Tennis League All Thread

[Jating]

How about Aslan Karatsev?

I think he already made a breakout run this year, reaching as high as SF in Australian Open, beating Schwartzman, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Dimitrov.

Winning doubles with Rublev in Qatar Open. And then the singles in Dubai last month, beating Sonego, Rublev himself and then Sinner.

Won against Djokovic in his hometown in Serbia this month, but lost to Berettini in the finals. So I would say that he has also a bright future, although not that young at 27 years old, but he is peaking at the right now and can content in future grand slams.

27 years old is kinda late for him, i wonder why he didn't show up till now, i have never heard of him before untill this year, maybe it's not too late for him but the competition is really hard right now with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Thiem and of course Nadal and Djokovic and maybe Federer, it won't be easy for him to win a big title, and to be honest i don't think he can.

I agree, his kinda late on the fun, although he can still compete at high levels and give everyone a run for their money. He already beat the number one seed, so he still has what we can call a giant killer. And he can put a big test on the young players, specially Tsitsipas and Thiem as he seems to be a clay court specialist to me. And he could pull some upsets from time to time.

Exactly, Karatsev may have a break out year, but he needs to be very consistent, so we don't know if he can continue next year.

So still boils down to Sinner, Tsitsipas, Thiem and Medvedev to carry the legacy of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. And besides, since Djokovic is the younger and the fresher amongst the 3, they will have to fight him often, so still a hard task for the next generation.

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[vella85]

How about Aslan Karatsev?

I think he already made a breakout run this year, reaching as high as SF in Australian Open, beating Schwartzman, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Dimitrov.

Winning doubles with Rublev in Qatar Open. And then the singles in Dubai last month, beating Sonego, Rublev himself and then Sinner.

Won against Djokovic in his hometown in Serbia this month, but lost to Berettini in the finals. So I would say that he has also a bright future, although not that young at 27 years old, but he is peaking at the right now and can content in future grand slams.

27 years old is kinda late for him, i wonder why he didn't show up till now, i have never heard of him before untill this year, maybe it's not too late for him but the competition is really hard right now with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Thiem and of course Nadal and Djokovic and maybe Federer, it won't be easy for him to win a big title, and to be honest i don't think he can.

I agree, his kinda late on the fun, although he can still compete at high levels and give everyone a run for their money. He already beat the number one seed, so he still has what we can call a giant killer. And he can put a big test on the young players, specially Tsitsipas and Thiem as he seems to be a clay court specialist to me. And he could pull some upsets from time to time.

Karatsev could be like a B-level player, what I meant is that he could be outside the top 10, but from time to time he can surprise us with those huge upset win against rank players and then he can won some 250-500 ATP Masters along the way.

But to be in the top 10, it will be hard, he needs to win major grand slams. And as he is obviously older than the rest of the upcoming young generations that will replace the big 3 in the future, it will be hard for him to get one.

I'm thinking the same as you, he will do well in these ATP Masters tournaments but to win a grand slam, I can't see it. To break into the top 10 is very hard as you say with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic still playing and with the young talent already in the top 10 it will be very difficult to see him break in unless one or two of the young talent go down with injuries.

[AndySt]

I'm thinking the same as you, he will do well in these ATP Masters tournaments but to win a grand slam, I can't see it. To break into the top 10 is very hard as you say with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic still playing and with the young talent already in the top 10 it will be very difficult to see him break in unless one or two of the young talent go down with injuries.

It reminds me a little bit of the Stan Wawrinka situation. Can I remind you how old Stan Wawrinka was when he won his first Grand Slam title? Australian Open in 2014 at the age of 29. Then there was Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. Therefore, I would not be so categorical about the TOP 10 of the ATP tour, nor about winning a Grand Slam title. If Karatsev will not be haunted by injuries and he can confirm his level this year and next year, then age will not interfere with achieving the highest goals.

[Kemarit]

I'm thinking the same as you, he will do well in these ATP Masters tournaments but to win a grand slam, I can't see it. To break into the top 10 is very hard as you say with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic still playing and with the young talent already in the top 10 it will be very difficult to see him break in unless one or two of the young talent go down with injuries.

It reminds me a little bit of the Stan Wawrinka situation. Can I remind you how old Stan Wawrinka was when he won his first Grand Slam title? Australian Open in 2014 at the age of 29. Then there was Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. Therefore, I would not be so categorical about the TOP 10 of the ATP tour, nor about winning a Grand Slam title. If Karatsev will not be haunted by injuries and he can confirm his level this year and next year, then age will not interfere with achieving the highest goals.

Hmm, probably there are players that is late bloomers isn't it? they won their first Grand Slam at a very ripe age and then have a good 2-3 years inside of them to win more and then after that, they will go on their peak and then curve down. It can be due to injuries or just because they age, so the mind and body took a toll. So let's test this theory on Karatsev and see how he can go in the next 2-3 years.

[vella85]

I'm thinking the same as you, he will do well in these ATP Masters tournaments but to win a grand slam, I can't see it. To break into the top 10 is very hard as you say with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic still playing and with the young talent already in the top 10 it will be very difficult to see him break in unless one or two of the young talent go down with injuries.

It reminds me a little bit of the Stan Wawrinka situation. Can I remind you how old Stan Wawrinka was when he won his first Grand Slam title? Australian Open in 2014 at the age of 29. Then there was Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. Therefore, I would not be so categorical about the TOP 10 of the ATP tour, nor about winning a Grand Slam title. If Karatsev will not be haunted by injuries and he can confirm his level this year and next year, then age will not interfere with achieving the highest goals.

Yes I agree and he did it when the top 4 players were around their peak, I say top 4 because Murray was also around playing good tennis back then so yes it can be done. Time will tell if Karatsev can achieve grand slam success but as long as Djokovic is a dominate force in grand slams I can't see him winning one any time soon. Lets also not forget that Djokovic was not the player back when Wawrinka won grand slams as he is now. Djokovic is on another level which is why he is so hard to beat in grand slam tournaments. Don't get me wrong, I would like to see other players win grand slams and I have said this before in here but until Nadal and Djokovic retire we will continue to see them win most grand slams.

[Jating]

We are now on Madrid Open, Nadal is the top seed.

Unfortunately, Djokovic has to withdraw because of 'family issues;. Nadal is the same bracket as Sinner, in 3rd round, or Zverev in QF or Thiem, so this is interesting if they are going to face each other. While Medvedev have Tsitsipas.

[Daniel91]

Cameron Norrie, the British tennis hope, advanced to the semifinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament with a victory against Garin, 3-6 7-5 6-3.
For a place in the final he will fight against Marin Cilic who has been in a big crisis for a long time and he is not the favorite in this match, in my opinion.
Cilic is a former GS winner but has not played at the highest level for a long time and has obviously lost his confidence.
In any case, the British tennis player has already achieved greater success than at the tournament in Barcelona, where he was defeated by Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/56948590

[Jackl87]

We are now on Madrid Open, Nadal is the top seed.

Unfortunately, Djokovic has to withdraw because of 'family issues;. Nadal is the same bracket as Sinner, in 3rd round, or Zverev in QF or Thiem, so this is interesting if they are going to face each other. While Medvedev have Tsitsipas.

Nadal can face Zverev in the QF and thiem in the semi-final. I think that Zverev will probably not big that big of a problem to nadal if he can perform at his normal level because clay is not the best surface of Zverev. Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals can be more dangerous though i think. Thiem plays stronger on clay than Zverev and already showed that a couple of times as he was in the Final of the french open 2 years ago for example. In the end it all depends on Nadal. If he stays without injury and can reach his normal level then no one can beat him on clay.

[Strongkored]

Cameron Norrie, the British tennis hope, advanced to the semifinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament with a victory against Garin, 3-6 7-5 6-3.
For a place in the final he will fight against Marin Cilic who has been in a big crisis for a long time and he is not the favorite in this match, in my opinion.
Cilic is a former GS winner but has not played at the highest level for a long time and has obviously lost his confidence.
In any case, the British tennis player has already achieved greater success than at the tournament in Barcelona, where he was defeated by Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/56948590

As far as I know Cilic struggled long enough to recover from his injury, and until now he has not shown a good performance and it could be his best achievement to be able to advance to the semifinals after returning from injury.
Currently the match is in progress, the position is still 4-3.
Nadal is back in second place, shifting Medvedev
https://www.atptour.com/en/rankings/singles

[Daniel91]

Cameron Norrie, the British tennis hope, advanced to the seifinals of the Estoril Open tennis tournament with a victory against Garin, 3-6 7-5 6-3.
For a place in the final he will fight against Marin Cilic who has been in a big crisis for a long time and he is not the favorite in this match, in my opinion.
Cilic is a former GS winner but has not played at the highest level for a long time and has obviously lost his confidence.
In any case, the British tennis player has already achieved greater success than at the tournament in Barcelona, where he was defeated by Nadal in the quarterfinals.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/56948590

As far as I know Cilic struggled long enough to recover from his injury, and until now he has not shown a good performance and it could be his best achievement to be able to advance to the semifinals after returning from injury.
Currently the match is in progress, the position is still 4-3.
Nadal is back in second place, shifting Medvedev
https://www.atptour.com/en/rankings/singles

Unfortunately for the Croatian fans, as I predicted, Cilic lost the match at the tennis tournament again.
Norrie beat Cilic 7:6 (5), 7:5.
Cilic last played in the final of a tennis tournament 3 years ago, which is very disappointing for the former winner of the GS tournament.
If nothing else, Cilic reached at least the semifinals this time, which is already a great success for him at the moment, at this stage of his tennis career.
It is sad to see a once very good tennis player struggling like this in tennis tournaments and constantly losing.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/56957607

[vella85]

I'll be keep a close eye on Stefanos Tsitsipas in this tournament as he has been in fine form this year and could reach another final here. Its a shame that Djokovic had to pull out due to family issues and it is a concern leading into the French Open as Djokovic has not played much tennis but I think he'll be fit and ready to go. It will also be interesting to see if Karatsev can continue on with his form so its going to be a great tournament to watch and see which players look good for the French Open.

[Kemarit]

@Daniel91 - I agree with your prediction, unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to put a beat on Norrie.

@vella85 - Yes mate, we should keep an eye on him, I think he still has the momentum going in this tournament, lots of heavy hitters, but I'm sure he can progress maybe in QF minimum and see how it goes for him. It's going to be tough, but I will put some money on him again.

[Timelord2067]

My three choices to be in the finals to win the US Open, the French Open and Wimbledon are Ashleigh Barty, her recent doubles partner Jennifer Brady and Ashes singles finals opponent Aryna Sabalenka:

To Win ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLM

Recent wins

[Jating]

We are now on Madrid Open, Nadal is the top seed.

Unfortunately, Djokovic has to withdraw because of 'family issues;. Nadal is the same bracket as Sinner, in 3rd round, or Zverev in QF or Thiem, so this is interesting if they are going to face each other. While Medvedev have Tsitsipas.

Nadal can face Zverev in the QF and thiem in the semi-final. I think that Zverev will probably not big that big of a problem to nadal if he can perform at his normal level because clay is not the best surface of Zverev. Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals can be more dangerous though i think. Thiem plays stronger on clay than Zverev and already showed that a couple of times as he was in the Final of the french open 2 years ago for example. In the end it all depends on Nadal. If he stays without injury and can reach his normal level then no one can beat him on clay.

Yeah, I agree, Dominic Thiem is far more formidable in the clay court, so this is going to pose problem from Nadal. But Nadal is getting closer to his old self, old version of him wherein he can dominate the clay surface.

But there are a lot of young players nows, Thiem and Tsitsipas are catching up with him. So let's see how Nadal will perform against those players that are trying to be the next clay specialist like him.

[Daniel91]

@Daniel91 - I agree with your prediction, unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to put a beat on Norrie.

@vella85 - Yes mate, we should keep an eye on him, I think he still has the momentum going in this tournament, lots of heavy hitters, but I'm sure he can progress maybe in QF minimum and see how it goes for him. It's going to be tough, but I will put some money on him again.

Thanks Kemarit, unfortunately, it was not at all difficult to predict the outcome of that match.
I have been following Cilic his entire senior career and his psychological decline and loss of self-confidence over the last 3 years is obvious.
When he plays, the surest option is to bet against him.
On the other hand, I also like Tsitsipas and in the near future I see him as the successor of the ''big three'' but he still has to work on his psychological preparation before the big matches. 

[Kemarit]

In the womens Madrid Open, Naomi Osaka was upset by Karolina Muchova.

Osaka lost the first already when I saw this match, so I immediately jump and bet on Osaka, maybe she can still make a comeback. And se actually did manage to win the second win. However, in the third she was broken already and then Muchova took a commanding 3-0 lead. Tough luck though, I thought that Osaka can pull a comeback win down 1 set. The score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 for Muchova.

[aoluain]

Naomi Osaka is my favourite womens player, I was watching that match
yesterday, I too thought she might do it after loosing the first close set and
winning the second.

It seems like she isnt used to the clay court, her movement isnt as free
as it should be. This was only her second match on clay since 2019.

[Jating]

Naomi Osaka is my favourite womens player, I was watching that match
yesterday, I too thought she might do it after loosing the first close set and
winning the second.

It seems like she isnt used to the clay court, her movement isnt as free
as it should be. This was only her second match on clay since 2019.

Exactly my thoughts, she lost Karolina Muchova, although Karolina has won against top seed ladies but I think this is the first time he upset Naomi Osaka.

Osaka is not used to clay court, I agree, she is more comfortable on fast surface, and this is the first thing that comes to my mind when I see her losing the first set. No more comeback win, sad to say. She is mentally tough, but when your body is not to used to play in clay, then definitely it will be very difficult to overcome it.

[vennali]

Naomi Osaka is my favourite womens player, I was watching that match
yesterday, I too thought she might do it after loosing the first close set and
winning the second.

It seems like she isnt used to the clay court, her movement isnt as free
as it should be. This was only her second match on clay since 2019.

Osaka is basically a taller and younger Serena Williams..She has the potential and dedication to reach that glory too. Now, it all comes down to how fit can she remain during crucial tournaments(such as grand slams) and how good is her conditioning so that she avoids injuries. There are soo many WTA players with short careers due to injuries and hope it doesnt come down to it and we witness the potential and rise of Osaka as a Monster to be reckoned with in the WTA scene. Barty has the potential too but sometimes it feels she plays way too casual. Maybe just conserving energy. I cant tell.

[Strongkored]

The top seed at the WTA Madrid Open A. Barty will play against I. Swiatek. Barty is favored to win by bookie, but the odds are not too different, this proves that it is not an easy thing for Barty to beat Swiatek, after winning the French Open 2020 Swiatek has become one of the young players who are reckoned be stars.