2022 In Between Grand Slam Thread

josip

Only Wimbledon left now for Novak Nakamura.

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/no-vaccine-no-french-open-djokovic-says-french-sports-ministry-2022-01-17/

redlad12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118478981#Comment_118478981

I didn't see it today but jaysis a 3 set loss to hanfmann is some choke.

josip

So does today mean that Medvedev won't go to #1 on Feb 14?

yerwanthere123

Juan Martín Del Potro returns with a wildcard into the Argentina Open this week. Also has a wildcard into the Rio Open next week.. which he might not even play as he said he'll likely retire in Argentina. Inevitable really I guess, but so sad the way his career panned out. Great he nabbed a slam while he was able to though.

Thiem was also supposed to be making a comeback in Argentina but withdrew due to a hurt hand. Will now be returning at Indian Wells instead, all going well. I really hope Thiem does make a full comeback, the tour is a worse place without him.

Stanislas Wawrinka is another player on the comeback trail, has posted training videos on Instagram. I'm not entirely sure what he's got left to give to the game at his age, but it'd be nice to see him back all the same.

Back on the tour, I see Zverev is slumming it in Montpellier this week. Not sure why he's there, presumably got a nice appearance fee, but he's in the final tomorrow so I guess it's been somewhat worth his time. If Zverev wants to continue winning these titles and let the big boys fight it out for the grand slams then that's ok with me 😎

Bizarrely no WTA tournaments were held this week, which may not even be a bad thing. Tournaments the week after a grand slam are kind of a pointless exercise with all the usual withdrawals.

yerwanthere123

Meanwhile, there's this

https://twitter.com/NoleLondon/status/1489169787263594498

Well I suppose he has to speak about it some time, but not sure what he can say that would in any way help his case.

poppy37

Juan Martin Del Potro was my favourite player so it’s a sad moment. He has tried so hard to come back but his body has had enough. His forehand in full flight was a thing of beauty. Hopefully he has a happy pain free retirement.

MisterAnarchy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590824#Comment_118590824

He was a very exciting player, who played a very aggressive brand of tennis.

On his day he could blow anyone away with his powerful forehand.

He'd have won many more Grand Slams but for injury and the courts being slowed down.

Girly Gal

Del potro had the potential to win a few more slams and when fit was one of the few players who could really mix it with the big 3 in their prime. A real shame his career was totally ruined by constant injury issues.

whiterebel

Sad to see Del Potro last night. Although it was somewhat tempered by Gabriela Sabatini being present (heart fluttering like a 16 year old)

I hope Murray has the hip well greased for tonight, Bublik will surely drop shot and underarm serve him to death.

whiterebel

FAA has his 8th attempt to register a title today. Tough ask against Tsitsipas today, who is looking for his first 500 title, I believe.

Brooksby v Opelka in Dallas after Reilly's marathon tiebreak against Isner.

yerwanthere123

Hey everyone, I'm sure some of ye have already seen the thread at this stage, but if not; I am now a racquet sports moderator. I aim to be fair and objective as a mod, however as the place has generally been a bit of a wild west in recent times the forum charter will now actually be applied. There will also be a zero tolerance policy on drug taking allegations, and anyone who ignores this will likely be facing a ban from the forum.

Also please keep in mind that this is a tennis thread, for both WTA and ATP, so conversation on both is welcomed. We don't all have to be singing from the same hymn sheet, but keep it civil, keep it fun, don't be an eejit and you'll be grand!

yerwanthere123

Few titbits of news from the last few days..

Murray not playing clay this year, said it's previously made some of his past issues worse.

News story emerged in Hungarian press this week alleging that several staff and players have been issued with fake covid certificates in order to compete and play abroad. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest tbh, I'd say there's probably a fair few travelling on fake certificates.

Shuai Peng has made another reappearance, this time a very controlled 'interview' with L'Equipe newspaper. She was supervised throughout and the questions had to be submitted in advance.

Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, isn't bothering her arse with the middle-Eastern swing and instead plans on playing Indian Wells next. Bit of a bold move from a player now ranked in the 80's and facing an exit from the top 100 if she doesn't play well in March.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624123#Comment_118624123

Actually his 9th! He's won a set for the first time ever and is a double break up in the second, so looking good to finally break his duck.

klr87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625342#Comment_118625342

And 9th time lucky it is, and does he look happy. Not just a monkey off his back, but an 800 lb. Silverback Gorilla.

klr87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118624123#Comment_118624123

I didn't watch that match in Dallas, as I expected an all-tie break affair with few or no break points (none at all as it turned out). The three great certainties in life: death, taxes, and John Isner in interminably long tie breaks/sets/matches.😄

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118625383#Comment_118625383

Great result, delighted for him. Anymore losses and it'd become a huge mental hurdle going forward.

whiterebel

Delighted for FAA. Nice to put that losing streak to bed.

Itssoeasy

Interesting final in St. Petersburg between Maria Sakkari and Annet Kontaveit in which Kontaveit was 5-2 up in the first set and sakkari won 7-5, Kontaveit won the second set 7-6, and sakkari was up 5-2 in the third and it’s now 5-4.

poppy37

Sakkari really needs a few sessions with a sports psychologist. A really poor loose game when serving for the match. It’s a good final though the crowd are really getting their money’s worth.

Itssoeasy

It’s now 6-5 to Kontaveit.

Itssoeasy

Kontaveit wins in three sets, sakkari was 5-2 up and two points away from winning.

klr87

Kontaveit closes it out 7-5. She always had a chance even when 2-5 down, given Sakkari's record in closing out matches (and poor finals record).

Kontaveit now has 6 titles, 5 of them since last summer. Sakkari is still stuck on one. Also, that's 20 wins in a row indoors for Kontaveit (4 title runs).

yerwanthere123

Nothing against Sakkari, but I can't really get invested in her as a player. One small title won in 2019 is a pretty poor haul for a top ten player.

Pretty loaded WTA field in Dubai this week, Kenin-Ostapenko is an interesting first round match. At least one of them will win! 🤣 Raducanu not playing until next week, and has instead opted to play Guadalajara instead of against a stronger field in Doha, which is a pretty smart move imo.

Four ATP tournaments taking place this week, Kokkinakis-Korda is a match to watch out for in Delray Beach. Shapovalov is the top seed in Doha, this is a tournament he should really be aiming to win, Stockholm 2019 remains his sole title. Bublik in the QF's could be tricky though.

FAA is a very good tennis player but find him dull to watch tbh

His style is very competent and he has the ideal build for tennis (tall but not bulky) but would find him nowhere near as interesting to watch as say Alcaraz or even Tsitsipas who he beat down in the match

He's also quite uninteresting in interviews etc - even though it's not about the tennis it's part of the engagement

Tsitsipas has become quite the amateur philosopher indeed on twitter - funny at times

lostcat

Well, Djokovic clearly setting out his stall re vaccinations on the BBC, willing to miss future tournaments if vax is mandatory. At least that's clear, assuming he won't try (or be enabled to try) any exemption jiggery pokery in future.

Can't say I agree with his reasoning, but he is accepting that his decisions may have consequences (for him, at least) which is I assume one of the steps to self-enlightenment or that. This will hopefully turn his vax status into a sideshow rather than the main show, which would be good for tennis.

Mrcaramelchoc

Well that seems like an honest interview and a brave move by him if he does what he says in it. But **** him for all the people he probably infected while coming to this decision.

Slashermcguirk

In fairness to Djokovic, he has come out and says it as it is. I think he should get vaccinated but if he doesnt want to, I think people need to stop getting so worked up about it. I am sure there are lots of athletes the world over across all sports that are refusing to get vaccinated.

I just find it mad how people are getting so worked up over this. He has said he is fine with missing the slams this year if the requirement is to be vaccinated. I would have thought that is great news for people who cannot stand the guy, he wont be playing and it significantly increases the chances of other players winning a slam in his absence.

Regardless of peoples views of him though, I think grand slams are all the weaker without him playing. He is undoubtedly the best player in the world and has proved that not just over the past year but over the past 10 -12 years.

yerwanthere123

I don't think people have gotten worked up about him not being vaccinated per se, more so his behaviour throughout the pandemic, and then of course last month's farce in Australia. I have no real issues with him choosing not to get vaccinated, just as long as he doesn't try and skirt around the clearly defined rules like he did last month. And anyway, I can't see the vaccine travel mandates continuing into 2023, so if he hangs tough until then he probably won't face many restrictions next year. I still think when all is said and done he'll be standing alone at the top of the all time list.

Interview is on BBC1 tonight at 8.30pm, although I don't expect many revelations beyond what's already been released so far.

Slashermcguirk

He doesnt seem to have any intentions to skirt around the rules, he just said as much. To be brutally honest, he didnt skirt around the rules in Australia either. He was told what the entry requirements were, he went for an examption and he was told he could travel and it was only when the federal government realised the cock up that they back tracked. Not going to go back over all that again but I still believe if Australian authorities had done their job properly in the first place he would never have travelled to Australia in the first place.

All the Djokovic haters can now celebrate that they wont have to see him at grand slams this year. I think it will take massively from the slams because like I said before, regardless of people's opinion of the man, he is the best player in the world on a tennis court.

yerwanthere123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118635855#Comment_118635855

Well I guess it boils down to whether or not the very convenient December test result was legit or not.

He'll still be playing Wimbledon whatever happens, think all or most vaccination/isolation requirements have been scrapped there. Who knows, if the situation continues as it is then further vaccine mandates could be abolished sooner than we think. Three/six months is a long time in the covid world, I wouldn't completely rule out seeing him at either RG or the US Opens at this stage.