Wimbledon Championships 2022

[stotty]

Sinner up 2 sets. His stat line looks good, more winners than errors. Novak will have to produce one of his greatest comebacks to stay in the tournament.

Missed the match. I assume Sinner was returned and middling the ball like he did against Alcaraz? I will have to find the replay.

[stotty]

BG on TV about Norrie' team:

"If you are part of his team, you don't celebrate. You start to focus and think about the next match" says Brad Gilbert on ESPN of Cam Norrie and his team as they prepare for the Wimbledon semifinal against Novak Djokovic. "If you celebrate, you will be out."

Norrie is a tough cookie and as fit as they come. But he is Nadal-lite in game style and since proper Nadal cannot master Novak outside of a clay court it's doubtful Nadal-lite will be able to either.

However....never say never.

[arturohernandez]

https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/wim...04/story.shtml

Of course, Pat Cash is exactly right, not that most people in tennis, particularly Wimbledon Officials, will get it. Just pitiful. Wimbledon is an embarrassment at this point, it really is.

I keep hearing Jerry Macguire and Gordon Gecko. It's all about the money and the fact that it was never a democracy or a meritocracy. Wimbledon has given up on its traditions. No more Sundays off in the middle. ABC was able to televise matches on a key day. The rest of the world was watching.

In some ways, we can see it as a victim of globalization and the ever distracted era. If they can do ANYTHING to get people to watch, they will. Very similar to what Will Smith did for the Oscars. The Oscars were boring and then Will slapped Chris. Suddenly, everyone was talking about the Oscars. I am starting to wonder if this is all staged like some of these so-called reality shows.

The craziness led me to watch Nick's match two days later to see him beat Nakashima. And Nakashima did exactly what he was supposed to do. He simply did not react to anything and it worked. We got a great match with very little drama. Kirgyos is problematic but he also pushes people's buttons and gets the crowd into it. Like Jimbo and BigMac did in their day. I remember Jimbo taking his racket and treating it like a phallic symbol in the middle of a match.

Does anyone recall Jimbo doing things like that? Chrissy stated that BigMac was not like Kirgyos. But I would definitely put Jimbo and BigMac in the Kirgyos category. Maybe it took less to get people's attention back then.

Personally, I would take Nakashima all day. I loved Ash Barty. But like everyone else here I watch for the tennis. Others may be watching for other reasons...

[stotty]

I keep hearing Jerry Macguire and Gordon Gecko. It's all about the money and the fact that it was never a democracy or a meritocracy. Wimbledon has given up on its traditions. No more Sundays off in the middle. ABC was able to televise matches on a key day. The rest of the world was watching.

In some ways, we can see it as a victim of globalization and the ever distracted era. If they can do ANYTHING to get people to watch, they will. Very similar to what Will Smith did for the Oscars. The Oscars were boring and then Will slapped Chris. Suddenly, everyone was talking about the Oscars. I am starting to wonder if this is all staged like some of these so-called reality shows.

The craziness led me to watch Nick's match two days later to see him beat Nakashima. And Nakashima did exactly what he was supposed to do. He simply did not react to anything and it worked. We got a great match with very little drama. Kirgyos is problematic but he also pushes people's buttons and gets the crowd into it. Like Jimbo and BigMac did in their day. I remember Jimbo taking his racket and treating it like a phallic symbol in the middle of a match.

Does anyone recall Jimbo doing things like that? Chrissy stated that BigMac was not like Kirgyos. But I would definitely put Jimbo and BigMac in the Kirgyos category. Maybe it took less to get people's attention back then.

Personally, I would take Nakashima all day. I loved Ash Barty. But like everyone else here I watch for the tennis. Others may be watching for other reasons...

Connors was nasty piece of work and would occasionally start on umpires if things weren't going his way. He was a bully and would intimidate other players. The way he treated Krickstein at the US Open one year was unforgivable. And the way he treated Ashe was darned awful too. However, for most of his career he did just get on with it in most matches.

McEnroe was mostly a grumpy git who thought people, umpires and linesman, were cheating him. There is no other way to describe McEnroe in his youth other than he was incredibly cranky and miserable. Many of his press interviews were defensive and he was hypersensitive to certain questions. He was easy bait for the British press back then. Nowadays players know more and are more media savvy.

Nick in my view has a problem. He's more like a Nastase than a Connors or a McEnroe. Nastase was unhinged as is Nick.

[jimlosaltos]

I keep hearing Jerry Macguire and Gordon Gecko. It's all about the money and the fact that it was never a democracy or a meritocracy. Wimbledon has given up on its traditions. No more Sundays off in the middle. ABC was able to televise matches on a key day. The rest of the world was watching.

In some ways, we can see it as a victim of globalization and the ever distracted era. If they can do ANYTHING to get people to watch, they will. Very similar to what Will Smith did for the Oscars. The Oscars were boring and then Will slapped Chris. Suddenly, everyone was talking about the Oscars. I am starting to wonder if this is all staged like some of these so-called reality shows.

The craziness led me to watch Nick's match two days later to see him beat Nakashima. And Nakashima did exactly what he was supposed to do. He simply did not react to anything and it worked. We got a great match with very little drama. Kirgyos is problematic but he also pushes people's buttons and gets the crowd into it. Like Jimbo and BigMac did in their day. I remember Jimbo taking his racket and treating it like a phallic symbol in the middle of a match.

Does anyone recall Jimbo doing things like that? Chrissy stated that BigMac was not like Kirgyos. But I would definitely put Jimbo and BigMac in the Kirgyos category. Maybe it took less to get people's attention back then.

Personally, I would take Nakashima all day. I loved Ash Barty. But like everyone else here I watch for the tennis. Others may be watching for other reasons...

My impression of McEnroe changed over his playing days. At first, I thought he couldn't control his anger.

Later I realized he was using his tantrums quite deliberately to disrupt his opponents. He was cheating. So, it was a combination -- a deliberately abusive personality, who also knew he could leverage that to cheat his way to a few extra points per match.

One opinion.

[arturohernandez]

Connors was nasty piece of work and would occasionally start on umpires if things weren't going his way. He was a bully and would intimidate other players. The way he treated Krickstein at the US Open one year was unforgivable. And the way he treated Ashe was darned awful too. However, for most of his career he did just get on with it in most matches.

McEnroe was mostly a grumpy git who thought people, umpires and linesman, were cheating him. There is no other way to describe McEnroe in his youth other than he was incredibly cranky and miserable. Many of his press interviews were defensive and he was hypersensitive to certain questions. He was easy bait for the British press back then. Nowadays players know more and are more media savvy.

Nick in my view has a problem. He's more like a Nastase than a Connors or a McEnroe. Nastase was unhinged as is Nick.

The big Nasty. Too bad Nick's parents didn't call him Nastase Kyrgios or Illie Kirigyos. Would have been great! Yes, he clearly has severe mental health problems. His reactions are just strange all around.

[arturohernandez]

My impression of McEnroe changed over his playing days. At first, I thought he couldn't control his anger.

Later I realized he was using his tantrums quite deliberately to disrupt his opponents. He was cheating. So, it was a combination -- a deliberately abusive personality, who also knew he could leverage that to cheat his way to a few extra points per match.

One opinion.

Brad Gilbert has a great anecdote in Winning Ugly. McEnroe is stalling like crazy. They are playing in the cold at UCLA at night. Gilbert gets called for a delay in the middle of the match. Gilbert loses. Big Mac walks by and tells him to not take so long between points. "You might catch a cold."

Later Gilbert gets revenge on him at MSG by camping out in the ally and making McEnroe beat him with the serve up the middle. And that night McEnroe lost. He could not hit the T on the ad side serving.

McEnroe lost it in a huff. He even blamed Gilbert for his six month retirement.

That is what I admired about Borg. He just showed no reaction. Fed too. It just unnerves opponents.

[arturohernandez]

When did the old-timers start playing on the regular tour and win? I mean Sampras would have been wiped off the court playing like Nadal played today. Can you imagine Sampras soft balling Becker, Edberg or any other player in the 90's? It would have been game over.

Fritz just froze and tried to win Wimbledon playing like Michael Chang at the FO. Nadal meanwhile put on an all court clinic. Serve and power matter but in the end playing inside the court is still the difference. Even Stan with his less than orthodox game can volley and win at the net.

The new generation just does not volley that well. My feeling is that Fritz needed to take Nadal's time away by getting to the net and applying more pressure. By staying back he just let Nadal soft ball him into a neutral shot that he could attack.

Please someone out there tell me they are encouraging their prospects to play lots of doubles, to serve and volley, to chip and charge. Someday they might need it. Today was the day Fritz needed that game. Without it he was just a pawn in Nadal's old-timer game. Let them know that Rafa played lots of doubles to get better at the net. That he learned to chip his return from closer in and not go to the fence and return with power.

Amazing!!! Nadal showed us what a complete game is and how having one lets him win when less than his best. The old-timers win again!

P.S. I really wonder how Maxime Cressy would have done against Nadal today. That is a match that I would have wanted to watch. He might have lost but at least it would have been on his own terms not on Nadal's.

[jimlosaltos]

Brad Gilbert has a great anecdote in Winning Ugly. McEnroe is stalling like crazy. They are playing in the cold at UCLA at night. Gilbert gets called for a delay in the middle of the match. Gilbert loses. Big Mac walks by and tells him to not take so long between points. "You might catch a cold."

Later Gilbert gets revenge on him at MSG by camping out in the ally and making McEnroe beat him with the serve up the middle. And that night McEnroe lost. He could not hit the T on the ad side serving.

McEnroe lost it in a huff. He even blamed Gilbert for his six month retirement.

That is what I admired about Borg. He just showed no reaction. Fed too. It just unnerves opponents.

Great story. I vaguely recall Arthur Ashe beating a young McEnroe with that same tactic. McEnroe eventually learned to hit the T serve even with his corkscrew windup, but that was a hole in his armor.

[jimlosaltos]

"I don't have a coach," Kyrgios said with a smile. "I would never put that burden on someone."

[stotty]

Kyrgios now faces Rafa for a place in the final. That's likely to be the most watched match of the tournament. Kyrgios has shown signs of mellowing in a recent presser...saying he respects Rafa and feels Rafa respects him. I suspect Rafa respects Kyrgios's game but not Kyrgios the man/child. You feel Kyrgios could win if he serves lights out and remains focused.

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Nick as the favorite vs Rafa at an implied probability of winning of 58% or so. Once again, it seems the oddmakers are begging folks to net on Rafa, with odds like that.

[stroke]

Nadal now saying he does not know if he will be able to play the semi with his latest injury, abdominal or something. I am sure Fritz would have loved to play it. To me, the time has come to completely do away with medical timeouts. You play or you resign.

[stroke]

Well Nadal is out. Vince McMahon says what's the problem here. Let's make this final a steel cage match. Thanks Wimbledon. You have now overseen the worst Major in tennis tournament in history.

[stroke]

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