Tennis League All Thread

[aoluain]

SO here we are with the next gen finals final!

Medjedovic v Fils

Two guys who have been on the ATP tour now for over a year. Medjedovic in particular
has the backing of fellow countryman Djokovic. He hasnt done too much in 2023 does
reaching this final tomorrow act a s a launch pad for him in 2024 I wonder?

Fils is a higher ranked player on the ATP and so is favourite for tomorrow @ 1.56, the
Serbian is 2.45, thats close enough really, there could very well be an upset...

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[serveria.com]

SO here we are with the next gen finals final!

Medjedovic v Fils

Two guys who have been on the ATP tour now for over a year. Medjedovic in particular
has the backing of fellow countryman Djokovic. He hasnt done too much in 2023 does
reaching this final tomorrow act a s a launch pad for him in 2024 I wonder?

Fils is a higher ranked player on the ATP and so is favourite for tomorrow @ 1.56, the
Serbian is 2.45, thats close enough really, there could very well be an upset...

My bet will be on the Frenchman, but I have to say that Next Gen is not particularly exciting this year. I'm not sure why, perhaps the overall level of tennis is dropping? Just take a look at previous finalists: Sinner, Rublev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, De Minaur, Alcaraz, Korda, Nakashima, Lehecka...   

[Trofo]

My bet will be on the Frenchman, but I have to say that Next Gen is not particularly exciting this year. I'm not sure why, perhaps the overall level of tennis is dropping? Just take a look at previous finalists: Sinner, Rublev, Tsitsipas, Zverev, De Minaur, Alcaraz, Korda, Nakashima, Lehecka...   

You can look at it in another way as well, this generation matured real quickly. Alcaraz and Rune could have been here by age requirement but they played in big boys finals. Then you also have Shelton and Musetti that withdrew for their own reasons. Maybe feel like they played on tour long enough to not battle it with young generation.

[aoluain]

The matches that I saw were quite enjoyable, there was actually some very good Tennis
played by all from what I saw, and yea if I were in the top 20 and looking at the competitors
I wouldnt be too worried facing them...

Its going to be different from year to year and there will be ebbs and flows in terms of
talent from year to year.

Well done to Medjedovic for taking the final as under dog, he did very well to bounce back
after losing the first set, Djokovic will be happy too !

[serveria.com]

The matches that I saw were quite enjoyable, there was actually some very good Tennis
played by all from what I saw, and yea if I were in the top 20 and looking at the competitors
I wouldnt be too worried facing them...

Its going to be different from year to year and there will be ebbs and flows in terms of
talent from year to year.

Well done to Medjedovic for taking the final as under dog, he did very well to bounce back
after losing the first set, Djokovic will be happy too !

Medjedovic did a good job against Fils! Future seems bright for him, he is guaranteed to enter top 100 next year if the goes on like this. The Serb is 20 yo but surprisingly he only started playing challenger grade tournaments last year (technically last year but he only played a single tournament in Germany). Any ideas why? Is he a late bloomer or is it because of lack of funds (typical #1 issue for many talented junior players)?

[aoluain]

It could be a lack of funds which is why Djokovic is involved with his career. There is
talent there but if there is no funds he isnt going to be able to play.

On a separate note Nadal has confirmed he will be back playing at Brisbane in January,
obviously in preparation for the Australian Open. He obviously believes he is both fit
and ready for next season and that he can win the AO and potentially Brisbane even
if it is to be used to get back up to playing fitness.

[Strongkored]

Nadal has indeed stated that he is ready to return and it seems that the tournament at the start of the year was just a warm-up because his uncle Toni Nadal said that his real target was to hear his name mentioned at the French Open, his favorite tournament and the one that contributed the most Grand Slam titles to his career.
The question is, will he be able to do big things in this tournament? If he can do it, it will certainly be a sweet moment to announce his retirement from the world of tennis.

[serveria.com]

It could be a lack of funds which is why Djokovic is involved with his career. There is
talent there but if there is no funds he isnt going to be able to play.

On a separate note Nadal has confirmed he will be back playing at Brisbane in January,
obviously in preparation for the Australian Open. He obviously believes he is both fit
and ready for next season and that he can win the AO and potentially Brisbane even
if it is to be used to get back up to playing fitness.

I have mixed feeling regarding the Nadal news. If I were him, I'd miss Australia and get ready for the clay season. Hard surfaces are too harsh for his body and he may get injured again. In Melbourne, hard courts are quite slow according to some players and that adds extra stress on his knees, ligaments etc.

[aoluain]

Nadal has indeed stated that he is ready to return and it seems that the tournament at the start of the year was just a warm-up because his uncle Toni Nadal said that his real target was to hear his name mentioned at the French Open, his favorite tournament and the one that contributed the most Grand Slam titles to his career.
The question is, will he be able to do big things in this tournament? If he can do it, it will certainly be a sweet moment to announce his retirement from the world of tennis.

Ah its a long shot but if he does win it or another grand slam it will be big headline news,
to be able to come back from being a year out due to injury and prove that he still has
what it takes to overcome all the odds.

Would he announce his retirement at that stage or would it spur him on to try and catch
Djokovic's 24 gland slam lead ^{possibly 25 after AO 2024!}

It could be a lack of funds which is why Djokovic is involved with his career. There is
talent there but if there is no funds he isnt going to be able to play.

On a separate note Nadal has confirmed he will be back playing at Brisbane in January,
obviously in preparation for the Australian Open. He obviously believes he is both fit
and ready for next season and that he can win the AO and potentially Brisbane even
if it is to be used to get back up to playing fitness.

I have mixed feeling regarding the Nadal news. If I were him, I'd miss Australia and get ready for the clay season. Hard surfaces are too harsh for his body and he may get injured again. In Melbourne, hard courts are quite slow according to some players and that adds extra stress on his knees, ligaments etc.

or use the hard courts to build game fitness and play at 80% for example, surely he has to
realise that he has to pick his moments now, he cannot play at 100% for a full season at this
stage in his career?

[serveria.com]

or use the hard courts to build game fitness and play at 80% for example, surely he has to
realise that he has to pick his moments now, he cannot play at 100% for a full season at this
stage in his career?

Indeed, no older player can play the entire season. Djokovic also has to rest more frequently and choose tournaments wisely.

Speaking about positive aspects for Nadal, I should mention that AO courts are the slowest among hard court GS tournaments and therefore more similar to.. clay! I still can't forget the AO final of 2017: the modern classic Nadal v Federer. IMO it's one of the best (if not the best) matches of all time! That 5 set thriller was won by Roger 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3 but Rafa deserved to win as much as Roge,r he just got a bit unlucky in the final set.

[aoluain]

Thats the thing so many people have been talking about and what will be missing with
the new crop of players who will take over from the top 3, there have been countless close
battles between Roger, Rafa and Djokovic and Andy to an extent.

Maybe there will be 4 players who dominate the game for the next 10 to 15 years....

Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune and Medvedev? who knows.

[Hirose UK]

Thats the thing so many people have been talking about and what will be missing with
the new crop of players who will take over from the top 3, there have been countless close
battles between Roger, Rafa and Djokovic and Andy to an extent.

Yes, of course there will be decline in players if new players appear with good achievements, as was the case previously when Alcaraz emerged who succeeded in surpassing and surpassing many senior players.
He is still young but has already achieved some extraordinary titles.
And in close battle between the four players you mentioned, it is clear that there will be one who can dominate the match more, namely Djokovic, he can no longer be doubted.

Maybe there will be 4 players who dominate the game for the next 10 to 15 years....

Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune and Medvedev? who knows.

They are all the best young tennis players that the ATP has and indeed in the next 10 to 15 years they will always dominate every competition, but Medvedev is the oldest tennis player of the four of them because he is now 27 years old.
Alcaraz is the only tennis player with very bright future.
In fact of all the young tennis players, he is the only one who is thought to be able to be like Djokovic in the future, and he is also believed to be able to surpass the records of various other senior tennis players.

[babygun]

Thats the thing so many people have been talking about and what will be missing with
the new crop of players who will take over from the top 3, there have been countless close
battles between Roger, Rafa and Djokovic and Andy to an extent.

Maybe there will be 4 players who dominate the game for the next 10 to 15 years....

Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune and Medvedev? who knows.

I doubt that we will have a similar period where you had 3 top players who dominated almost all the grandslam finals. There is lot of talent in the young generation with Alcaraz leading the pack but only the future will tell if he can dominate in the same way as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic did or still do in the case of Djokovic. It is also possible that the next couple of years, we will just have a lot of different people winning grandslams.

[serveria.com]

Latest news from 2023 MGM Macau Tennis Masters (exhibition event): it only took 61 minutes for Tallon Griekspoor to win in the final in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 against Borna Coric. In the 3rd place match Zhang Zhizhen defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-6 (1). Women's final was between Kasatkina and Wang Xinyu and the Russian proved she was in better shape by winning 6-4, 6-4.

[aoluain]

I wasnt aware of this event, isnt this the first year its been played?

The players who attended was a small group with Taylor Fritz being the highest ranked
player at #10.

https://toomanyrackets.com/mgm-macau-tennis-masters/

Players
The 2023 tournament in Macau will feature four ATP and two WTA players including Taylor Fritz, Wang Xinyu, Daria Kasatkina, Tallon Griekspoor, Borna Coric, and Zhang Zhizhen.

Wang Xinyu
Borna Coric
Daria Kasatkina
Tallon Griekspoor
Taylor Fritz
Zhang Zhizhen
Belinda Bencic, Emma Raducanu, and Frances Tiafoe were due to play in the event but they had to withdraw due to injuries.

On the womens side there was nobody from at least the tip 10 but I guess if this
is the first year of that event it can get better in the future.

Its interesting that Raducanu was due to attend but had to cancel due to injury.

[serveria.com]

I wasnt aware of this event, isnt this the first year its been played?

The players who attended was a small group with Taylor Fritz being the highest ranked
player at #10.

https://toomanyrackets.com/mgm-macau-tennis-masters/

Players
The 2023 tournament in Macau will feature four ATP and two WTA players including Taylor Fritz, Wang Xinyu, Daria Kasatkina, Tallon Griekspoor, Borna Coric, and Zhang Zhizhen.

Wang Xinyu
Borna Coric
Daria Kasatkina
Tallon Griekspoor
Taylor Fritz
Zhang Zhizhen
Belinda Bencic, Emma Raducanu, and Frances Tiafoe were due to play in the event but they had to withdraw due to injuries.

On the womens side there was nobody from at least the tip 10 but I guess if this
is the first year of that event it can get better in the future.

Its interesting that Raducanu was due to attend but had to cancel due to injury.

Yes, in fact Raducanu announced she was going to play at this tournament quite a long time ago. I've seen that news at least half a year ago. Anyway, this is just an exhibition event and the timing is not very convenient: it's pre-season and most players are out of form getting ready for the next season, Australian tournament series etc.

[aoluain]

I totally missed that announcement so earlier in the year.
I hope Raducanu can restart her career next year in 2024, she is a talented player just unlucky
to be plagued with injuries. Hopefully she is ready for the start of the season which is only a
couple of weeks away.

Here is an intersting article on Sky Sports with Patrick Mouratoglou

https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/13029701/emma-raducanu-world-renowned-coach-patrick-mouratoglou-says-former-us-open-champion-needs-stability

"She has suffered a lot both in her tennis, in her results and after that with injuries but I hope
she can find some stability around her because without stability she's not going to be able to achieve
her potential and that would be sad.

Mouratoglou, who is the mastermind behind the innovative Ultimate Tennis Showdown, coached the
legendary Williams for 10 years from 2012-2022, but would he ever accept a role in Raducanu's team?

"I don't know," he said. "I haven't thought about it but all I can say is is she ready to trust someone?

"Can she trust a project and to follow that project for long enough to be able to make real progress that
she needs to do in order to achieve her potential?

"What hurt her so much is all those changes because you cannot change your tennis project every three
months, it doesn't make sense."

I think he is spot on with his synopsis and echoes what a lot of us have been saying about her decisions
since winning the US open . . . what seems like a very long time ago.

She is 21 now and should have achieved a lot more in the time from then to now.

[serveria.com]

Raducanu had at least 3 surgeries (both wrists and an ankle) last year and hasn't played since April, missing all GS. I've heard she's going to play in Auckland on January 1st 2024. Regarding AO, she has a protected rating of 103 (she's now 290ish?289?) so she could in theory play there. And even without protected rating, I guess any tournament would grant a WC to a former GS champion. 

[aoluain]

I would imagine she would indeed be granted a wild card to any tournament at this stage
but I think that window of opportunity will only last so long. She will need to get fit again
and get competitive to climb the rankings to where her level should be, for certain top 20.

Yea she has had some fairly what I imagine are painful and annoying surgeries on wrists
and ankles but isnt the first so with the right team she should be recovered now and building.

[serveria.com]

I would imagine she would indeed be granted a wild card to any tournament at this stage
but I think that window of opportunity will only last so long. She will need to get fit again
and get competitive to climb the rankings to where her level should be, for certain top 20.

Yea she has had some fairly what I imagine are painful and annoying surgeries on wrists
and ankles but isnt the first so with the right team she should be recovered now and building.

Yeah, I hope she will find a good coach eventually.

Some news on Nick Kyrgios. Unfortunately the Aussie is to miss the AO this year. He said he feels exhausted, in pain and would like to finish his career:

"I'm tired. I have had three surgeries now. I'm only 28 years old, I always wanted to have a family and not be in pain. When I get up, I can't walk without pain. It's a tough gig," he said.

He also shared that he actually considered a suicide back in 2019. Such a pity this guy is so talented he could easily be TOP10 ATP.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/67700860