Paris, ATP 1000

[stroke]

Well this has turned out to be quite the match.. Holger steps up to Novak in the 2nd set tiebreaker, and I must say it was nice to see someone do that. On to the 3rd set..

[jimlosaltos]

Well this has turned out to be quite the match.. Holger steps up to Novak in the 2nd set tiebreaker, and I must say it was nice to see someone do that. On to the 3rd set..

Djokovic lost a tie break! Surely, the apocalypse is nigh!

[jimlosaltos]

ATP: "Grigor Dimitrov advanced to his second ATP Masters 1000 final and first since 2017 on Saturday when he clawed past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Bulgarian is chasing his first tour-level trophy since 2017, when he won the Nitto ATP Finalstrophy.

~~~

And, of course, he won match point with a DTL single-handed backhand beauty <g>

[jimlosaltos]

Well, that's interesting. Rublev won the first set, seemed to have the edge so, of course, Djokovic somehow takes a tiebreak and you expect him to run away with the third.

After a long "restroom break", this "The physio has started a medical evaluation on Novak Djokovic."

Ahh, after a lot of ball bouncing, a bathroom break, a medical time out -- then Djokovic serves three firsts with two aces and wins the first game of the decisive set at love. Now, Rublev has to wake back up and get his momentum back.

[stroke]

Well, that's interesting. Rublev won the first set, seemed to have the edge so, of course, Djokovic somehow takes a tiebreak and you expect him to run away with the third.

After a long "restroom break", this "The physio has started a medical evaluation on Novak Djokovic."

Ahh, after a lot of ball bouncing, a bathroom break, a medical time out -- then Djokovic serves three firsts with two aces and wins the first game of the decisive set at love. Now, Rublev has to wake back up and get his momentum back.

I like Novak and what he has accomplished, particularly crashing the Roger Rafael party, but that "restroom break" and medical physio nonsense just smells. Such a bad look.

[stroke]

More on Novak and his "physio" nonsense. I still think tge medical timeouts need to just be completely done away with. If a player cannot play, they can just retire.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/atp-tennis-news-whopping-thirteen-minute-interruption-as-novak-djokovics-typical-habit-turns-andrey-rublev-helpless-at-paris-masters/

[jimlosaltos]

Worked again
Game Set and Match Novak Djokovic 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5 .

[stotty]

More on Novak and his "physio" nonsense. I still think tge medical timeouts need to just be completely done away with. If a player cannot play, they can just retire.

https://www.essentiallysports.com/at...paris-masters/

It would have been funny had Rublev opted to take an MTO immediately after Novak had finished his. I am still waiting for a player to pull that option out of the bag. That would probably stop play for a total of 25 minutes.

I would do away with MTOs, physios, toilet breaks, and towelling down between points. These things at times have run the game down into the ground.

[stotty]

As one tennis commentator put it:

Novak Djokovic is down a set and looks halfway dead so I fully predict him to win this match.

[jimlosaltos]

Cue Andy Roddick:

Roddick: Isn't it both of them? And a back and a hip?

Reporter: And when he said there are too many to count ...

Roddick: And a cramp.

Reporter: Do you get a sense right now that he is ...

Roddick: Bird flu.

Reporter: A lot of things. Beijing hangover. He's got a pretty long list of illness.

Roddick: Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold.

[jimlosaltos]

Djokovic wins his 40th Master's shield over Grigor in straight sets, making him undefeated since Carlos Alcraz beat him at Wimbledon -- although that streak comprises only 18 matches.

His one comment that stood out to me: "I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”

[stroke]

Djokovic wins his 40th Master's shield over Grigor in straight sets, making him undefeated since Carlos Alcraz beat him at Wimbledon -- although that streak comprises only 18 matches.

His one comment that stood out to me: "I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”

He certainly has no issue with being the big 1 instead of the 3. It is most unusual for a sport to not keep raising the bar as for the level it is at, but tennis came to the pinnacle it seems with the 3. Michael Jordan did the same for basketball. From Laver to Connors/Borg/McEnroe/Lendl/Sampras and Agassi to Federer,Nadal,Djokovic. The buck stops here it seems.

[stotty]

He certainly has no issue with being the big 1 instead of the 3. It is most unusual for a sport to not keep raising the bar as for the level it is at, but tennis came to the pinnacle it seems with the 3. Michael Jordan did the same for basketball. From Laver to Connors/Borg/McEnroe/Lendl/Sampras and Agassi to Federer,Nadal,Djokovic. The buck stops here it seems.

You could well be right. I didn't watch the final as it was a foregone conclusion since Dimi never beats Novak. I just wonder where the game goes from here. My concern is that it will become a watered down and much lesser version of what went before.

[jimlosaltos]

You could well be right. I didn't watch the final as it was a foregone conclusion since Dimi never beats Novak. I just wonder where the game goes from here. My concern is that it will become a watered down and much lesser version of what went before.

Good questions from both of you.

One issue that is unclear (to me, anyway) and we should get some clarity on over time, is how much of the Big 3's dominance was due to their excellence and how much due to tennis bureaucracy homogenizing the sport. Prior greats could not have won as frequently because the playing conditions had such variety, and the greater court speed coupled with smaller rackets gave offensive players more of a chance to upset to higher ranked player than they do today.

The Big 3 would have been great in any era BUT I seriously doubt they could have won a large fraction of the titles they did, when going from playing a clay court specialist on dirt to a grass specialist at Wimbledon weeks later, etc. while altering their playing style.

Also, the moved to larger rackets and co-poly used on glacially slow courts made returning serve much easier, enabling grinder ball, clay court play to be used everywhere, so players don't have to change tactics and style of play from week to week. Again, that reduces upsets.

All that helps keep the top-ranked players around on finals weekend to fill the seats and up TV ratings (feeble as the are).

Can't prove it. But that's my view.

[stroke]

You could well be right. I didn't watch the final as it was a foregone conclusion since Dimi never beats Novak. I just wonder where the game goes from here. My concern is that it will become a watered down and much lesser version of what went before.

The market will determine where it goes. The crowds in Paris were huge. Right now, I see purses continuing to go up, and the prettiest girlfriends in sports. Novak surely can't win but another 2 or 3 Majors at most. Novak should have lost to Rublev. That break between 2nd and 3rd set was gross. Rublev is a nice guy and was clearly hopelessly perturbed, as he should have been. Tennis really needs to get a handle on the primadonna stuff.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/91pf6KgoHMA2HK2R7