Tennis: Wimbledon 2022

[kihei]

Nadal gonna go down next?

Might be closer to home.

 

[kihei]

I should think that Cressy's velocity on serve might begin to tail off a bit this set. Hope so, anyway. Any edge in a storm.

 

[kihei]

The most amazing thing so far is how well Cressy has returned serve. Way, way above his norm. He has gotten only one break for his troubles, but it has helped greatly in the breakers. The constant pressure is wearying on Felix.

Felix is sure hanging tough, though. 5-all in the fourth set.

 

[kihei]

Absolutely heartbreaking defeat for Felix who played excellent, gutsy tennis. He just met a grass court player in Cressy having the best match of his entire life. No shame in that loss. Just praise for Cressy.

 

[Tuggy]

Felix out first round... sucks.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Lol at Felix losing. What a mug. Haha. Seeds dropping like flies.

 

[MsMeow]

Denis and Bianca won! Sad for Felix, though.

 

[kihei]

I don't envy Serena. Playing against ultra junk-baller Harmony Tan must be like being gummed to death by a thousand toothless gerbils.

 

[kihei]

Lol at Felix losing. What a mug. Haha. Seeds dropping like flies.

That's pretty harsh. Felix couldn't have played much better, something like a 63/27 winner/unforced error ratio and no shortage of clutch points. Nothing to be ashamed of in that loss whatsoever.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

That's pretty harsh. Felix couldn't have played much better, something like a 63/27 winner/unforced error ratio and no shortage of clutch points. Nothing to be ashamed of in that loss whatsoever.

I disagree. For a highly seeded player like FAA to lose to a guy like Cressy in the first round of a major is something to be criticized. These types of failures aren't unique to FAA though.

 

[MsMeow]

This Williams/Tan match is horrible. Horrible! How has Tan made it as a pro? And Serena? I hope Roger is watching because this isn't the way you want to end your career.

 

[Tuggy]

This Serena match is like watching players in molasses.

 

[kihei]

Serena out in the first round. Just as well., She looked absolutely miserable out there, joyless. Why try a comeback if you know deep down you really don't want to be there?

As for Tan, she is certainly no Su-wei Hsieh. There is nothing clever or imaginatiive or creative about her game in the least. Terrrible tennis to watch.

 

[aonb]

Truly dreadful match. My godness. Unironically my drunk father serves 10 times better than pro tennis player Harmony Tan. Especially 2nd serve, its so ***** slow you can do a backflip in the meantime and still hit the ball with all the power. Serena.. no words, she knows it was as pathetic as it gets. More than 3 hours of just terrible all around tennis. One could think it was exciting, even match but nah. Gem 2 of set 2 was something else - almost 20 minutes of ugly tennis with both players being too **** bad to win two points in a row lol

 

[kihei]

OUT

FAA
Hurkacz
Berrettini
Cilic
Carreno Busta
Dimitrov
Rune
Evans

 

[kihei]

I disagree. For a highly seeded player like FAA to lose to a guy like Cressy in the first round of a major is something to be criticized. These types of failures aren't unique to FAA though.

Overall I agree with you. I did a little casual research a couple of weeks ago, counting the number of times players in the Top Ten lost to players ranked 40 or lower. In the past year and a half, FAA has done so a whopping 13 (now 14) times. Though I was surprised how frequently it happened to many other players, no one but Felix had more than eight or nine such blemishes on their record. Most of his losses stem from too plentiful unforced errors, overhitting and poor tactics and strategy. Things that he should have the mental wherewithall to avoid.

At #45, Cressy certainly seems to add to this "bad loss" category. However, he is a grass court specialist who last week made the Eastbourne final where he beat Evans, Opelka, Norrie, and Draper along the way. Cressy had his best day ever on his ideal surface. Felix's unforced errors were almost at a per game all-time low; he seldom overhit, and, other than not taking the net more and adjusting his service stance more frequently, I didn't see any significant flaw in his tactics. Yes, it is still a bad result, but sometimes you just lose to the better player on the day. Cressy won the match way, way more than Felix lost it.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Overall I agree with you. I did a little casual research a couple of weeks ago, counting the number of times players in the Top Ten lost to players ranked 40 or lower. In the past year and a half, FAA has done so a whopping 13 (now 14) times. Though I was surprised how frequently it happened to many other players, no one but Felix had more than eight or nine such blemishes on their record. Most of his losses stem from too plentiful unforced errors, overhitting and poor tactics and strategy. Things that he should have the mental wherewithall to avoid.

At #45, Cressy certainly seems to add to this "bad loss" category. However, he is a grass court specialist who last week made the Eastbourne final where he beat Evans, Opelka, Norrie, and Draper along the way. Cressy had his best day ever on his ideal surface. Felix's unforced errors were almost at a per game all-time low; he seldom overhit, and, other than not taking the net more and adjusting his service stance more frequently, I didn't see any significant flaw in his tactics. Yes, it is still a bad result, but sometimes you just lose to the better player on the day. Cressy won the match way, way more than Felix lost it.

You make fair points. Cressy plays a style of play that works very well on grass. The reality is anyone in the top 100 can have their day. We keep waiting for the likes of FAA to pull through so to see him keep spinning his wheels is disappointing.

 

[kihei]

When the tournament started this was Rafa's likely road to the finals:

Cerundolo
Querrey
Sonego
Cilic
FAA
Berrettini
Djokovic

As of Tuesday night it looks like this:

Cerundolo
Berankis
Sonego
Van de Zandschulp
Fritz
Kyrigios/De Minaur
Djokovic

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Serena, just retire already!.

Her last grand slam singles win is from 2017, from Australian Open
and her last none grand slam WTA tournament (250 or higher) win is from 2016, from Italy Open

She turns 41 later this year and she hasn't been in shape since she gave birth to her daughter.

 

[Tuggy]

Ruud goes out to Humbert. Better grass courter won. Not a huge shocker.

Watch out for Otte...

 

[kihei]

World #2 Kontaveit unceremoniously dumped by #97 Niemeier 6-4, 6-love. Anett's split with her former coach Dmitry Tursunov seems to be taking a toll.

Humbert knocks out Ruud in four sets. Not a great surprise really, kind of a toss up match, but the #3 seed is gone.

 

[kihei]

Garcia could be a realliy tough out for Raducanu. 2-all in the first set. I like Caroline's chances a lot.

Garcia looking pretty dialed in breaks for 4-2....Garcia nabs it 6-3. That was so easy.

2nd set: Garcia gets a break for 3-2 and immediately tightens and loses her serve. If Emma has a move in her, now is the time to make it....she doesn't. She doesn't win another game.

Got to feel for Emma. She has some talent, but she is very raw. Just overmatched. It's hard to know how she will be able to escape the box that she is in.

 

[kihei]

Murray/Isner up next.

Isner counterintuitive factoid: Except for one semifinal appearance at Wimbledon, John has never gotten past the third round in twelve attempts at this tournament. In fact, he consistently goes deeper and has a higher win percentage (63% to 57%) at the French Open.

Murray is 8-0 against Isner lifetime.

 

[SPV]

Garcia could be a realliy tough out for Raducanu. 2-all in the first set. I like Caroline's chances a lot.

Garcia looking pretty dialed in breaks for 4-2....Garcia nabs it 6-3. That was so easy.

2nd set: Garcia gets a break for 3-2 and immediately tightens and loses her serve. If Emma has a move in her, now is the time to make it....she doesn't. She doesn't win another game.

Got to feel for Emma. She has some talent, but she is very raw. Just overmatched. It's hard to know how she will be able to escape the box that she is in.

Definitely feel for the kid.

 

[kihei]

Alcaraz pitches a shut out in the second set breaker, now up two sets to none.

He's flowing. Closest comparison I can think of is that watching Alcaraz play tennis is like watching Nureyev dance. Artistry that looks casual, effortless, yet is mind-blowing.