Wimbledon 2021 Monday, June 28 - Sunday, July 11 2021

Girly Gal

Rob2D wrote: »

I'm sorry but no. If that's truly the case then someone needs to sit her down after this and give her a serious dose of tough love. She couldn't deal with it today and now the other girl moves on for free. She either hardens up or the next girl who wants it will move past her too. Simple. End of.

During the delay she should have been excited, not able to wait to get out there. If she really was sitting around just dreading it then she shouldn't be playing on the world stage. She'll be eaten alive by girls who want to be there.

Granted she was thrown into the deep end but this is going to be her only chance to learn from the shock. I hope she takes it.

She definitely needs to learn from this, this could very well be the high point of her career or she could go on to become a top level player, only time will tell. Even for an 18 year old she's fairly inexperienced, she had no top level experience before Wimbledon and only got a wildcard because she's British and then having to wait all day for the biggest game of her short career with the British media ramping up the pressure on her. It obviously was all too much for her, but, a good opportunity to learn from.

Alberta64

Alberta64 wrote: »

Did Federer shag your wife? Where's all this hostility towards him coming from?

nothing of the sort.

I'm relatively neutral on Federer himself.

Although I do think that he's a bit of a saccharine fake as I've said in the past and incidents like the U.S Open where he called Djokovic "lucky" for hitting a clean winner on match point are instructive on where the "mask slipped".

He was obviously once a very fine player.

it's the fed-hards , not Fed himself.

klr87

Rjd2 wrote: »

Would have been interesting to know Toml's views if she lost as obviously not great for her either.

Luckily for her she is third on court tomorrow and tonight's game did not go the distance.

Anyhow on tomorrow, I'd be getting concerned for Barty if she doesn't handle Tomljanović easily enough. Not see much of Golubic so won't comment to much on that match but about time Pliskova put a run together at this slam.

The other 2 matches though look great, Kerber whose defense is incredible against Muchova who has so much skill while Jabeur with all her variety against Saba with all the power.

I don't think it really helps Tomljanovic that this evening's match finished quickly. The gulf in class between Barty and her is huge. In over a decade on the tour, she has yet to win a title: She's lost 4 finals, all at International (aka WTA 250) level, equivalent to ATP 250 for the men. She has only once previously been past the 2nd round of a slam (4th round of the French in 2014), and only just managed to crack the top 40 in the rankings at her peak. She's had injury troubles, but so have many players around that long.

I agree that Kerber - Muchova and Jabeur - Sabalenka are the pick of the women's matches tomorrow, and also that it's about time Pliskova went deep here. I've watched some of Golubic, and her game seems suited to grass.

yerwanthere123

Great QF line-up for the women's half, could even end up with a #1 vs #2 final, which we haven't had for a long time. Difficult not to note that this is Kerber's first slam QF since she won Wimbledon back in 2018, although I've got a sneaky feeling the momentum is with Ons now. Her talent has been talked up for a very long time now, would make sense if she finally makes a big breakthrough.

I would say the men's QF line-up is great also if I had some hope that anyone other than Djokovic can mount a challenge. Perhaps the best hope of someone taking him out is Shapovalov in the SF's? Otherwise we're likely on course for the much-predicted Djokovic-Berrettini final. How mad though would it be if FAA made the final with a 0-8 record and beat Djokovic of all people? Not gonna happen though obv.

Sad to see Raducanu having to pull out tonight. Saw much speculation online that it was likely a panic attack of some form, which I really hope isn't the case. I hope we see a lot more of her in the future.

Rob2D

Girly Gal wrote: »

She definitely needs to learn from this, this could very well be the high point of her career or she could go on to become a top level player, only time will tell. Even for an 18 year old she's fairly inexperienced, she had no top level experience before Wimbledon and only got a wildcard because she's British and then having to wait all day for the biggest game of her short career with the British media ramping up the pressure on her. It obviously was all too much for her, but, a good opportunity to learn from.

Best thing she can do now is take her newfound ranking points and go hard travelling on the tour. Get as far away from England as possible and win a few matches abroad. Get her head together for the US Open.

Having said that, she's been playing since she was 5 years old. Presumably she's played in front of many people before with an aim to get exactly here someday. Hopefully it was just the sudden shock. But if she really is that soft well, as you say this might be as far as she ever goes.

What she also needs fast is a proper coach. A former player that can prepare her the reality of it. Her current coach seems a bit s**t. Also happens to be Andy Murray's father in law.

Joe_ Public

I've seen all Bartys matches and can't say I've been blown away by her exactly. Efficient rather than spectacular but maybe that's all she's needed to be. If serve holds up, she'd be difficult enough to beat. But would want to see her win well in 2.

Sabalenka could well blast jabeur off the court but i don't think that will happen. Could be the tie of the round and i think jabeur might have the cuteness and resilience to shade it.

Girly Gal

klr87 wrote: »

I don't think it really helps Tomljanovic that this evening's match finished quickly. The gulf in class between Barty and her is huge. In over a decade on the tour, she has yet to win a title: She's lost 4 finals, all at International (aka WTA 250) level, equivalent to ATP 250 for the men. She has only once previously been past the 2nd round of a slam (4th round of the French in 2014), and only just managed to crack the top 40 in the rankings at her peak. She's had injury troubles, but so have many players around that long.

I agree that Kerber - Muchova and Jabeur - Sabalenka are the pick of the women's matches tomorrow, and also that it's about time Pliskova went deep here. I've watched some of Golubic, and her game seems suited to grass.

Krejčíková hadn't done much before winning the FO, so I don't think it matters that much in the women's game, a lot of recent slams have seen outsiders either reach or even win slam finals.

someyoke

glasso wrote: »

nothing of the sort.

I'm relatively neutral on Federer himself.

Although I do think that he's a bit of a saccharine fake as I've said in the past and incidents like the U.S Open where he called Djokovic "lucky" for hitting a clean winner on match point are instructive on where the "mask slipped".

He was obviously once a very fine player.

it's the fed-hards , not Fed himself.

Fed-hards, fedtards, fedheads, fed fan boys. All glasso labels for Federer fans. The only one
consistently driving narrative of djok annoying fed fans on this thread is you.are you out of your early teens yet? Childish beyond belief. You can be a fed supporter and admire djok too. But the majority of fed supporters like him cause he's the most gifted player to watch and greatest entertainer. Djok could have 50 grand slams and that wouldn't change.

Augme

Rob2D wrote: »

Best thing she can do now is take her newfound ranking points and go hard travelling on the tour. Get as far away from England as possible and win a few matches abroad. Get her head together for the US Open.

Having said that, she's been playing since she was 5 years old. Presumably she's played in front of many people before with an aim to get exactly here someday. Hopefully it was just the sudden shock. But if she really is that soft well, as you say this might be as far as she ever goes.

What she also needs fast is a proper coach. A former player that can prepare her the reality of it. Her current coach seems a bit s**t. Also happens to be Andy Murray's father in law.

She won't be getting any where close to the US open. The best hope is that she plays and makes the Australian Open through qualifying.

yerwanthere123

Augme wrote: »

She won't be getting any where close to the US open. The best hope is that she plays and makes the Australian Open through qualifying.

Saw tonight that she'll be ranked high enough to make US Open qualies? Although open to correction on that.

fryup

klr87 wrote: »

Raducanu retires, obviously not wanting to face the wrath of Tomljanovic.

Joke obviously ...

and Tomljanovic said after....

"I am really sorry for her, I wish we could have finished it. I am wishing her all the best,"

made a change from the last match when she said yer one was lying

yerwanthere123

fryup wrote: »

and Tomljanovic said after....

"I am really sorry for her, I wish we could have finished it. I am wishing her all the best,"

made a change from the last match when she said yer one was lying

To be fair to her, Ostapenko *was* likely lying.

klr87

yerwanthere123 wrote: »

Saw tonight that she'll be ranked high enough to make US Open qualies? Although open to correction on that.

Her "live" ranking (including the Wimbledon points) is 175, and anyone up to 230 or 240 will usually get into qualification.

So she will certainly make it, even if she doesn't play again in the few weeks between now and the cut-off date for qualification, 4 weeks before the main event starts. She has no points to defend in that time, so she can't go down more than a few places at the very worst.

Another bonus is that she's now likely to get wildcard invites into all sorts of small tournaments, which would be ideal at this stage of her development.

klr87

Girly Gal wrote: »

Krejčíková hadn't done much before winning the FO, so I don't think it matters that much in the women's game, a lot of recent slams have seen outsiders either reach or even win slam finals.

Krejčíková was a doubles specialist for years, not playing much singles at all. Even as a junior, she reached the doubles finals in all four slams in 2013, winning the last 3 with Siniakova. She's really only developed as a singles player in the last year, and of course COVID-19 meant she didn't play much in 2020. This was her first Wimbledon in singles, the upcoming US Open will also be her first in singles there. She's also got a very creative game style, very different to most of the women on tour, and she uses it to full effect.

In comparison: I wouldn't say Tomljanovic is a journeywoman, but to be brutally honest there's nothing really special about her in either her game style or achievements. For a long time, the only things of note about her were her boyfriends (first Kyrgios, now Berrettini), and her switching allegiances from Croatia to Australia. In over a decade, she's yet to do anything "special" that would mark her out as a potential slam winner. She doesn't strike me as a Bartoli or Pennetta, both of whom won their slam almost at the end of their careers. Of course, I could be eating my words come this evening, but I doubt it

Almost all the "surprise" slam winners in the past few years had indicated their potential beforehand, and then backed it up afterwards in some shape or form. Swiatek (still young) and Krejčíková (late developer in singles) had shown the least potential, but still more than Tomljanovic in all her time on tour. Swiatek is already beginning to back up her slam win. Krejčíková obviously needs more time, although R4 at Wimbledon (losing to world #1 and top seed Barty) isn't a bad start.

Rob2D

klr87 wrote: »

Her "live" ranking (including the Wimbledon points) is 175, and anyone up to 230 or 240 will usually get into qualification.

So she will certainly make it, even if she doesn't play again in the few weeks between now and the cut-off date for qualification, 4 weeks before the main event starts. She has no points to defend in that time, so she can't go down more than a few places at the very worst.

Another bonus is that she's now likely to get wildcard invites into all sorts of small tournaments, which would be ideal at this stage of her development.

Exactly. She can easily get a few more matches in now through invites and prepare for New York.

someyoke

someyoke wrote: »

Fed-hards, fedtards, fedheads, fed fan boys. All glasso labels for Federer fans. The only one
consistently driving narrative of djok annoying fed fans on this thread is you.are you out of your early teens yet? Childish beyond belief. You can be a fed supporter and admire djok too. But the majority of fed supporters like him cause he's the most gifted player to watch and greatest entertainer. Djok could have 50 grand slams and that wouldn't change.

I'm simply recognising those bitter Fed-hards who openly just can't handle Djokovic winning and wish him to lose at all costs!

Absolute rubbish claiming they are not out there in spades.

It's openly displayed on this very forum

Nevermind the complete hypocrisy also for what one player can or cannot do.

Djokovic goes for a piss during a match and he's the devil incarnate (totally ignoring Fed's frequent potty visits)

Federer just gives up in the middle of an actual Grand Slam tournament and sure he's grand!

B2021M

Rob2D wrote: »

Exactly. She can easily get a few more matches in now through invites and prepare for New York.

Did she feature in juniors or miss out due to covid and reduced competition at that level?

fryup

got a soft spot for Ons Jabeur she's as tough as nails (and looks it) and coming from a islamic country where women in sports is probably frowned upon..so well done her

fryup

fryup wrote: »

got a soft spot for Ons Jabeur she's as tough as nails (and looks it) and coming from a islamic country where women in sports is probably frowned upon..so well done her

certainly to be commended and is already a role model for girls trying to get into sport in the Islamic countries where participation historically has not been encouraged at all in some of them, quite the opposite in particular cases

Rob2D

Tunisia is actually fairly alright AFAIK.

Joe_ Public

fryup wrote: »

got a soft spot for Ons Jabeur she's as tough as nails (and looks it) and coming from a islamic country where women in sports is probably frowned upon..so well done her

She's from Tunisia which has a fairly admirable history of female representation at the olympics so I'm inclined to believe she's probably not frowned upon at all. More likely a national icon imho.

Joe_ Public

Joe_ Public wrote: »

She's from Tunisia which has a fairly admirable history of female representation at the olympics so I'm inclined to believe she's probably not frowned upon at all. More likely a national icon imho.

her appeal is recognised far beyond Tunisia into the countries which are far less progressive in terms of female sport participation

that's what makes her significant

Joe_ Public

glasso wrote: »

her appeal is recognised far beyond Tunisia into the countries which are far less progressive in terms of female sport participation

that's what makes her significant

Yeah. Who's denying that? Maybe even some kids in Ireland might see a player from subech a poor country with almost no major tennis tradition behind it (not forgetting Malek Jaziri who came before her) and think why not me too?

Joe_ Public

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Yeah. Who's denying that? Maybe even some kids in Ireland might see a player from subech a poor country with almost no major tennis tradition behind it (not forgetting Malek Jaziri who came before her) and think why not me too?

Well there was focusing on Tunisia just above whereas obviously the bigger picture here is the long-time discouragement if not suppression of female participation of sport in many Islamic countries

Malek Jaziri is a guy

He is / was not really going to be an inspiration for girls in say Saudi Arabia to any remotely comparable extent as Jabeur

Joe_ Public

glasso wrote: »

Well there was focusing on Tunisia just above whereas obviously the bigger picture here is the long-time discouragement if not suppression of female participation of sport in many Islamic countries

Malek Jaziri is a guy

He is / was not really going to be an inspiration for girls in say Saudi Arabia to any remotely comparable extent as Jabeur

Malek is a guy. With a name like that, I'd never have guessed. Malek breaking the top 100 in the atp might, just might have been a source of inspiration for ons jabeur. In fact, I'm sure she has said as much on several occasions. That's what creating a tradition is all about.

I'm all for encouraging female participation in sport in every sport and every culture. Including our own which still has room for improvement too, but that's another story.

dinorebel

glasso wrote: »

Well there was focusing on Tunisia just above whereas obviously the bigger picture here is the long-time discouragement if not suppression of female participation of sport in many Islamic countries

Malek Jaziri is a guy

He is / was not really going to be an inspiration for girls in say Saudi Arabia to any remotely comparable extent as Jabeur

Not a chance that women's tennis will be shown in Saudi Arabia with all that decadent flesh on show.

chicorytip

klr87 wrote: »

I don't think it really helps Tomljanovic that this evening's match finished quickly. The gulf in class between Barty and her is huge. In over a decade on the tour, she has yet to win a title: She's lost 4 finals, all at International (aka WTA 250) level, equivalent to ATP 250 for the men. She has only once previously been past the 2nd round of a slam (4th round of the French in 2014), and only just managed to crack the top 40 in the rankings at her peak. She's had injury troubles, but so have many players around that long.

I agree that Kerber - Muchova and Jabeur - Sabalenka are the pick of the women's matches tomorrow, and also that it's about time Pliskova went deep here. I've watched some of Golubic, and her game seems suited to grass.

She (Tomljanovic) is rather easy on the eye irrespective of her level of ability. Hope she wins today!!

dinorebel

dinorebel wrote: »

Not a chance that women's tennis will be shown in Saudi Arabia with all that decadent flesh on show.

not even Saudi Arabia blocks youtube

plus she has already won Arab woman of the year in the sport category in 2019 so she would already be well-known

Joe_ Public

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Malek is a guy. With a name like that, I'd never have guessed. Malek breaking the top 100 in the atp might, just might have been a source of inspiration for ons jabeur. In fact, I'm sure she has said as much on several occasions. That's what creating a tradition is all about.

I'm all for encouraging female participation in sport in every sport and every culture. Including our own which still has room for improvement too, but that's another story.

might as well go back to Hicham Arazi and Younes El Aynaoui (five titles and 14th in the world) and achieved far more than yer man Male-k

can't believe that you left out Selima Sfar the first Arab women, also from Tunisia to break the top 100!

Jabeur had possibly heard of her.

Joe_ Public

glasso wrote: »

can't believe that you left out Selima Sfar the first Arab women, also from Tunisia to break the top 100!

Jabeur had possibly heard of her.

Yeah sure, very significant too I'm certain. Good spot.

HeidiHeidi

Another skirt tucked up the knickers.... its this some new fashion trend i haven't heard about??

It certainly isn't helping her tennis..... Pliskovic is on a roll here, seems she can do no wrong. And Golubic can do no right.

Joe_ Public

Pliskova second serve is better than Golubic first. Not going to win many cheap points averaging 80mph or thereabouts on your first serve.

HeidiHeidi

That backhand though......

Rob2D

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Another skirt tucked up the knickers.... its this some new fashion trend i haven't heard about??

Yeah I was wondering what that's all about. Iga does it too.

HeidiHeidi

Rob2D wrote: »

Yeah I was wondering what that's all about. Iga does it too.

It's all Asics gear..... maybe a condition of sponsorship?!

klr87

That was the best Pliskova has played in ages. After the collapse in the Rome final, and other early defeats since then, it's a real turnaround. She has been broken 3 times in 5 matches so far, not a set dropped.

Medvedev out to Hurkacz, so Khachanov is the only one of the big 3 Russian men through to the quarters.

HeidiHeidi

Switched over, delighted to hear Anabel Croft commentating on the Jabeur match, I think she's easily the best, and so easy to listen to..... but then they cut to Tracy Austin

klr87

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Switched over, delighted to hear Anabel Croft commentating on the Jabeur match, I think she's easily the best, and so easy to listen to..... but then they cut to Tracy Austin

They don't use Croft much on the big matches, despite all her knowledge. There's a clear pecking order on the BBC in terms of both the main and co-commentary slots.

HeidiHeidi

How can you be No 2 seed, and never have been into a quarter final??

Memories of Woszniaki being No 1 without ever having won a slam.

Truly all this ranking and seeding malarkey is truly part of the dark arts!!

HeidiHeidi

klr87 wrote: »

They don't use Croft much on the big matches, despite all her knowledge. There's a clear pecking order on the BBC in terms of both the main and co-commentary slots.

Yes, I realised she was doing the warm up and filler bits - such a shame!

Tracy Austin is knowledgeable and good, but I find her very hard to listen to.

klr87

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

How can you be No 2 seed, and never have been into a quarter final??

Memories of Woszniaki being No 1 without ever having won a slam.

Truly all this ranking and seeding malarkey is truly part of the dark arts!!

If Osaka and Halep were here, she'd only be #4 seed. That said, she has won Madrid this year (WTA 1000 event) and also a mid-ranking event in Dubai, and another in the Czech Republic last autumn that's still part of her ranking.



Don't get me started on Wozniacki :rolleyes:

HeidiHeidi

Hoping Jabeur can hold firm here.....

Joe_ Public

klr87 wrote: »

If Osaka and Halep were here, she'd only be #4 seed. That said, she has won Madrid this year (WTA 1000 event) and also a mid-ranking event in Dubai, and another in the Czech Republic last autumn that's still part of her ranking.



Don't get me started on Wozniacki :rolleyes:

Read a stat somewhere that Sabalenka has a near 33% success rate in wta tournaments entered since 2019 which is pretty impressive. As important as they are, it's not all completely about the slams.

Rjd2

Maybe been a total outsider this year has helped Pliskova. , Golubic dealt with very easily.

HeidiHeidi

Ah ****e

Jabeur has the break back

power winning over variety in this match so far but can Jabeur make a second set of it now?

HeidiHeidi

glasso wrote: »

Jabeur has the break back

power winning over variety in this match so far but can Jabeur make a second set of it now?

She's not getting much chance to use her variety!! But when she does, it's very effective.

Had a quick glance during a break at the Kerber match - if Sabalenka wins this, she'll absolutely MURDER her :eek:

iamwhoiam

The slow hand clap at every single challenge is so rude and annoying

yerwanthere123

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

She's not getting much chance to use her variety!! But when she does, it's very effective.

Had a quick glance during a break at the Kerber match - if Sabalenka wins this, she'll absolutely MURDER her :eek:

Wouldn't say that tbh, Kerber can absorb a lot of power and return it with interest. Also, she leads their h2h 1-0.

Joe_ Public

Drop shot is working. Surprised not even more of it.