Although Robson lost today you could tell she has major potential, if she got consistent with her serve and moved/anticipated just a little bit better she could be a top 20 player I reckon. I think a lot will depend on how much she really wants it over the next year or 2.
Watson on the other hand is mostly maximising her ability already I think - I'm not sure I see her transforming her game much beyond what she currently has. Although, Halep is similar height and has developed a more powerful game over the last 2 years (despite losing today) so it is possible.
It may have been last year, although it was probably 2 years ago that I wrote a reasonably long post about what I would have done after Wimbledon with Laura's game and without regurgitating it all again, my ex coach ideas focused almost entirely on one thing; ball control.
The comments today are no surprise bearing in mind she hasn't played for 17 months but the challenge remains the same.
While in 'like for like' comparison with Heather, yes, Laura has the bigger strokes, to get anywhere towards the very top, let alone stay there, you have to have weapons which fire consistently.
Heather doesn't have the power and therefore, must rely on consistency and tenaciousness and playing smart tactical play patterns, like she showed today, especially against a volatile opponent who hit winners but was always one shot away from a shank, as Sam Smith pointed out.
I'd try and get Laura to take 15% off everything, hit with more spin, work on her fitness like crazy so she would be confident to stay in longer rallies and in slightly longer matches potentially.
Especially on serve, I'd work 80/20 on the 2nd serve to try and make this unmissable.
However, all of that is easier said than done as it's a challenge for the players these days as the racquets and strings allow them to 'tee off' all the time and it must be very difficult to pull back to what might be called a 'rallying game'. However, that's what I think Laura should do.
It's actually the reverse of what Andy Murray has managed to do over the last 2-3 years; namely increase his aggressiveness on top of his steady ground stroke game based on superb recovery skills and an ability to put the ball back to the opponent one more time.
It was interesting, as I thought about watching him lose to Ferrer 2 years ago in Paris where his f/h was very inconsistent, that even in a match where really, he was doing enough to get through, his cross-court f/h is almost unrecognisable compared to what it was.
If Andy has powered up a bit, so Laura needs to power down.
Back to Laura and Heather, unless, Laura can smooth out her power and reduce her errors, then we may be concluding in a few years that it was Laura, not Heather who had maxed out her potential by her early 20's.
But I don't want to make any conclusions or predictions. I've always said with these players that they are in the foothills of their careers and at pro level, despite most of their lives already having been taken up as juniors.
I'd join any bandwagon to leave them both alone to work it out with their coaches and I wish them the very best.
Yes i was wondering that!
i thought of her when that audience member fainted and was being treated by the medics early on.
I haven't read back (too tired!)
Bless you both! How sweet. I was fine thankfully and it wasn't me (for once, I've had enough of passing out in public places!) You are so sweet to think of me!
I had a great day, really wonderful. I was up a bit so shaded and to the side of the umpires chair and the view was wonderful, could see everything and especially the tactics and spins and depth of the ball best from that angle.
As it was under the side there was actually air con pumping out so I was cool!
It started out badly, a bit comical, I took a cab as I was going alone incase I got dizzy in the underground, well we was stuck in so much traffic, crawling along that I would never have made it for tennis.
So I had to get out and go on the train.
Once there though everything was great.
Wow Petra was hitting so hard and clean, she was the best Petra today and although quick I'd always rather see her be so great!
Roger played really well, backhand was good too and he just sort of glides on the court.
Murray was hilarious watching with a British crowd, when he got broken the whole stand of chairs moved with people being annoyed! It was so interesting, people were wringing their hands, I was telling them to relax, it's what he does! I don't think he played very well really, ok, but he did what was needed, some great shots though, it was a great place to see deep and fast paced returns.
Then I saw a set and a bit of Woz, you could tell the difference in quality though.
A funny thing happened though.
After Roger's match I left the court as I hadn't eaten all day and joined the queue for strawberries.
Me and a guy behind was saying how long the queue was and how typically English to queue.
I noticed this woman had a really pretty set of bracelets, then realised I knew the bracelets as they said Charlene and Lenny. I thought oh someone's copied Mirka and gotten the bracelets (you know some fans) that Mirka has for her two sets of twins. Then I looked her up and realised it was Mirka, standing in the queue for strawberries. She was two places in front of me, the man she was with kept saying he could bring them up to her but she said she liked the sun. She had her hands on the sides (my word her rings are huge!).
When she got there she ordered five lots and gave the man her card only to be told by the poor boy they only take cash so she scrambled to find some! Then I shared the sugar bowl with her and told her.
It was hilarious seeing someone like her in this huge queue!
But yes, I had a wonderful day thank you! I'm VERY tired and I need to rest and recoup but I loved it, as usual it's a great event, really the people are second to none, so polite, all asking if you're having a great day, who you've seen, wonderful service.
Plus if you go alone you get to bypass a few queues for the taxi's and go straight to the front to pop you in one.
Bless you both! How sweet. I was fine thankfully and it wasn't me (for once, I've had enough of passing out in public places!) You are so sweet to think of me!
I had a great day, really wonderful. I was up a bit so shaded and to the side of the umpires chair and the view was wonderful, could see everything and especially the tactics and spins and depth of the ball best from that angle.
As it was under the side there was actually air con pumping out so I was cool!
It started out badly, a bit comical, I took a cab as I was going alone incase I got dizzy in the underground, well we was stuck in so much traffic, crawling along that I would never have made it for tennis.
So I had to get out and go on the train.
Once there though everything was great.
Wow Petra was hitting so hard and clean, she was the best Petra today and although quick I'd always rather see her be so great!
Roger played really well, backhand was good too and he just sort of glides on the court.
Murray was hilarious watching with a British crowd, when he got broken the whole stand of chairs moved with people being annoyed! It was so interesting, people were wringing their hands, I was telling them to relax, it's what he does! I don't think he played very well really, ok, but he did what was needed, some great shots though, it was a great place to see deep and fast paced returns.
Then I saw a set and a bit of Woz, you could tell the difference in quality though.
A funny thing happened though.
After Roger's match I left the court as I hadn't eaten all day and joined the queue for strawberries.
Me and a guy behind was saying how long the queue was and how typically English to queue.
I noticed this woman had a really pretty set of bracelets, then realised I knew the bracelets as they said Charlene and Lenny. I thought oh someone's copied Mirka and gotten the bracelets (you know some fans) that Mirka has for her two sets of twins. Then I looked her up and realised it was Mirka, standing in the queue for strawberries. She was two places in front of me, the man she was with kept saying he could bring them up to her but she said she liked the sun. She had her hands on the sides (my word her rings are huge!).
When she got there she ordered five lots and gave the man her card only to be told by the poor boy they only take cash so she scrambled to find some! Then I shared the sugar bowl with her and told her.
It was hilarious seeing someone like her in this huge queue!
But yes, I had a wonderful day thank you! I'm VERY tired and I need to rest and recoup but I loved it, as usual it's a great event, really the people are second to none, so polite, all asking if you're having a great day, who you've seen, wonderful service.
Plus if you go alone you get to bypass a few queues for the taxi's and go straight to the front to pop you in one.
Hey Amelia. So glad you had a great day and share some sugar with Mirka. I'm off shortly. Half excited, half dreading the heat.
Microphones are just something that has happened in modern sport, though, you can't get away from it, it happens in cricket too, the sledging is getting heard and causing a fuss. It also probably makes it sound like grunting is getting worse.
I don't really know what can be done, you can't get rid of the technology.
They manage to mute the mics quickly in footy when the ruder chants begin. Surely the sound guys can do the same here?
Dustin loves to finish off the points early. makes him a bit of a nuisance here though. If he doesn't wilt then he could give Nadal some serious problems. battered him in halle last year with some classic grass court tennis
Back in the 90s Brown would probably beat Nadal at WImbledon
He did, but that was Halle. Halle was quicker and very low bouncing, so Brown could ambush Rafa to good effect.
The match will prob be played on CC, which is already bouncing alarmingly high.
It'll only bounce higher as the tourney goes on...which gives Rafa more time to defend and pass Brown at the net.
I'll live. In the end I don't count time spent on court as a validation of anything. Fact is Rafa, Roger, Novak, Andy will probably all win in straights, probably Berdych too, big serves stop them being total wipeouts, but personally I find them an hideous grind mostly, horse-for-courses.
Wish they were all best-of-three.
Gawd no. Removing the BO5 element makes slams a glorified Masters and would rob us of so many five set classics.
I think it should go the other way - that is, the women's side from the QF onwards should be BO5. Equal pay for equal play.
Why do they insist on interviewing the poor devils the minute they get off the court, dripping sweat and exhausted? They ought to at least let them have a quick shower first!
It's not just tennis that has an abundance of redundant interviews, this cancer has spread to all sports. I'd estimate that less than 5% of these interviews are worth listening to.
I believe it's seeing a personal injury lawyer later this week.
I wonder how they'd deal with McEnroe's antics now? He was completely OTT in his day; the players of today are models of restraint compared to him in his heyday! And Ilie Nastase clowning around and wasting time.....
Ha, yeah. Imagine how much trouble Mac and Nasty would get in now? Every on-court remark would be scrutinised and dissected, and any comments on social media.
Partly the mass media is to blame...having to fabricate and sensationalise anything remotely out of the ordinary just to sell papers/get clicks. Then of course the fact that sport has become overcommercialised and many brands will only accept a squeaky-clean image. All depressing.
Yep. Happened against Sousa at the French as well.
Andy's serve can go walkabout in early rounds, which allows lesser ranked players to get into too many of his service games and zone for a set or two. It's happened for as long as I can remember.
I feel really bad for what's happening to Bouchard. Surely this partnership with Sumyk can't last much longer?
And now Halep is gone. Difficult to view her as the world #3 when she keeps flopping at slams.
Hopefully Bouchard is a little more humble from now on. Either way, the foundations of her game are alarmingly weak. Her groundies just look so unnatural and snatchy.
As for Halep, she comes across as so defeatist in interviews and probably needs to leave Romania. Nadal also downplays expectations, but you know that the inner belief remains strong. I don't see that with Halep.
I imagine the expectations/pressure on her at home will become suffocating after a while. She ought to hook up with Wim Fissette again, broaden her horizons. Currently she's grinding herself to oblivion deep behind the baseline, she can take the ball earlier and use angles. Her net game leaves a lot to be desired.
Petra very impressive today and Heather really held her nerve. Laura showed some promising signs and were it not for the double faults, could easily have taken it to a third. I think she will climb the rankings quickly. She's such a big match player so the slams suit her.
None of the men have impressed me very much. Tsonga taking it to five sets again, as if he gets paid by the minute. Murray looked very tentative and against a top player he'll be punished on that form. Nadal seems to get slower between points in every match - at one point they showed his average time between points to be 26 seconds. That's average, so he's obviously taking even longer after some points. He could easily lose in the next few rounds. He seems to have developed a choke closing out sets, so good thing he had a buffer break in the first. As someone said earlier, bizarrely he seems more comfortable at net than baseline.
Well, Murray was pretty defensive, using a lot of slice BHs. I am confident he'll step it up as the tournament goes on. Bear in mind he was playing very well last year in the first week, and threw in an absolute stinker against Dimitrov in the QF.
Infinitely preferable if he saves his best tennis for the second week. First week is more about conserving energy and getting the job done efficiently (without peaking)
Why doesn't the mens' tour kick up a stink about the inequality of the women's ten-minute bathroom break rule if the weather gets too hot? It's bad enough that the women get paid the same amount for half the work but this is truly absurd.
Yeah it was 4.
Lucky as there is no queue there, went in the side, the other TM had the biggest queue outside. So you shouldn't have a wait.
That's great thanks lovely. I'll try and send a message from CC later as it still makes me laugh when you can go online on Centre Court. I know, I'm sad that way.
Caught a bit of Monfils- what a legend, the crowd were loving him. Such an entertainer. Also got a bit of Berdych, there's something about those late matches which are special, lovely atmosphere at them
Talk about some bizarre scheduling today. two unseeded players play court one while Maria gets court two???
Nishikori (who never did a thing here) vs a grass mug on CC?? While semi-finallist here last year against legend Tommy Haas only gets court one
Djokovic in a snoozefest on centre you'd think they'd give him a token court one bout here
He did, but that was Halle. Halle was quicker and very low bouncing, so Brown could ambush Rafa to good effect.
The match will prob be played on CC, which is already bouncing alarmingly high.
It'll only bounce higher as the tourney goes on...which gives Rafa more time to defend and pass Brown at the net.
I never said it'd have an effect on tomorrow! Brown ain't beating Rafa here but can certainly make things awkward at times. Just giving an example that he has pedigree on grass, no matter what type of grass
Well, Murray was pretty defensive, using a lot of slice BHs. I am confident he'll step it up as the tournament goes on. Bear in mind he was playing very well last year in the first week, and threw in an absolute stinker against Dimitrov in the QF.
Infinitely preferable if he saves his best tennis for the second week. First week is more about conserving energy and getting the job done efficiently (without peaking)
Agreed! When will people honestly stop taking Andy's early round form so seriously! If I had a £ for every time someone came out with "if he doesn't improve in the later rounds..." players understandably try not to peak early on!! As you say look at Murray last year and the good it did 'peaking' in week one. Murray is a master of doing just enough in the early stages, while conserving energy
I don't agree with the "just doing enough" argument. Sure, they're not going to be running down a ball when they're 40-0 up in a first round match, but they're also not going to allow themselves to be broken while serving for the set just to "conserve energy". Novak is a perfect example of clean early round matches but still going deep. Playing well week 1 and getting to the end aren't mutually exclusive. Murray was underperforming yesterday because he wasn't playing as well as usual, not as some kind of strategy. Anyway, I don't think one match indicates he can't win the whole thing (he did win in straight sets after all) but he does need to raise his level.
Why doesn't the mens' tour kick up a stink about the inequality of the women's ten-minute bathroom break rule if the weather gets too hot? It's bad enough that the women get paid the same amount for half the work but this is truly absurd.
It would be rather silly if the ATP kicked up fuss about the 10-minute break, as they've said they don't want it. It's a WTA thing, a wise one IMHO. I know the Daily Mail hasn't mentioned that in their stories about it.
That's great thanks lovely. I'll try and send a message from CC later as it still makes me laugh when you can go online on Centre Court. I know, I'm sad that way.
Wimby closed the CC roof briefly this morning, to protect the court from the sun and switch on the aircon.
Oh yeah, while I'm here I found the comments about the Aussie crowd bizarre. Do you really want placid crowds that don't engage with the match whatsoever? Yeesh.
You need to see a Davis Cup match, stat. Part of the joy of watching Marcos Baghdatis back in the noughties was the vocal Cypriot crowd that enthusiastically supported him, notably at Wimby and the AO.
Why doesn't the mens' tour kick up a stink about the inequality of the women's ten-minute bathroom break rule if the weather gets too hot? It's bad enough that the women get paid the same amount for half the work but this is truly absurd.
The men's tour can bring in a heat-related rule if they wish. Currently they don't deem it necessary.
I don't agree with the "just doing enough" argument. Sure, they're not going to be running down a ball when they're 40-0 up in a first round match, but they're also not going to allow themselves to be broken while serving for the set just to "conserve energy". Novak is a perfect example of clean early round matches but still going deep. Playing well week 1 and getting to the end aren't mutually exclusive. Murray was underperforming yesterday because he wasn't playing as well as usual, not as some kind of strategy. Anyway, I don't think one match indicates he can't win the whole thing (he did win in straight sets after all) but he does need to raise his level.
There is an ocean of difference between a handy first round match you know you will win and an actual Grand Slam semi or final. In terms of preparation, application and so on
Novak conceded a set to Stepanek here last year, Haas 2013 and Fognini 2012 he's no angel when it comes to 'peaking' either. Novak was just as shaky as Andy on Monday, but a choking opponent helped him
It's not a league where goal difference counts or it's not a judges decision 'who had the best tournament' overall.
Murray won the US open, despite conceding more points to Lopez in an early round match
Obviously he needs to raise his level and he will. Did you honestly ever see Murray play 5 cack matches in the one Grand Slam? Heck, even in 2014 he had a few wonderful showings (every match rounds 1-4 here last year, Verdasco/Matosevic the French, Tsonga/Kuznetsov US Open, Lopez/first round match AO)
That's great thanks lovely. I'll try and send a message from CC later as it still makes me laugh when you can go online on Centre Court. I know, I'm sad that way.
Welcome.
Have fun, I hope Kei holds up with his injury. Oh and a tip if you want pimms (I indulged for one day!) you can go to the front of the queue if you have correct change. ;-)
Cheers for sharing your Wimby experience, amelia. It was a great read :cool:
He did, but that was Halle. Halle was quicker and very low bouncing, so Brown could ambush Rafa to good effect.
The match will prob be played on CC, which is already bouncing alarmingly high.
It'll only bounce higher as the tourney goes on...which gives Rafa more time to defend and pass Brown at the net.
Thanks, I had a great day.
A little thing about the ball bounce.
I always like to get the used balls, I get some and give the dog one all the time.
This year I got them home and got one out for the dog who was excited as I had just got back and the bounce was so high, much higher then previous years when I had gotten them. I don't know if it's a change in the ball or maybe not. But the bounce was HIGH.
They weren't worn at all as some other years, maybe I had the ones Petra had just played with, there was not a mark on them and none of them were even a bit fluffed up.
Comments
Yes i was wondering that!
i thought of her when that audience member fainted and was being treated by the medics early on.
It may have been last year, although it was probably 2 years ago that I wrote a reasonably long post about what I would have done after Wimbledon with Laura's game and without regurgitating it all again, my ex coach ideas focused almost entirely on one thing; ball control.
The comments today are no surprise bearing in mind she hasn't played for 17 months but the challenge remains the same.
While in 'like for like' comparison with Heather, yes, Laura has the bigger strokes, to get anywhere towards the very top, let alone stay there, you have to have weapons which fire consistently.
Heather doesn't have the power and therefore, must rely on consistency and tenaciousness and playing smart tactical play patterns, like she showed today, especially against a volatile opponent who hit winners but was always one shot away from a shank, as Sam Smith pointed out.
I'd try and get Laura to take 15% off everything, hit with more spin, work on her fitness like crazy so she would be confident to stay in longer rallies and in slightly longer matches potentially.
Especially on serve, I'd work 80/20 on the 2nd serve to try and make this unmissable.
However, all of that is easier said than done as it's a challenge for the players these days as the racquets and strings allow them to 'tee off' all the time and it must be very difficult to pull back to what might be called a 'rallying game'. However, that's what I think Laura should do.
It's actually the reverse of what Andy Murray has managed to do over the last 2-3 years; namely increase his aggressiveness on top of his steady ground stroke game based on superb recovery skills and an ability to put the ball back to the opponent one more time.
It was interesting, as I thought about watching him lose to Ferrer 2 years ago in Paris where his f/h was very inconsistent, that even in a match where really, he was doing enough to get through, his cross-court f/h is almost unrecognisable compared to what it was.
If Andy has powered up a bit, so Laura needs to power down.
Back to Laura and Heather, unless, Laura can smooth out her power and reduce her errors, then we may be concluding in a few years that it was Laura, not Heather who had maxed out her potential by her early 20's.
But I don't want to make any conclusions or predictions. I've always said with these players that they are in the foothills of their careers and at pro level, despite most of their lives already having been taken up as juniors.
I'd join any bandwagon to leave them both alone to work it out with their coaches and I wish them the very best.
I haven't read back (too tired!)
Bless you both! How sweet. I was fine thankfully and it wasn't me (for once, I've had enough of passing out in public places!) You are so sweet to think of me!
I had a great day, really wonderful. I was up a bit so shaded and to the side of the umpires chair and the view was wonderful, could see everything and especially the tactics and spins and depth of the ball best from that angle.
As it was under the side there was actually air con pumping out so I was cool!
It started out badly, a bit comical, I took a cab as I was going alone incase I got dizzy in the underground, well we was stuck in so much traffic, crawling along that I would never have made it for tennis.
So I had to get out and go on the train.
Once there though everything was great.
Wow Petra was hitting so hard and clean, she was the best Petra today and although quick I'd always rather see her be so great!
Roger played really well, backhand was good too and he just sort of glides on the court.
Murray was hilarious watching with a British crowd, when he got broken the whole stand of chairs moved with people being annoyed! It was so interesting, people were wringing their hands, I was telling them to relax, it's what he does! I don't think he played very well really, ok, but he did what was needed, some great shots though, it was a great place to see deep and fast paced returns.
Then I saw a set and a bit of Woz, you could tell the difference in quality though.
A funny thing happened though.
After Roger's match I left the court as I hadn't eaten all day and joined the queue for strawberries.
Me and a guy behind was saying how long the queue was and how typically English to queue.
I noticed this woman had a really pretty set of bracelets, then realised I knew the bracelets as they said Charlene and Lenny. I thought oh someone's copied Mirka and gotten the bracelets (you know some fans) that Mirka has for her two sets of twins. Then I looked her up and realised it was Mirka, standing in the queue for strawberries. She was two places in front of me, the man she was with kept saying he could bring them up to her but she said she liked the sun. She had her hands on the sides (my word her rings are huge!).
When she got there she ordered five lots and gave the man her card only to be told by the poor boy they only take cash so she scrambled to find some! Then I shared the sugar bowl with her and told her.
It was hilarious seeing someone like her in this huge queue!
But yes, I had a wonderful day thank you! I'm VERY tired and I need to rest and recoup but I loved it, as usual it's a great event, really the people are second to none, so polite, all asking if you're having a great day, who you've seen, wonderful service.
Plus if you go alone you get to bypass a few queues for the taxi's and go straight to the front to pop you in one.
Hey Amelia. So glad you had a great day and share some sugar with Mirka.
Edmund's game isn't a natural fit for grass, plus he was injured. He's far from shit...
It ought to be. Been Youzhless all year, losing to anyone and everyone.
They manage to mute the mics quickly in footy when the ruder chants begin. Surely the sound guys can do the same here?
He did, but that was Halle. Halle was quicker and very low bouncing, so Brown could ambush Rafa to good effect.
The match will prob be played on CC, which is already bouncing alarmingly high.
It'll only bounce higher as the tourney goes on...which gives Rafa more time to defend and pass Brown at the net.
Gawd no. Removing the BO5 element makes slams a glorified Masters and would rob us of so many five set classics.
I think it should go the other way - that is, the women's side from the QF onwards should be BO5. Equal pay for equal play.
It's not just tennis that has an abundance of redundant interviews, this cancer has spread to all sports. I'd estimate that less than 5% of these interviews are worth listening to.
Ha, yeah. Imagine how much trouble Mac and Nasty would get in now? Every on-court remark would be scrutinised and dissected, and any comments on social media.
Partly the mass media is to blame...having to fabricate and sensationalise anything remotely out of the ordinary just to sell papers/get clicks. Then of course the fact that sport has become overcommercialised and many brands will only accept a squeaky-clean image. All depressing.
Yep. Happened against Sousa at the French as well.
Andy's serve can go walkabout in early rounds, which allows lesser ranked players to get into too many of his service games and zone for a set or two. It's happened for as long as I can remember.
Ernie's eggs were all in the French basket, so to speak. Genie must still have points in several places.
Hopefully Bouchard is a little more humble from now on. Either way, the foundations of her game are alarmingly weak. Her groundies just look so unnatural and snatchy.
As for Halep, she comes across as so defeatist in interviews and probably needs to leave Romania. Nadal also downplays expectations, but you know that the inner belief remains strong. I don't see that with Halep.
I imagine the expectations/pressure on her at home will become suffocating after a while. She ought to hook up with Wim Fissette again, broaden her horizons. Currently she's grinding herself to oblivion deep behind the baseline, she can take the ball earlier and use angles. Her net game leaves a lot to be desired.
Monf is the cirque du soleil.
Well, Murray was pretty defensive, using a lot of slice BHs. I am confident he'll step it up as the tournament goes on. Bear in mind he was playing very well last year in the first week, and threw in an absolute stinker against Dimitrov in the QF.
Infinitely preferable if he saves his best tennis for the second week. First week is more about conserving energy and getting the job done efficiently (without peaking)
Her FH is much too loopy to ever be a weapon. I feel it's too late to make major changes in this department...
Teehee
Why bother with these emojis? All I see are five squares.
I'm not installing an emoji pack just for you.
It's not my fault you have a substandard PC.
Thanks, hope you have a great day today!
It is hot, but try to think cool!
What gate did you go in ? It says gate 4 but I thought it was another gate ?
Yeah it was 4.
Lucky as there is no queue there, went in the side, the other TM had the biggest queue outside. So you shouldn't have a wait.
That's great thanks lovely. I'll try and send a message from CC later as it still makes me laugh when you can go online on Centre Court. I know, I'm sad that way.
Caught a bit of Monfils- what a legend, the crowd were loving him. Such an entertainer. Also got a bit of Berdych, there's something about those late matches which are special, lovely atmosphere at them
Talk about some bizarre scheduling today. two unseeded players play court one while Maria gets court two???
Nishikori (who never did a thing here) vs a grass mug on CC?? While semi-finallist here last year against legend Tommy Haas only gets court one
Djokovic in a snoozefest on centre you'd think they'd give him a token court one bout here
I never said it'd have an effect on tomorrow! Brown ain't beating Rafa here but can certainly make things awkward at times. Just giving an example that he has pedigree on grass, no matter what type of grass
+1000
Agreed! When will people honestly stop taking Andy's early round form so seriously! If I had a £ for every time someone came out with "if he doesn't improve in the later rounds..." players understandably try not to peak early on!! As you say look at Murray last year and the good it did 'peaking' in week one. Murray is a master of doing just enough in the early stages, while conserving energy
Brown has absolutely everything going for him to beat rafa at Wimbledon, he is ranked in the 3 digits after all
It would be rather silly if the ATP kicked up fuss about the 10-minute break, as they've said they don't want it. It's a WTA thing, a wise one IMHO. I know the Daily Mail hasn't mentioned that in their stories about it.
The ATP believe they're too macho for it. Idjits.
Have fun today!
And put the phone down and enjoy the moment.
Oh yeah, while I'm here I found the comments about the Aussie crowd bizarre. Do you really want placid crowds that don't engage with the match whatsoever? Yeesh.
You need to see a Davis Cup match, stat. Part of the joy of watching Marcos Baghdatis back in the noughties was the vocal Cypriot crowd that enthusiastically supported him, notably at Wimby and the AO.
Meh. You can keep yo' gimmicky emojis :cool:
It started reasonably well but lost momentum.
The men's tour can bring in a heat-related rule if they wish. Currently they don't deem it necessary.
Tbf, one of the unseeded players on C1 is the female British #1. Understandable that Hev gets priority at her home slam.
Nishikori is somewhat puzzling, but I can't see an obvious men's match that should displace it.
There is an ocean of difference between a handy first round match you know you will win and an actual Grand Slam semi or final. In terms of preparation, application and so on
Novak conceded a set to Stepanek here last year, Haas 2013 and Fognini 2012 he's no angel when it comes to 'peaking' either. Novak was just as shaky as Andy on Monday, but a choking opponent helped him
It's not a league where goal difference counts or it's not a judges decision 'who had the best tournament' overall.
Murray won the US open, despite conceding more points to Lopez in an early round match
Obviously he needs to raise his level and he will. Did you honestly ever see Murray play 5 cack matches in the one Grand Slam? Heck, even in 2014 he had a few wonderful showings (every match rounds 1-4 here last year, Verdasco/Matosevic the French, Tsonga/Kuznetsov US Open, Lopez/first round match AO)
Why? Is not a Grand Slam tournament that just happens to be held in London? Scheduling should not favour any nationality
Haas/Raonic for one is twice as appealing watching an injured Kei vs a clay courter
Where's the respect for Cilic, a Grand Slam champion thrown out on court 3 and he actually has grass pedigree
Every Slam in the World does this, perhaps we should be different, but I don't think it'll change anytime soon.
Welcome.
Have fun, I hope Kei holds up with his injury. Oh and a tip if you want pimms (I indulged for one day!) you can go to the front of the queue if you have correct change. ;-)
Thanks, I had a great day.
A little thing about the ball bounce.
I always like to get the used balls, I get some and give the dog one all the time.
This year I got them home and got one out for the dog who was excited as I had just got back and the bounce was so high, much higher then previous years when I had gotten them. I don't know if it's a change in the ball or maybe not. But the bounce was HIGH.
They weren't worn at all as some other years, maybe I had the ones Petra had just played with, there was not a mark on them and none of them were even a bit fluffed up.
Raonic matches are never appealing at the best of times. I fear that Kei could retire in his match, but at least it'll have rallies
Cilic deserves no respect whatsoever in my book. It was bad for tennis when he won a slam. Even if you disagree, he's in woeful form.
Not just slams. It defo happens at lower level tournaments as well...in North America, Europe, you name it.
All matches involving home players on the show courts and everyone else on a non-televised one. Does my head in when that happens at Masters level.