweling down between each point. They have sweat bands they can use them.

yerwanthere123 · 01-10-2018 10:37pm

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Read somewhere the atp is bringing in a new system where towels will be hung on a rack at the back of court and players have to fetch them themselves. Proper order. Nothing to do with the pig verdasco, more in order to speed things up I believe.

Iirc it's only at the Next Gen finals, where it's essentially a trial. Here's to hoping it'll be brought in full time.

Joe_ Public · 01-10-2018 10:51pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Iirc it's only at the Next Gen finals, where it's essentially a trial. Here's to hoping it'll be brought in full time.

Ah ok, that does ring a bell all right. Seems a no brainer to me anyway. Don’t have an issue with them being used, just not after every frickin point. It’s excessive and very very annoying.

Johnmb · 02-10-2018 4:41pm

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Baffling why he wouldn't tbh. The ball kids aren't treated as officials for some reason. So unpleasant to watch unpaid child volunteers being shouted at by privileged millionaires.

Probably afraid to do anything remotely controversial after the US Open! It doesn't matter if the player is abusive to an official or someone else (including spectators, photographers, and ball kids), the player can still be given a warning if the umpire is up for it. They may be just trying to keep a low profile at the moment, trying to not become a news story...

Joe_ Public · 04-10-2018 7:04am

Osaka looking very sharp this week. Keeping my fingers crossed for a sabalenka/osaka final. Both look in really good shape at the moment.

yerwanthere123 · 04-10-2018 12:06pm

So impressed with how Osaka has kept rolling, has only lost the one match since winning the US Open. Very excited to see how she'll do in Singapore.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, could actually make it to Singapore with a strong showing in Beijing. I'd be down for an Osaka-Sabalenka Singapore final!

Halep had got herself a disc hernia so may have already finished her season. I certainly hope it at least makes her go back on her ridiculous decision to accept a Moscow WC the week before the year end finals :rolleyes:

josip · 13-10-2018 11:00pm

Djokovic back to No. 2 after this week's Shanghai Masters.

Pero_Bueno · 14-10-2018 2:46pm

Delighted to see Djokovic really back to his best, only 35 pts behind Nadal and he deserved the YE #1 spot - 2 slams in a row.

MisterAnarchy · 14-10-2018 7:04pm

Poor old Del Potro,he has fractured his right keecap.

https://twitter.com/jorgeviale/status/1051524158834794498

jr86 · 15-10-2018 9:14am

Goodness knows what Novak could have achieved but for his annus horribilis in 2017, although Fed and Nadal won't be complaining

He's not far off unbeatable on this form and will be well deserved number 1 again in no time.

3 slams at least very achievable next year (Nadal may just have too much at RG) if he can stay healthy and focused

lostcat · 15-10-2018 2:30pm

Del Potro has really annoyed a god of fate somewhere, he really can't catch a break

Djokovic looking back to his unbeatable best, Year end No 1 looks in the bag.

Hector Savage · 17-10-2018 1:25pm

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Poor old Del Potro,he has fractured his right keecap.

https://twitter.com/jorgeviale/status/1051524158834794498

Poor Del Potro, jesus can you imagine what kind of career he would have had had he not been so injury prone.

Floppybits · 18-10-2018 10:34am

Djokovic is going to be virtually unstoppable next year, I think he will win the 4 slams, cant see anyone touching him when he is in this form.
Was watching the Shanghai Masters semi final between Djokovic and Zverev and Zverev was awful, couldn't hit a serve and was all over the place. If he is the best of the young guns coming up then Djokovic could possibly catch Federer on the number of slams.

jr86 · 18-10-2018 11:50am

Hector Savage wrote: »

Poor Del Potro, jesus can you imagine what kind of career he would have had had he not been so injury prone.

I dunno he's had flashes but at his best he was still never as good as the big 4.

Like the Tsongas, berdychs and ferrers of this world he was unlucky in the era he landed himself in too

josip · 18-10-2018 11:57am

jr86 wrote: »

I dunno he's had flashes but at his best he was still never as good as the big 4.

Like the Tsongas, berdychs and ferrers of this world he was unlucky in the era he landed himself in too

Sorry, I know it's been done to death but since this is the "In Between" thread I hope it's ok.
Murray was never in a big 4 except in British media.
There was/is a big 3.
Murray has way more in common with Wawrinka than Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.

CassieManson · 18-10-2018 12:08pm

josip wrote: »

Sorry, I know it's been done to death but since this is the "In Between" thread I hope it's ok.
Murray was never in a big 4 except in British media.
There was/is a big 3.
Murray has way more in common with Wawrinka than Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.

It has been debated here before and the so called "Big Three" always used the term "Big 4" to include Murray. If you look at Murray's overall record in terms of Grand Slams (3), Olympic golds (2), Master Titles (14), ATP Finals Title (1), Grand Slam Finals (11, including the 3 wins) he is streets ahead of Wawrinka whose correspond numbers are (3), (0), (1), (0), (4).

So Murray is maybe not in the same league as Big 3, but streets ahead of Wawrinka and the rest.........

(I'm a big Murray fan in case you didn't guess this!)

jr86 · 18-10-2018 12:08pm

Yes its been done to death

It emerged around the time Murray was making the vast majority of masters and slam semis (and plenty of finals, and was winning plenty titles overall on tour) and the top 4 in the world were miles out ahead of everyone in terms of consistently appearing in latter stages.

Its a term used for convenience purposes, yet it always baffles me how it seems to provoke so many

tennis fans from all over the world use the term not just the British media

2018 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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