I think the players enjoyed being in London which was quite user friendly. I think Rio is not such an exciting prospect. I think Zika is a factor and the unpredictability of the country. I am suprised Raonic isn't there but not so much Berdych who has a new wife with whom he will want children.

The Olympic village isn't even ready. The Aussies refused to move in as all the toilets were blocked and there was sewage water running down the walls. When they turned all the lights on in the rooms, the electricity blew. The GB team are facing the same problems.

Further to my previous post, wasn't Nick too young to get on the original Pokemon bandwagon? It seemed to peak in 1999/2000, when he would be about 4-5. He lost to Shapovalov, who was born in 1999 so he was defo too young.


Well, the Olympics limits countries to entering 4 singles players, I think. So countries that have huge representation in the top 100 like Spain/France/USA will be disadvantaged. I think top players have also jumped on the Zika train and used that as an excuse, not wanting to go for...other reasons. *ahem*

There's also the relative rarity of the Olympics increasing its prestige - you typically only get 2-3 chances to ascend the podium and win singles gold in your career. You have a chance to win IW and WTF every year.

IW is marketed as the fifth major because Larry Ellison is loaded and can afford to fill his desert tourney with everything under the sun. In reality, many of the matches are poor quality. WTF is also all about the moolah, at least 5 of the top 8 players are knackered at the end of the season, just going through the motions before the off-season and it shows in the one-sided nature of many matches. I don't care how glitzy their walk-ons are

This is sadly true, look no further than Radwanska, she should have a cabinet full of trophies with her talent.

Also IW as a fifth slam is just daft. Delusions of grandeur if you ask me. They apparently have good wifi, must be a fifth slam right?

I completely agree with you about IW, it's just Larry doing what he does, like when he wanted a bigger and better hit for Haiti, but in the end it was awkward and too staged, the original had a great atmosphere as it wasn't planned.

I just used it as something they say.

IW and the WTF does come every year, but you still get the full line up. You haven't got that this year at the Olympic's and I think it shows it doesn't matter as much in tennis. I don't think the athlete's should risk it and go there, but the other sports are because it is their life and their goals. In tennis it's a slam and then a master's they want as goals.

I just don't see it as a fifth slam at all and I don't hear the players saying it. It's something great to have, but it isn't right up there.

It's awful. I saw James Cracknell the other day say the guys he knew wouldn't go in there and he said the places he had stayed with them were pretty rough, so it must be bad.

This example you just gave is unacceptable.

ITF latest:

Webley-Smith doing a little better in the rematch with the player who beat her in qualifying yesterday. Into a final set this time.

Laura and Katy still some hours away from starting their match.

Pictures of the Aus rooms It looks worse than dodgy student accommodation.

Also loads of rooms haven't passed safety tests yet.

Aga would be a slam winner in an earlier era, say late 80s. Gurl was born too late.

Nick will be happy with the wi-fi, he can catch Pokemon at every changeover...


Well, I suppose I'm bitter in a way as Muzza never ever plays well at IW, it's his bogey masters and many of his worst losses have happened there. It's a wonder he's ever made the final.

That said, I disagree about the lineup (on the women's side). Williams sisters boycotted the event from 2001 onwards and only recently returned, so IW crowds defo weren't getting the full lineup.


Aussies are so precious these days, it's unreal. I'd wager that they've seen worse in the outback

Yep and for Azarenka she'll get a protected ranking if she returns within 12 months of the birth.


At least Team GB are in a completed section.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...age-unfinished

It's just one nightmare after another. The housing market has bombed, so nobody is buying the properties for after the Olympics, the guy bankrolling the Athlete's Village is probably now heavily in debt.

Even some of the stadia still isn't complete because of the financial issues.

Check out the lovely shadow that centre court will have because it seems they're leaving it unfinished.

Agree about Aggie, she would have multiple slams in another era, but then maybe her head may get in her sometimes. She's had chances at some slams, when she lost to Sabine in the semi's at Wimbledon, she played a bad match, credit to Sabine who played well, but Aggie wasn't there.

To be clear, I really don't think IW is the fifth slam. I just don't think the Olympic's are at all. I think Larry markets it as that and it gets said a lot, but to me it's not. I do think the WTF's are right up there though, they may be all about the money, but if you have to beat all of the top ten to win a title, it's pretty big.
Yes the Williams sisters did miss it, for clear reasons, but all of the other top players will go and they have now gone back too.

But again, I think it's slams and masters that are the peak of their careers, obviously it's an achievement to win a gold, but it's not a huge gap if you haven't because it's not what tennis is about.

Oh dear, Thiem retired. As did Querrey, Chardy. Isner looked knackered after going deep in Washington. Errani withdrew. Feel for the Rogers Cup organisers at this point.

Thiem has played an awful lot in the first half of the year, and foolishly played Kitzbuhel last week. Wonder if he'll take his place in Los Cabos.

Gosh, that is bad.

I have to say, I never understand this, it's like it comes up suddenly, but they know for years that they have the games, so get it together!

Radwanska has a lot of flair but without a big forehand or serve she is more likely to get blown off court by someone who has those attributes.

Tracy Austin's game for me wasn't the prettiest to watch, but she made the most of what she had. She did not have the longevity of say someone like Chrissie, and Chrissie had a lot of flair in her game. The return of serve, backhand and lob to name a few

And Emily's lost again.

Barbie Girl v Venus is next on Court Centrale

I do like Venus's tennis dress

Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from Rio. Fair enough reasoning given her injury woes.

Does continue to put Hingis in a pickle though!

Tbh, it would be a big ask for any country to host the World Cup and Olympics back to back. Only a handful would be able to manage and have plenty of existing infrastructure/stadia, Brazil ain't one of 'em.


Of course you rate the WTF when Rog has a cabinet full of 'em. I can't take an event where you can lose twice but still end up with the trophy seriously. Just a glorified exho and Kermode's chance to milk the European cash cow once more before the year ends. Not budging on this


Well yes, but Brazil has corruption up the wazoo. Must take ages for anything to get done and plenty of stuff won't get done, if they can get away with it.

I think Third World countries should prioritise their own citizens and address the chronic problems they have before they bid for these stupidly expensive sporting events, with their inevitable white elephants. Very few Olympics have managed to turn a profit. In Brazil's case it's widespread crime, stark inequality, environment, endemic corruption...too many to list. No wonder Brazilians are so angry. Prob a discussion for a different thread, but eh.


Bloody hell, this wrist thing seems proper serious. BB's momentum has ground to a halt.

Will Martina pair up with Timi Bacs now?

Is that white roof on centre court supposed to be all the way around? They are leaving it only one third finished?

Is Baczinsky the only Swiss female on the team now

So Pliskova gets a W/O in Round 2 of the Rogers Cup, but Broady didn't get a W/O and had to play a LL and ended up losing? Does Pliskova get the W/O cause she's seeded? Otherwise, it doesn't sound fair to me

The Olympic bids are a mystery to me, they got chosen in 2009. Why give the Olympics to Rio knowing they were hosting the World Cup in 2014? The world cup decision was made in 2007, so they knew. Where is the money coming from to host the 2 biggest events in the world? If the infrastructure isn't there, why choose them? It makes sense to somebody I guess, i'm sure the people living in favela's are thrilled about it.

It's not as bad a Qatar and the 2022 world cup, which is just madness.

Haha, no Cherry, I'm not that way, I don't care if Roger has a lot of them, yeah he does, but so does Novak, who is also great too.

I've always thought they were valuable as a title before Roger, the big names have won it. You only play your very closest competitors, you cannot win by only playing people under the top ten.

I've also always thought the same about Olympic's for tennis before Roger. Roger has a gold anyway, in tennis, I just don't think it is that valuable a title, it's nice, but it's not one of the biggest ones for the sport, case in point Nicolás Massú won in 04 and Fish was the silver and of course the great Swiss of Marc Rosset has a gold.

A lot of the biggest names have won the finals, Fed and Novak, Andre, Sampras, Becker, Hewitt, Edberg, Lendl, Mcenroe, Conners, Borg. It's one of the big titles, even if it is heavily sponsored.

Belinda was supposed to team up with Stan. I guess he will team up with Hingis now that Roger has withdrawn.

Pretty much my thoughts on the WTFs too.

I dread to think what financial mess will be left on this chart after Rio.

She needs to work on her fitness and conditioning. It was a similar story with the back injury earlier in the year, which wasn't helped by Belinda trying to play through the pain barrier. She's still getting used to her adult body I guess.

Yeah I'm guessing it'll be Hingis/Timea and Hingis/Stan now.


It was supposed to.


Broady didn't get a walkover because seeded players get 1st Round byes, so lucky losers can still replace seeded players that withdraw in 2nd Round.