Tennis League All Thread

[casperBGD]

~snip

Clay season will be the reign of Nadal, Tsitsipas and Djokovic (if he is allowed to play). I am also expecting big things from guys like Ruud and Thiem.

agree, Medvedev has a chance to secure No.1 for a week or two, in Acapulco, and he is a favorite there, since it is a hard surface now
last season, as seasons before, Medvedev has no points on clay surface, best of last season SF in Monte Carlo, while Djokovic has a lot to defend, and with Nadal back in shape, Medvedev has a chance to stay No.1 until US Open

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[aoluain]

There is also pressure mounting on his #1 spot from Medvedev who no doubt is
a serious contender for possibly RG and the US Open GS's.

Medvedev is not really a contender for RG, clay is by far his worst surface and traditionally he skips most of the clay season and when he plays he often looses against players that would get maybe few games against him on other surfaces. For instance he lost last season to Garin and Karatsev. Season before that he played only 2 tournaments and lost in first match again against Humbet and Fucsovics.

Clay season will be the reign of Nadal, Tsitsipas and Djokovic (if he is allowed to play). I am also expecting big things from guys like Ruud and Thiem.

Ah right, I omitted Wimbledon thinking grass wasnt hus strong surface, Clay is indeed
not a surface he is comfortable on.

I'm really looking forward to see Djoko get in he next GS

Well... potentially more drama to come.

it would practically mean that he gives up tennis.
I really don't believe he's ^Djokovic going to throw away his great career because he does not want to be vaccinated. Wimbledon will certainly not be able to play without the vaccine there the rules are even more rigorous and clear. US open probably will do the same rule.

Well, yeah, meanwhile, we've got the Scandinavians slowly going towards regarding Covid as a non-threat to society and the UK also just easing down on everything (but noting that at least in the former case, supposedly it's because hospitalisations are very low and no longer a burden, partly in any case because of high vaccinated population in the cities).

I always tell my kids: my house my rules, so yeah, can't argue if France insists, it'd be much better for everyone if we didn't go and make this any more dramatic than it already has been. If he won't play, he won't play. Shame for us if not though.

Actually a lot can happen before RG. In my country last week all COVID restrictions
were lifted, The Omicron variant has proven to be less potent than Delta resulting
in more cases but less hospitalisations, so France could follow and lift restrictions
which would see Djokovic clear to play.

[Yaunfitda]

I agree with @Trofo this is a statement win for Nadal. Down 2 sets and then a miracle comeback, won his 21st GS against the second seed Medvedev who is leading the pack of the young generation.

But Djokovic and Nadal is not done yet, from from it and showing this guys how to do it right. LOL.
I'm sure a lot of us are happy with the Nadal victory because he is the underdog and a huge win for us bettors. 

A huge win by some bettors  

Not me though, I'm on the Medvedev bandwagon specially his comeback win against Felix AA and I thought this is going to be his break out win for this year.

I agree that Nadal and Djokovic are still major players in Tennis, Djokovic now has
his sights on leap-froging Nadal in the titles race, today he needs to win 2 GS's and after
RG he will potentially need 3.

There is also pressure mounting on his #1 spot from Medvedev who no doubt is
a serious contender for possibly RG and the US Open GS's.

For sure with the drama around his supposedly entry in Australian Open, Djokovic is hell bent on coming strong on the remaining GS. So it will be a good year for tennis as Nadal is back, Djokovic trying to win and tie Nadal and then Medvedev wanting to get the #1 spot.

[Daniel91]

What Nadal did yesterday was simply outstanding. It just shows how dominant the old 3 were in their prime (Federer, Nadal, Đoković) compared to anything else we have seen in tennis before and after it.

Medvedev is a great player - he's got it all. Yet - he's already 25 years old and has only one GS to his name so far.

I'm really glad Nadal has won it, the battle between him and Đoković for the top spot is still on. It will be a fantastic Rolland Garros.

It will be a fantastic Roland Garros if Djokovic is allowed to play at all because of the strict Covid rules in France 
Djokovic could easily have a scenario from a nightmare, Nadal wins more GS tournaments this year, especially the next GS in Paris, while he watches it at home on TV because he is not allowed to perform.
I sincerely hope that something like this will not happen because it would be a disaster for tennis, and Nadal's success would forever remain in the shadow of the decision that Djokovic can't play.
It is truly amazing that Nadal, as a much older tennis player, has more physical strength and is more prepared in the finals than a much younger opponent.
Nadal is truly a phenomenon.

[cryptofrka]

I feel that Covid rules will start to decrease - we have already seen it in a lot of countries. Roland Garros is played in May/June, Wimbledon in June/July - until then I expect us to walk freely, without vaccinations and/or vax certificates.

I really want Đoković there, it is Nadal's home turf and Novak needs to win it. It has the potential to be an amazing tournament - without Đoković it would be a lot less interesting.

[Cnut237]

Medvedev has a chance to secure No.1 for a week or two, in Acapulco, and he is a favorite there, since it is a hard surface now
last season, as seasons before, Medvedev has no points on clay surface, best of last season SF in Monte Carlo, while Djokovic has a lot to defend, and with Nadal back in shape, Medvedev has a chance to stay No.1 until US Open

Whilst the Covid vaccine rules of various countries can affect Djokovic's chances of winning more slams and catching up with Nadal, these restrictions could also have a huge effect on whether he can maintain the #1 ranking.
It's not just that he has a lot of ranking points to defend, there is also the question of whether he will actually be able to defend them at all. Depending on how this plays out, there is a decent chance of Medvedev getting #1.

[babygun]

I feel that Covid rules will start to decrease - we have already seen it in a lot of countries. Roland Garros is played in May/June, Wimbledon in June/July - until then I expect us to walk freely, without vaccinations and/or vax certificates.

I really want Đoković there, it is Nadal's home turf and Novak needs to win it. It has the potential to be an amazing tournament - without Đoković it would be a lot less interesting.

One would think that the rules should start to decrease, at least we can only hope for it. It would be good for Roland Garros if Djokovic is present but if they still require that everybody needs to be vaccinated, than so be it. If Djokovic also misses RG, than he can only be mad at himself...

[n0ne]

I feel that Covid rules will start to decrease - we have already seen it in a lot of countries. Roland Garros is played in May/June, Wimbledon in June/July - until then I expect us to walk freely, without vaccinations and/or vax certificates.

I really want Đoković there, it is Nadal's home turf and Novak needs to win it. It has the potential to be an amazing tournament - without Đoković it would be a lot less interesting.

One would think that the rules should start to decrease, at least we can only hope for it. It would be good for Roland Garros if Djokovic is present but if they still require that everybody needs to be vaccinated, than so be it. If Djokovic also misses RG, than he can only be mad at himself...

Countries keep restricting the people due to the rise of mutant variants of COVID-19. Everywhere vaccination is getting to be compulsory, even the kids were started to be vaccinated. I don't know what is the real reason behind his strong decision. Is this out of fear or anything else. Because, he doesn't care of being a participant but keen in stay away from vaccination.

[Trofo]

..., he doesn't care of being a participant but keen in stay away from vaccination.

He cares very much about participation, otherwise he would not go all those lengths to play in AO. It just seems his reasons for not vaccinating are even stronger that his will to participate. I just know tennis as whole is loosing if Djoković is not able to participate.

[Ratash]

Many high ranked players are interested in montpellier ATP tournament zverev and monfils are the favourite ones to win it, goffin last year winner was not doing good this season and since last year he did not win any tournament but he did well today getting past bonzi with 2 1 score i hope he get back to his form.

[AndySt]

What Nadal did yesterday was simply outstanding. It just shows how dominant the old 3 were in their prime (Federer, Nadal, Đoković) compared to anything else we have seen in tennis before and after it.
Medvedev is a great player - he's got it all. Yet - he's already 25 years old and has only one GS to his name so far. I'm really glad Nadal has won it, the battle between him and Đoković for the top spot is still on. It will be a fantastic Rolland Garros.

It will be a fantastic Roland Garros if Djokovic is allowed to play at all because of the strict Covid rules in France   Djokovic could easily have a scenario from a nightmare, Nadal wins more GS tournaments this year, especially the next GS in Paris, while he watches it at home on TV because he is not allowed to perform. I sincerely hope that something like this will not happen because it would be a disaster for tennis, and Nadal's success would forever remain in the shadow of the decision that Djokovic can't play. It is truly amazing that Nadal, as a much older tennis player, has more physical strength and is more prepared in the finals than a much younger opponent. Nadal is truly a phenomenon.

Still, let's hope for the best and that Djokovic will be able to solve his problems with vaccination and still perform at Roland Garros. On the other hand, despite winning Roland Garros last year, I don't think Novak is still the main favorite of the tournament, because it's still a bit not his type of court coverage. If everything goes well with Rafa's health, that he should be the favorite of the current tournament, let's also not forget about Tsitsipas, who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and missed a victory over Djokovic last year, leading with a two-set advantage. We will also look at Djokovic's further line of conduct and the line of conduct of the organizers of the French Open, because the Austrian authorities have made an important precedent and the French authorities will have to reckon with this precedent in any case.

[babygun]

Many high ranked players are interested in montpellier ATP tournament zverev and monfils are the favourite ones to win it, goffin last year winner was not doing good this season and since last year he did not win any tournament but he did well today getting past bonzi with 2 1 score i hope he get back to his form.

I don't think Goffin will win it (or win any other tournament any more). He has had some good seasons (ranked in the top10), but the last couple of years, he has really been nowwhere... Biggest candidate to win the tournament is Zverev in my eyes.

[SirLancelot]

One would think that the rules should start to decrease, at least we can only hope for it. It would be good for Roland Garros if Djokovic is present but if they still require that everybody needs to be vaccinated, than so be it. If Djokovic also misses RG, than he can only be mad at himself...

Most chances in 2022 we are not going to have any decrease in restrictions about covid19 because there are still many complaints about vaccinated peoples having again issues and peoples have no vaccinations are creating troubles, so it's something long plan for settling these things recently we have again some good number of cases increase in many countries, but good thing is happening that now media is not doing bad tactics like they have done this all in first phase of this pandemic.
 
If French authorities not allowed Djokovic then surely it's going to be very bad for this great player and his career because even his own issues he is not taking this vaccination but still great lose for him and game of tennis will be happened.

[Trofo]

Many high ranked players are interested in montpellier ATP tournament zverev and monfils are the favourite ones to win it, goffin last year winner was not doing good this season and since last year he did not win any tournament but he did well today getting past bonzi with 2 1 score i hope he get back to his form.

I don't think Goffin will win it (or win any other tournament any more). He has had some good seasons (ranked in the top10), but the last couple of years, he has really been nowwhere... Biggest candidate to win the tournament is Zverev in my eyes.

It is tough for players like Goffin to have good results when they are out of the form. He does not have big serve or signature shot he can rely on when not playing well. He needs all parts of his game to click properly in order to be competitive. I don't expect much from him here.

Zverev and Monfils must be considered as favorites and I will be very surprised if they don't meet up in semi final. Only player that looks dangerous in that part of the draw is Humbert so maybe ha can mess up with Monfils a little.

[buwaytress]

Hmm, so I just discovered Medvedev's press conference. I was JUST thinking he'd realised he needed to stop whining and play good tennis, but then he's gone and done himself a huge "shoot yourself in the foot".

So the crowd's against you, after you called them low IQ, and after calling umpire a small cat (did he forget they actually cheered for him when he changed his tune and talked about the match instead of the crowd?). I really don't get why you expect a crowd to love you when you've not shown them any? And then the worst for an athlete is to then blame them and his nationality for not winning.

He needs to grow some balls and win the next GS. Or be Suarez and let the crowd's boos drive him on!

I say this because I do want these young guys to start playing and not ragequit haha.

[Jackl87]

Hmm, so I just discovered Medvedev's press conference. I was JUST thinking he'd realised he needed to stop whining and play good tennis, but then he's gone and done himself a huge "shoot yourself in the foot".

So the crowd's against you, after you called them low IQ, and after calling umpire a small cat (did he forget they actually cheered for him when he changed his tune and talked about the match instead of the crowd?). I really don't get why you expect a crowd to love you when you've not shown them any? And then the worst for an athlete is to then blame them and his nationality for not winning.

He needs to grow some balls and win the next GS. Or be Suarez and let the crowd's boos drive him on!

I say this because I do want these young guys to start playing and not ragequit haha.

I watched the match against Nadal and i have to say i kinda get where Medvedev is coming from or why he is so mad. I mean in the third set the audience was clapping and cheering like crazy when Medvedev made that double fault that caused him to lose that serving game. Of course 95% of the people that cheered and clapped there were doing that because they wanted Nadal to come back into the game no matter what, but still from the perspective of Medvedev it probably feeled like they were cheering because they were happy that he made that mistake.
That being said a professional tennis player of Medevedevs level really has to able to deal with such stuff, people will always cheer for Nadal or Federer if they are playing.

[Juggy777]

Hmm, so I just discovered Medvedev's press conference. I was JUST thinking he'd realised he needed to stop whining and play good tennis, but then he's gone and done himself a huge "shoot yourself in the foot".

So the crowd's against you, after you called them low IQ, and after calling umpire a small cat (did he forget they actually cheered for him when he changed his tune and talked about the match instead of the crowd?). I really don't get why you expect a crowd to love you when you've not shown them any? And then the worst for an athlete is to then blame them and his nationality for not winning.

He needs to grow some balls and win the next GS. Or be Suarez and let the crowd's boos drive him on!

I say this because I do want these young guys to start playing and not ragequit haha.

I watched the match against Nadal and i have to say i kinda get where Medvedev is coming from or why he is so mad. I mean in the third set the audience was clapping and cheering like crazy when Medvedev made that double fault that caused him to lose that serving game. Of course 95% of the people that cheered and clapped there were doing that because they wanted Nadal to come back into the game no matter what, but still from the perspective of Medvedev it probably feeled like they were cheering because they were happy that he made that mistake.
That being said a professional tennis player of Medevedevs level really has to able to deal with such stuff, people will always cheer for Nadal or Federer if they are playing.

I feel that he needs to seek out a sports psychologist and sort out these kind of issues, because the crowd may or may not back him all the time and that can’t be used as an excuse for defeat.

Furthermore by making such excuses he’s harming his reputation and insulting the crowd who may not be happy to support him, and hence he should focus only on winning when he’s playing and learn to ignore the crowd’s noise if he’s to become a legendary player of this sport.

[buwaytress]

@Jackl87 Yeah, I saw the match too, and also the one against Tsitsi, which was apparently the one where he later said the "low IQ" comment about the crowd (as auolain helped me figure out why the crowd were so against him in the first place). I mean, they were cheering him mostly when he talked about tennis anyway, and anyone who sees how Nadal/Fedex endear themselves to the crowd understand why they're loved, so clearly it's highly logical that you reap what you sow -- if crowd support really is what you want.

I see teens in football deal with worse abuse than that. Like actual hate speech and weapons thrown at them. If you're 25, you really have to have thicker skin. Be like Ronaldo, Suarez, who love being villains and get even more motivated by being villains, and LOVE riling the neutral crowds up.

@Juggy777 Anyway, just really hope he doesn't mean what he sounds like he's saying (rather play in Moscow than in another Open). Cause I'm really beginning to enjoy these guys playing. We already are in danger of missing big talents because of vaccine rules, we don't need another one to ragequit haha.

[Trofo]

^We had a discussion about Medvedev improving his game play and mental stability few days ago. I said that I still think he is mentally not prepared just that he managed to improve his game so much so we don't see that unstable side of him that often. This just confirmed it for me, he is still the same prickly looser who always has a problem with something when he is not winning. It was the same crowd/ref/ball kids in first 2 sets and there was no problems. After he started loosing he took it out on all of them. Good player, but needs to work on his behavior a lot.

Did you guys see his face while listening to speeches on award ceremony after the match? He looked bored and even made some grimaces during speeches. I have a feeling Nadal tried to gave him advice at that moment but he did not want to listen. Real Champions are conducting themselves as champions even when loosing.

Maybe he is even too honest and just don't thinks about his answers. Remember his interview on full court after semi final victory. The crowd did not like him much and he got boos for mentioning Djokovic and than Courier tried to set him up to win them over. He answered in a worst possible way to all those questions. Last one was if he will watch Barty play final and he answered no, that is the time I am eating supper. Then Courier lost patience and said to him something like "C'mon man I am trying to set you up to win them over and you are not doing yourself any favours". And then Medvedev finally got it, smiled and said something like he will watch on mobile while eating.

[cryptofrka]

I actually like rebels. I am sick and tired of the same PR crap coming out of their mouths, from tennis to basketball to football. It's like some kind of '10 steps to like me' PDF that is circulating around.
I'd really like somebody to say no, i don't want to waste my time on women's tennis if he actually means it.

That said, what Medvedev (or Kyrgios) is doing is the opposite. Fans love bad boys, they don't really like crybabies or idiots.