2022 In Between Grand Slam Thread

whiterebel · 13-06-2022 11:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119195127#Comment_119195127

It seems to be the trend that players are coached to take massive swings at the ball which is fine on hard courts, but is a major problem on grass. On clay the ball can hit a ridge, or the line, and it won't hit the racquet anywhere near where you anticipate, if you have a big swing.

13-06-2022 1:40pm

Medvedev is the most unorthodox player in the top 50 with his ungainly style of swing biomechanics

I don't think that he conforms to any coaching norms

https://youtu.be/hRydx6wunU8?t=8

gmisk · 13-06-2022 3:29pm

Very impressive win from Jack Draper at Queens over Taylor Fritz (6-3, 6-2)

poppy37 · 13-06-2022 8:54pm

Monica Puig has announced her retirement due to injury at age 28. She attempted a comeback recently after elbow and shoulder surgeries but only played two matches and didn’t complete the second one.

At least she has her Olympic gold medal, I remember she was on fire in the gold medal match and had forgotten how many top players she beat on the way, Muguruza, Kvitova and Kerber.

yerwanthere123 · 13-06-2022 9:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119198367#Comment_119198367

Surprised to see that, but tbh I didn't even really notice her slipping off the radar during her injury absence. Her Olympic win will live long in the memory, what an incredible story it was.

yerwanthere123 · 14-06-2022 3:07pm

Serena confirms she'll be playing Wimbledon, and has entered into the Eastbourne doubles draw with Ons Jabeur of all people.

This must be something of a farewell tour, if she had any notions of actually winning the tournament then she'd have tried getting a few matches under her belt first.

whiterebel · 14-06-2022 3:14pm

Tsitsipas gets 6 aces from his first 7 serves.

gmisk · 14-06-2022 7:43pm

Big surprise at Queens, Ruud knocked out by British number 7 Ryan Peniston

poppy37 · 14-06-2022 8:47pm

I wish Serena would just do the decent thing and retire at this stage. I guess it’s understandable she doesn’t want her last appearance to be leaving the court in tears after getting injured but I for one wouldn’t mind never seeing her set foot on a court again.

Wouldn't be surprised to see her and Venus getting a wild card into the doubles either.

14-06-2022 9:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119203040#Comment_119203040

Big surprise for a guy whose grass-court record includes never making it past the first round at Wimbledon?

yerwanthere123 · 14-06-2022 9:51pm

I think most would agree it's a surprise for the #5 ranked player just coming off a grand slam final appearance to lose to an #180 ranked journeyman, particularly when said journeyman has never played an ATP main draw.

14-06-2022 10:05pm

Andy Roddick was world number 1 and Top 5 for a fair while longer than Ruud and made quite a few finals and semi-finals at the AO, Wimbledon and the USO as well as winning one but equally actually has an absolutely shocking losing career record at Roland Garros (lost more matches than he won) because on clay he was about as good as Ruud is on grass (probably a bit better actually tbf to Roddick). His record at the other 3 slams would be high 3.X win to loss

That didn't stop the French having him as second seed for a couple of years and Top 5 seed for another couple of years.....

Some players are just rubbish on certain surfaces because their game doesn't suit it at all.

Ruud lost to a guy that i'd never really heard of last year at Wimbledon also in the first round.

He's ranked higher than this guy but equally a guy in his late 20's who never won anything anywhere on the ATP tour.

Ruud is only currently Top 5 because of a very very lopsided draw that worked out very kindly for him at RG where he faced an inexperienced player in the quarter finals and an old NOT-all-time-great player in Cilic who has no real record at RG over many years (first semi final). So he got a tonne of points for getting to the final there and being as relatively useful as a chocolate teapot in same final. Ruud is primarily a clay-court grinder with a backhand as-it-is that is never going to win a slam.

Surfaces matter, and grass more so than any other as it's such a short season to gain experience, the bounce is completely different to adapt to and where Ruud's last grass match was last year in the first-round of Wimbledon almost a full year ago.

So, "big surprise" -> No.

yerwanthere123 · 14-06-2022 10:49pm

Riiight... and we'll get a similarly breathless defence of a top 5 wta player who loses to someone outside the top 180 in the coming weeks, yes?

14-06-2022 10:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119204151#Comment_119204151

The WTA has been a massive joke for a long time in terms of consistency - absolutely no change there on the horizon.

1 Top 10 seed making the second week of a grand slam (RG) - you couldn't paint a clearer picture.

6 of the Top 8 seeds on the men's side in the 1/4 finals (albeit with the "French" seedings and draw being totally lop-sided between the 2 halves)

1 consistent player makes a tour? - eh NO!

Here's a quote from Ruud from Miami this year btw

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“I think grass is for golf players,” Ruud said after reaching his first Masters 1000 final. “My preparation for Wimbledon is pretty much just playing golf, you know, before the tournament, because I feel more comfortable on the golf course than the tennis courts on grass for now. But let's see if it can change.”

yerwanthere123 · 14-06-2022 11:02pm

He later clarified that that was a joke, although some would argue the clarification wasn't needed.

14-06-2022 11:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119204220#Comment_119204220

A joke is Ruud's record on grass and he was merely acknowledging that in a light-hearted manner!

I feel more comfortable on the golf course than the tennis courts on grass for now.

That's where he verged into reality and out of the joke.

Reminiscent of Rios when he said that "Grass is for cows!"

As for the WTA when you have an actual female Grand Slam Tournament director (Amelie Mauresmo) publicly saying that the WTA is sh1t (euphemism-speak of "less compelling") then what more is to be said really?!

15-06-2022 12:47pm

Tim van Rijthoven gets a wildcard for Wimbledon.

He has some grass game but how will he do against players once they have had more practice and matches on the surface?

Do we have an ATP Raducanu on our hands here?

No

This tipster was right on the money yesterday on Ruud calling it in advance vs a player who has been playing on grass for weeks already vs one with a terrible record on the surface and no practice for adapting to the most jarring surface transition of the year. (as well as the RG comedown)

There are several question marks over Ruud's prospects in London this week: experience on and suitability to the surface, physical and emotional fatigue after the French, and the switching of surfaces from clay to grass.

So far, Ruud is 2-4 win/loss on grass, so there are obvious question marks over whether this predominantly clay courter can adapt to a different style of play and the sheer speed that the ball is coming at him.

His big efforts in the last weeks of the clay season, combined with the adrenaline high of making a maiden major final and in it facing the King of Clay on Chatrier are likely to have taken their toll and I wonder how much grass practice he's done?

And Peniston has been playing on grass - and playing well - the last few weeks, beating the likes of Jack Draper, Jiri Vesely and Adrian Mannarino, so he's in great touch on the surface and will be determined to make the use of the wild card he's been given this week.

HeidiHeidi · 15-06-2022 4:29pm

Watching a bit of Queen's for the first time here - I really hoped that that stupid post-match winner interview was just a Slam thing - but no, here as well. 3 meaningless, formulaic questions that tell you nothing and must irritate the players no end.

Think they said that the 6 of the the top 8 seeds are gone after the first round.

15-06-2022 5:09pm

Djokovic, Alcaraz and Nadal who will be the top 3 favourites for Wimbledon pre-draw aren't even bothering playing at all this week.

Fields split between Queen's and Halle.

Then you have the Russians (none of whom are any good on grass really anyways) won't be there either but are playing this week.

In advance of seeding the bookies show the actual contenders for Wimbledon. (Ruud not even in the Top 15)

Hurk would also make the list below Kyrgios (even though he may well get further than Kyrgios given the Kyrgios meltdown factor)

And Shapovalov has a chance also but he's on a poor run.

Outside those 10 there's Murray but he would probably burn out with the hip before making a final even if he went on an epic run.

I see that Wimbledon have gotten rid of their old seeding formula since 2021 and now are just going from ATP also which is a pretty dumb move but the ATP pressured them to do so.

https://imgur.com/dH7Ty8z

HeidiHeidi · 15-06-2022 7:28pm

In all my years of tennis watching i don't think I've ever actually watched Queens.... it's like watching tennis shoehorned into someone's (very posh) front garden!

Kind of claustrophobic.

15-06-2022 7:38pm

Have never watched Queen's either tbh

Never seemed in any way consequential and for the last 10 years or more many or most of the "big guns" haven't bothered playing there

It's just a warmer-upper to Wimbledon and only a 500

There is talk of creating a Masters 1000 on grass

A friend of a someone I know is a member there at the Queen's Club - very nice setup in general and for the event apparently and if you do go much more likely to get up close to the the players in an and around the area compared to something like Wimbledon.

HeidiHeidi · 15-06-2022 7:44pm

Yeah, was just thinking that - in the absence of getting tickets to Wimbledon somehow, which seems unlikely without another mortgage, I'd say that would be a very nice event to attend.

dominatinMC · 15-06-2022 11:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119208060#Comment_119208060

Maybe it's the BBC hype factor, but I've always thought of Queens as the biggest grass court tournament, bar Wimbledon, even if it is only a 500. Feels like a mini Wimbledon to me, with it being geographically and chronologically so close to SW19. As for "big guns", Murray used dominate there for years, and Nadal and Djokovic used to play there for a few years, albeit when they were much younger (think I recall a memorable final in 08). In any event, there is no grass tournament apart from Wimbledon in which all the big players compete, I would argue. Hence, the need for a grass M1000 - which has been criminally neglected so far.

16-06-2022 12:38am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119209089#Comment_119209089

I was going to say that Murray frequently played it (even when "the big 4" was a thing) but he was obliged to as "British" really

I'd argue that Halle has the better field of grass court players and other ranked players there this year over Queens with FAA, Hurk and Kyrgios (knocked out Tsitsipas)

Medvedev is there also.

16-06-2022 1:24am

some great hitting from both lads in fairness and in particular some real "slaps" from Kyrgios

Stef with his new "shorn" look

we know what Kyrgios inevitably eventually degenerates into but still - good hits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV_Xd5LfeY8

gmisk · 16-06-2022 5:01pm

I have watched the first set of the Peniston match against Cerundolo.

Talk about one way traffic 6-0.

Peniston has been solid but Cerundolo looks totally uninterested so far.

gmisk · 16-06-2022 6:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119211992#Comment_119211992

Cerundolo now a break up in the third set. Still a decent match

gmisk · 16-06-2022 8:12pm

Peniston won last 4 games and into quarter finals enjoyable match

gmisk · 17-06-2022 5:23pm

Peniston knocked out at Queens by Krajinovic in 3 sets.

Frustrating the match was there for him lots of missed break points

18-06-2022 12:38am

Kyrgios could do no wrong today it seems in Halle - usually this occurs before he completely implodes!

Hurk took out FAA in two breakers so he faces the Tasmanian Toddler next (he's actually from Canberra but not so so far away and the alliteration seems apt)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kt5iY_Lx-o

2022 In Between Grand Slam Thread

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