Wimbledon Championships 2022

[stotty]

Well Wimbledon 2022 is nearly upon us. The weather forecast is promising for the next week or so...dry and sunny.

Times they are a changing. No Roger. One famous Tennisplayer poster would question whether it's a tournament at all with no Roger in the house. Certainly the tournament is diminished without him. Nevertheless the show must go on.

No Meddy. In fact no Russians at all. No Sasha.

But we do have Alcaraz, Rafa and Novak. Who is your money on? The smart money is on Novak as always but Rafa is also looking immense of late. But for me it's all about how Alcaraz will perform on grass. I'm seriously rooting for the kid in the hope he'll live up to his billing...the hype.

[stotty]

I believe I got these right. On seed ...

Mens' Quarters on Draw

1) Djokovic vs Alcaraz (5)
2) Ruud vs Hurkacz
3) Berrettini vs Tsitsipas (4)
4) Auger-Aliassime vs Nadal

Women's Quarters on Draw

1) Swiatek vs Pegula
2) Pliskova vs Badosa
3) Collins vs Jabeur
4) Kontaveit (2) vs Sakkari

Meanwhile, Serena Williams is ranked 1,204th. That is NOT one of my typos. Four digits. She would face Pliskova in R3, Gauff in R4, Badosa in 1/4.

The current rankings plus the blocked players lead to some odd match ups -- and opportunities for bettors, I would suppose.

I doubt we'll see Ruud vs PCB in R16; Pliskova has barely won a match since returning from injury.

None of Rafa, Novak and Alcaraz played a tune up.

Here's a 1 minute video of Rafa and Berrettini practicing at Wimbledon.
Some severe smackage under way <g>.
Speaks well for both players' prep coming off mutual surgeries.

https://youtu.be/gOsHM0V4-Rs

[stotty]

Odds to win Wimbledon:

Novak strong favorite with an implied probability of winning at 54.5%...#2 tie, Nadal and Berrettini at 12.5% implied probability of winning...4-Alcaraz...5-Hurkacz...6-FAA...7-Cilic...8-Kyrgios

[jimlosaltos]

Well Wimbledon 2022 is nearly upon us. The weather forecast is promising for the next week or so...dry and sunny.

Times they are a changing. No Roger. One famous Tennisplayer poster would question whether it's a tournament at all with no Roger in the house. Certainly the tournament is diminished without him. Nevertheless the show must go on.

No Meddy. In fact no Russians at all. No Sasha.

But we do have Alcaraz, Rafa and Novak. Who is your money on? The smart money is on Novak as always but Rafa is also looking immense of late. But for me it's all about how Alcaraz will perform on grass. I'm seriously rooting for the kid in the hope he'll live up to his billing...the hype.

No money at risk here <g>.

My head makes it hard to bet against Djokovic, and his draw doesn't appear to put him at much risk prior to a potential Alcaraz collision.

It's a bit disappointing that a player whose lifetime record on grass is 1-1, is Novak's biggest threat of not making the finals. {Perhaps I'm being unfair to Hurckaz}. Yet another lopsided draw at a major.

On the bottom half I'd like to pick an upset, say FAA -- but he might not make it out of his first round vs Cressy !

Fritz looked so good winning last week without giving up a set, that I almost forgot that his lifetime record on grass is something dismal like 10-10.

My heart tells me to pick someone more likable, new and daring. But if I pick, say, Tsitispas, he has to run the gamut of Berrettini ( H2H 2-0 Stef), then Rafa, then Djoko. Awfully big ask.

My heart wins:

Semi: Hurckaz dumps Djokovic

Semi: Berrettini or Tsitsipas upsets Rafa.


Finals: B or T, takes Hurckaz.

Go ahead and laugh

[stroke]

Dark horse Fritz would have to get past FAA in 4th round maybe and Nadal in quarters. If those matchups in fact happen and he can accomplish that, well who knows.

Fritz has a great serve and forehand obviously. Mentally and physically, he is good to go. His backhand is very solid. One thing I really like, he does not spend energy and give up one side of the court much at all(like Tsitsipas and Berrettini and so many others) to hit forehands.

[jimlosaltos]

No money at risk here &lt;g&gt;.

My head makes it hard to bet against Djokovic, and his draw doesn't appear to put him at much risk prior to a potential Alcaraz collision.

It's a bit disappointing that a player whose lifetime record on grass is 1-1, is Novak's biggest threat of not making the finals. {Perhaps I'm being unfair to Hurckaz}. Yet another lopsided draw at a major.

On the bottom half I'd like to pick an upset, say FAA -- but he might not make it out of his first round vs Cressy !

Fritz looked so good winning last week without giving up a set, that I almost forgot that his lifetime record on grass is something dismal like 10-10.

My heart tells me to pick someone more likable, new and daring. But if I pick, say, Tsitispas, he has to run the gamut of Berrettini ( H2H 2-0 Stef), then Rafa, then Djoko. Awfully big ask.

My heart wins:

Semi: Hurckaz dumps Djokovic

Semi: Berrettini or Tsitsipas upsets Rafa.


Finals: B or T, takes Hurckaz.

Go ahead and laugh

So Hurckaz is out on the first day, and Alcaraz is struggling vs 32 yo journeyman Struff.

I fear another Djoko-Rafa final. Sigh.

[stroke]

So Hurckaz is out on the first day, and Alcaraz is struggling vs 32 yo journeyman Struff.

I fear another Djoko-Rafa final. Sigh.

Hurkacz going out a real surprise to me. Alcaraz got through in 5, all credit to him. Struff has a huge game and is a threat to just about anyone, particularly on grass, when he is playing well, as he certainly was today.

[arturohernandez]

Is anyone thinking that Cressy is a dark horse? Yikes, maybe not. He faces FAA in the first round.

The grass is green and slick and Cressy is fresh off a final in which he pushed Fritz to a third-set tiebreak.

Serve and volley tennis is a throwback. He just keeps coming and posing a question.

Does FAA have the answers?

[stotty]

So Hurckaz is out on the first day, and Alcaraz is struggling vs 32 yo journeyman Struff.

I fear another Djoko-Rafa final. Sigh.

Didn't see that coming...the Hurckaz result that is. I rate him and thought he might go deep. Alacaraz did great to pull that one out. I thought he was a goner. Novak was in peculiar form...strolling around looking disinterested for two thirds of the match.

[glacierguy]

Didn't see that coming...the Hurckaz result that is. I rate him and thought he might go deep. Alacaraz did great to pull that one out. I thought he was a goner. Novak was in peculiar form...strolling around looking disinterested for two thirds of the match.

Yes, I saw some of the Djokovic match when he was looking bored and losing. Centre Court seemed a bit flat and steamy with the roof closed - think everyone would have preferred fresh air, crowd included.

I was only watching to check out the BBC livestream on iPlayer in UltraHD (new for this year on Centre Court only). I can report, rather obviously, that the image quality is impressive.

[jimlosaltos]

Hurkacz going out a real surprise to me. Alcaraz got through in 5, all credit to him. Struff has a huge game and is a threat to just about anyone, particularly on grass, when he is playing well, as he certainly was today.

Got to see the end of Alcaraz-Struff. I swear Alcaraz's body is possessed by the spirt of a 30 year old veteran, more tactics than most. Yet, it's also like he's learning to play tennis on grass -- during Wimbledon.

Already offensive-minded, he was really amping it up. 30 aces and 73 winners !

P.S. And the kid just loves the pressure. In the fourth set, all this pressure on Alcaraz, in the announcer's ( Cahill?) words "He returned 4 winners in that rally ... now look at the smile." Winner there was a back hand pass flipped on the dead run from outside the forehand alley to opposite side to pick up a ball that barely bounced. Then Alcaraz just beamed. His back is to the wall and he loves it.

filedata/fetch?id=97803&d=1656435237&type=thumb

[jimlosaltos]

Ah man now Berrettini is out

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/28/tennis/matteo-berrettini-wimbledon-covid-intl-spt/index.html

""I have had flu symptoms and been isolating the last few days. Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament," the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram."I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel," added Berrettini, who was set to play his opening match on Tuesday. "The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger."

[jimlosaltos]

Ah man now Berrettini is out

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/28/tennis/matteo-berrettini-wimbledon-covid-intl-spt/index.html

""I have had flu symptoms and been isolating the last few days. Despite symptoms not being severe, I decided it was important to take another test this morning to protect the health and safety of my fellow competitors and everyone else involved in the tournament," the 26-year-old wrote on Instagram."I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel," added Berrettini, who was set to play his opening match on Tuesday. "The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger."

For the paranoid among us, Berrettini practiced and hung out with both Rafa and Novak extensively, it is reported.

I haven't heard anything about testing protocols during the event. So, it might be the case that someone, say Novak, could be infected, contagious but asymptomatic and continue playing.

Or, they could both get ill and drop out. ?

[stotty]

Got to see the end of Alcaraz-Struff. I swear Alcaraz's body is possessed by the spirt of a 30 year old veteran, more tactics than most. Yet, it's also like he's learning to play tennis on grass -- during Wimbledon.

Already offensive-minded, he was really amping it up. 30 aces and 73 winners !

P.S. And the kid just loves the pressure. In the fourth set, all this pressure on Alcaraz, in the announcer's ( Cahill?) words "He returned 4 winners in that rally ... now look at the smile." Winner there was a back hand pass flipped on the dead run from outside the forehand alley to opposite side to pick up a ball that barely bounced. Then Alcaraz just beamed. His back is to the wall and he loves it.

filedata/fetch?id=97803&d=1656435237&type=thumb

Interesting to see how much more ground Alcaraz covered than Struff. Roughly 1500m more.

[arturohernandez]

Is anyone thinking that Cressy is a dark horse? Yikes, maybe not. He faces FAA in the first round.

The grass is green and slick and Cressy is fresh off a final in which he pushed Fritz to a third-set tiebreak.

Serve and volley tennis is a throwback. He just keeps coming and posing a question.

Does FAA have the answers?

Now do you guys believe that Cressy is a sleeper. He just took FAA out by serving and volleying and breaking him once. All of the other sets went to a tiebreak. Cressy won two and FAA won one.

One break and two tiebreaks makes the match. Next up is Jack Sock. I have a feeling that Cressy will be serving and volleying to his backhand all day long. Even if Sock gets a forehand, he won't have much time to do anything with it.

S&V lives on! Vive Le Cressy!