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I will say db that I certainly expect Stef to be closer to Grigor's Grand Slam tally(and Master's 1000 tally for that matter) at the conclusion of his career than Roger's.
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Last edited by stroke; 10-21-2020, 02:08 AM. -
The Grand Slam that Wasn't...the 2020 French Open Finals
Originally posted by don_budge View Post
It's a show about nothing. The 2020 French Open at Roland Garros. First of all the tournament is sans Roger Federer and there hasn't been a tennis tournament that is a tournament without Roger Federer in the ten plus years that I have been participating on this forum. For years I started threads of any tournament that Roger was playing in because rest assured any tournament that was graced by his presence was by definition a tournament. I'm afraid to inform you...this is fake tennis. It's a tournament about nothing. There will be only one brief moment of redemption if there is to any at all and that would be a Novak Djokovic versus Rafael Nadal final in which Djokovic prevails. Otherwise...this ship has sunk.
You can just tell by so many of the matches that are or have been played where you don't recognise one of the players or either of them. Djokovic vs. Galan in the round of sixteen? Never even heard of Galan. Cristian Garin versus Karen Khachanov? Never heard of Garin until a couple of weeks ago when I spotted him at the Italian Open. Daniel Altmaier and Matteo Berrettini? Never heard of Altmaier and worse yet the camera work at this Open is so shoddy it was hard to get a look at his serve motion because each and every serve was taken in three parts...from different angles. What crap. It's a fake tournament. Fake tennis.
It goes on and on. While normally play in the first four rounds is generally referred to as foreplay these days, now the foreplay extends into the later rounds...all of the way to the finals it seems. While watching over the Siberian Huskies for the past week I have caught bits and pieces of many a match and not one actually got my interest. No better example that Dominic Thiem and another unknown to me...the little French boy. Real slop if you ask me. No amount of clever by the French fellow would have induced me to sit through this snooze fest. Roger would never let that happen. I don't think I ever saw him participate in a snooze fest. Never. He had some bad losses but the interesting thing about Roger is even if he is playing his absolute worst he is worth watching. Watching him in defeat one can still take something away from the time spent watching. The same cannot be said for anything I have seen so far.
Snooze fest after snooze fest. How about Jannik Sinner against Alexander Zverev? Nope...just more slop. Sinner is one of the "Next Gen" stars that the ATP will have you believe that is going to take this game over in the near future. If that is so...the writing is on the wall. It is unwatchable. I watched a bit of Sebastian Korda versus the evil Fafa Nadal and the only thing I can say is he had some good ideas but he didn't have the wherewithal to make it happen. He didn't have the balls. Nadal just bullied him around the court much as he does the rest of the crew...those poor ball kids. So there is just one match left.
Stefanos Tsitsipas versus Grigor Dimitrov. Two splendid backhands. One handed ala Roger Federer. Grigor having shed his "Baby Fed" moniker. Maybe he should have clung to it. No sooner did he shed it he went straight in to the mulch pile of marginal tennis professionals...of which there is certainly no shortage of these days. The French Open is traditionally the most boring of all the majors. Best of five sets of snooze fests. I happened to be in Paris a few years ago and went to Roland Garros one day...it was a very, very expensive day by the way. My coffee tab was big that day...five or six cup of the strong French brew just trying to stay alive to see what was going on. I remember Novak Djokovic versus Milos Raonic...like watching paint dry. Like watching grass grow. I cannot blame the Husky girls. But I am getting an eyeful here and only because of this thing has me somewhat captive. You guys haven't watched a single match start to finish...play a hunch win a bunch. I'd bet on it. This is the post Roger Federer age of tennis that I have been warning of for several years now.
Strange days. Strange days indeed. A Grand Slam tennis tournament about nothing and nobodies. Just look at the draw sheet. Every picture tells a story...doesn't it.
"Paris was a place you could hide away, if you felt you didn't fit in
French police wouldn't give me no peace, they claimed I was a nasty person
Down along the left bank, minding my own
Was knocked down by a human stampede
Got arrested for inciting a peaceful riot, when all I wanted was a cup of tea
I was accused...I moved on."
The 2020 French Open at Roland Garros was all in all...a tournament about nothing. It was a tournament that was a snoozed fest from start to finish and it never deviated from that course to the very end. It had a slim chance of some redemption when it got the final that it needed but unfortunately for whatever reason...Novak Djokovic was a no-show. Tennis is a game about performance. Life is much the same. It is about getting up in the morning and doing what needs to be done and for some unknown reason Novak failed to do this. His performance was beyond abysmal for his standards and so far it remains a mystery. There were inklings early on when Pablo Caruno Busta exposed some initial signs of trouble in the Djokovic game. Novak further verified the magnitude when he took two sets longer than necessary to vanquish Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals. By the time he got to Nadal it was as if he had nothing more to give and as arturohernandez noticed in the very first game of the match Novak deviated from the tactics that had him beating Nadal rather routinely in the recent past and he tried to dink him to death. What the hell was that? It was nothing...that is what that was. It was a show about nothing.Originally posted by abigailbrown View Post
Novak never got his legs under him during this final which in itself is a mystery. Nadal was Nadal. He never changes and he is the singularly the biggest jerk/idiot to ever play this game. There has never been one player in the history of the game to take so much time to put the damn ball in play. It starts with that but it doesn't end there. His fiddling with the towels and his bottles. All of the other insanities in his repertoire...it goes on and on. Purely nauseating. Disgusting. It is unwatchable. The worst part about it is he believes in his own insanity and doesn't have the awareness to see himself for the stupid jerk he is. Self absorbed. He just soaks himself up. Once he gets that microphone in his hand it all comes out. Pure narcissism. Absolutely disgusting.
A tournament about nothing. It didn't start well when you don't see Roger Federer's name in the draw sheet. In fact you can just kiss it goodbye at that point. You can rave and drool over the "swashbuckling" Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas all that you care to but the reality is he is just another version of Grigor Dimitrov at this point. Grigor virtually copied the Federer game and was once known as "Baby Fed" and Stefanos is just the same. So far. Like a Roger Federer lite. Novak should have dispatched him in straight routine sets. It was just nothing.
abigailbrown said it best. Such an empty post. Pure emotion without a little tiny drivel of logic or substance in it. Novak is still her favorite. Good luck with that. It's a good thing that she doesn't know any better. It's better not to know. You can just plead ignorance. These guys are the greatest of all time? Yeah...right.Comment
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"abigailbrown said it best. Such an empty post. Pure emotion without a little tiny drivel of logic or substance in it. Novak is still her favorite. Good luck with that. It's a good thing that she doesn't know any better. It's better not to know. You can just plead ignorance. These guys are the greatest of all time? Yeah...right."
Poor abigailbrown. She doesn't know what she is missing. It is a shame to live a life with your head buried in the sand. But she isn't alone. Keep an eye on the events unfolding before our very eyes. What Does It Mean? Never mind...you don't want to know.
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I am watching this out of nowhere Antwerp Masters 250 match Khachanov vs Evans. Khachanov won the 1st set rather routine. Evans did not go away at all in the 2nd, he ramped up his intensity even more, as did Karol, and the set turned into a massive drama filled affair, which Evans eventually won in a tiebreak. Good stuff. No shot spot appeals here.Last edited by stroke; 10-23-2020, 08:09 AM.Comment
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Good match, just watched last set and a half. Was that Evans crosscourt backhand in or out at 7-7 second set tie break? Was hard to tell from TV replay, and weird not having Hawkeye. I would probably say "In", but not 100%.Originally posted by stroke View PostComment
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Packs a punch above his weight that Dan Evans. If you played him, though, you would probably want to punch the cocky sod on those nose. I bet he gets right under the skin of a lot of players.Originally posted by glacierguy View PostStottyComment
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A bit lazy stroke. This isn't the 2020 French Open...which was a show about nothing. Sort of like Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza. Start a new thread. Excellent post though. Of all the professional tennis players Daniel Evans is one of the most watchable. As a tactical player he is probably second to Roger Federer although their tactics are very similar. Evans almost seems to be more motivated to get to the net than Federer. I find Evans very likeable in this regard. I wish Stefanos Tsitsipas had just an ounce of what this guy has in terms of resilience and tenacity. Actually Stefanos has a good portion of both but he is definitely lacking in the tactical acumen which is almost the equivalent of the "resilience and tenacity" point.Originally posted by stroke View Post
I saw him play Khachanov in Rotterdam earlier in the year where he lost a tough first set as well and came back and won. He's pretty tenacious. He doesn't disappear when there's a fight. He's got a bit of the old Aussie school of thought in him. He actually fits into my teaching paradigm perfectly. Daniel Evans is a bit of an enigma to some. They don't seem to understand some of the basics of human existence. He had a bit of a tough go with the "Bolivian Marching Powder". But he beat that one too. No...the tour needs many more like this guy. Put 64 players just like him in a draw and you would have a tournament worth watching.
He knows how to bring these tall, big forehand, two hand backhand players down. Even though the game is engineered against him Evans is a guy who keeps plugging away. A player who won't take no for an answer. There are so many take aways from this guy. On a human level as well.
Carry on. Start a new thread. Laziness is not an option here on this forum!Comment
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My wife would agree about the bit lazy.Comment
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Yeah...my wife would be so put out that I suggested to do it another way.Originally posted by stroke View Post
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Ugo Hubert takes out Evans. I have to say I like Ugo's game. A left handed Frenchman with a bit of an all court game. Reminds me a bit of Henri LeCounte, one of my favorite players.Comment
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Side note, in Cologne, Alex vs Sinner. I like Sinner in this match. On another side note, I really dislike this "house band" idea that is going on during change overs. I think I would even prefer to listen to Mary Carillo do commentary.Comment
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Watching Sinner, he reminds me a lot physically and tennis technique wise of Nicholas Davydenko. So solid off both sides, great movement, and taking the ball early off both sides.Comment
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Eurosport is rebroadcasting the 2020 French Open Final. It was just as ugly and perplexing the second time around. I only spot watched the live final and I actually managed to watch three consecutive games in this repeat. Novak was in the tank. Clearly this was not the real Novak Djokovic. I have yet to hear what the problem was. But ugly is and ugly does. These two were trading a highly competitive competition within a competition seeing who could bounce the ball the most times before putting the ball in play. In the games that I was watching Novak served twice and he barely succeeded in getting a first serve in. Here's a guy who makes his living taking care of his service game and there he was lobbing in the second serve time and time again for Nadal to pounce on. It was mesmerising watching him bounce the ball for what seemed like forever. Up to twenty bounces on the first serve and an additional fifteen for the second. That's a lot of ball bouncing. What a dud. The tournament final fizzled and oddly enough it was apropos for the entire shebang. A tournament about nothing. Much like this thread which just seamlessly moved into the next tournament without breaking stride.Originally posted by don_budge View Post
The 2020 French Open at Roland Garros was all in all...a tournament about nothing. It was a tournament that was a snoozed fest from start to finish and it never deviated from that course to the very end. It had a slim chance of some redemption when it got the final that it needed but unfortunately for whatever reason...Novak Djokovic was a no-show. Tennis is a game about performance. Life is much the same. It is about getting up in the morning and doing what needs to be done and for some unknown reason Novak failed to do this. His performance was beyond abysmal for his standards and so far it remains a mystery. There were inklings early on when Pablo Caruno Busta exposed some initial signs of trouble in the Djokovic game. Novak further verified the magnitude when he took two sets longer than necessary to vanquish Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals. By the time he got to Nadal it was as if he had nothing more to give and as arturohernandez noticed in the very first game of the match Novak deviated from the tactics that had him beating Nadal rather routinely in the recent past and he tried to dink him to death. What the hell was that? It was nothing...that is what that was. It was a show about nothing.
Novak never got his legs under him during this final which in itself is a mystery. Nadal was Nadal. He never changes and he is the singularly the biggest jerk/idiot to ever play this game. There has never been one player in the history of the game to take so much time to put the damn ball in play. It starts with that but it doesn't end there. His fiddling with the towels and his bottles. All of the other insanities in his repertoire...it goes on and on. Purely nauseating. Disgusting. It is unwatchable. The worst part about it is he believes in his own insanity and doesn't have the awareness to see himself for the stupid jerk he is. Self absorbed. He just soaks himself up. Once he gets that microphone in his hand it all comes out. Pure narcissism. Absolutely disgusting.
A tournament about nothing. It didn't start well when you don't see Roger Federer's name in the draw sheet. In fact you can just kiss it goodbye at that point. You can rave and drool over the "swashbuckling" Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas all that you care to but the reality is he is just another version of Grigor Dimitrov at this point. Grigor virtually copied the Federer game and was once known as "Baby Fed" and Stefanos is just the same. So far. Like a Roger Federer lite. Novak should have dispatched him in straight routine sets. It was just nothing.
abigailbrown said it best. Such an empty post. Pure emotion without a little tiny drivel of logic or substance in it. Novak is still her favorite. Good luck with that. It's a good thing that she doesn't know any better. It's better not to know. You can just plead ignorance. These guys are the greatest of all time? Yeah...right.
Is that live music during changeovers at the Zverev/Schwartzman final? A new concept for professional tennis. A progressive idea. Rappers. How nice. It goes nicely with the "Black Lives Matter" nonsense that the ATP is endorsing. Endorsing the criminal element of the black population instead of paying respect to the black population that goes to work everyday and supports a family. Progress. Tennis metaphoring life.
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Yes, I referred to the "house band" in an earlier post. Not a fan.Originally posted by don_budge View PostComment
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