Tennis: All Purpose Tennis Thread XIV

[kihei]

I just saw the highlights, so I'm not sure. If it was a line call, wouldn't he challenge?

Not necessarily. Sometimes they just get in a snit and have to blame their predicament on something.

 

[kihei]

I've liked Tsitsipas' chances all week, so I am gingerly picking him in the final; however, I wonder if he has the mental toughness necessary to win a brawl with a red hot Rublev. Whatever their disparity on clay, Andrey seems to have closed the gap dramatically this week. Head to head record is dead even, both on hard courts and clay. Just a stone cold toss up, on paper anyway. Should be a beaut.

 

[kihei]

1st set: Tsitsipas absolutely dominant. Served and returned way better, won almost all of the backhand duels which he refused to get trapped in, and made only three errors in the first seven games. Rublev didn't play terribly but started slow (love-3) and never had a break point, 6-3.

2nd set: More of the same from Tsitsipas with Rublev, unable to find another gear and increasingly fading, a beaten man by the final game, 6-3. Magnificent performance from Stefanos, who had the resolve to keep Rublev down the entire match.

 

[Tuggy]

Felix storms past Musetti 6-0 in the 3rd in Barcelona.

Sets up R16 vs Denis. It's round 5 for these two against each other. 2-2 record so far at the ATP level.

 

[kihei]

Huge win for Felix, exactly the kind of match he doesn't win lately. I was writing his obituary after he choked badly trying to consolidate his early break in the second set, but he really surprised me.

 

[kihei]

I'm still not near to being on the Musetti bandwagon (though I enjoy watching him play) but his short game was a thing of beauty in the first set. Time after time he drew Felix to the net and out of position. It was, dare I say, Nastase-like.

 

[kihei]

Bublik casuals away another potentially winning match against De Minaur in Barcelona. What a waste. Top ten talent with a bottom five brain.

 

[Tuggy]

Felix makes easy work of Denis today...

He'll face Tsitsipas or De Minaur in the QF.

 

[kihei]

Both Musetti and Denis seemed a little dinged, but Felix's has played well and his confidence must be lifting. Perhaps because of Toni, he seems to be hitting his ground strokes with a safer margin over the net, which cuts down on errors both at net and beyond the baseline. Promising tournament so far, though Tsitsipas will be a major hurdle, but Felix had his number once.

Thinking it over: Can't see him getting by Tsitsipas given Stefanos' present form and FAA's poor return of serve game on clay.

 

[kihei]

Singer over RBA 6 and 2. Roberto always provides extremely strong competition but he just can't beat the kid.

 

[kihei]

Rublev looks like he would like to be anywhere but on a tennis court this week, but he keeps winning though clearly out of sorts, this time against Ramos-Vinolas, 6-4 in the third.

 

[MsMeow]

What the hell, Felix? He comes close to breaking Tsitsipas in his first 2 service games but doesn't, then loses his service game at love.

 

[Tuggy]

Straight forward win for Tsitsipas.

Nice win for Sinner over Rublev this morning.

 

[Hadoop]

Tsitsipas with an impressive win over FAA. Just checked and Stefanos is actually leading the live ATP Race right now. He's still yet to make a major GS Final, but he did beat Nadal at the AO so maybe this is the year he takes the next step.

 

[Hadoop]

Also Sinner is currently 7th in the live ATP Race, so the current Top 10 is officially on notice (if they weren't already)

 

[kihei]

Just a different level of confidence between Stefanos and Felix. 18 unforced errors in 18 games is actually a good sign for Felix, a big improvement over recent matches. But Barcelona clay is almost painfully slow this year and it blunted much of FAA's offense. No such problems with Tsitsipas who looks like a man confident that whatever he tries is going to work.

 

[kihei]

Interesting how Sinner just took over the first set from the word go. Second set was more competitive, but a well-timed loss for Rublev that I doubt will sting much. Hit the beach for a few days, Andrei, you've earned it.

 

[MaxV]

Karatsev gets Djoker in the semis.

He'll probably get crashed, but I am encouraged so far of what I've seen from Karatsev on clay. This is a good indication that he isn't a specialist and that he should have consistent success.

 

[kihei]

Tsitsipas keeps rolling against Sinner, 3 and 3. Stefanos' down-the-line play stood out as a thing of beauty in the first set with the second set being more of a grind for both players. However, Singer neither had the service game nor the return game going well enough to take advantages of his few opportunities.

 

[kihei]

Carenno Busta is 1-13 against the Big Three (0-8 versus Rafa), and his one win occurred when Djokovic had to default because of injury. Percentage wise, worse than Dimitrov at 3-30 who is the Gold Standard of soft.

 

[MaxV]

Bublik casuals away another potentially winning match against De Minaur in Barcelona. What a waste. Top ten talent with a bottom five brain.

He has spoken openly that he hates tennis and that he only does it for money.

 

[kihei]

Make that 1-14 (o-9 against Rafa) as Nadal, rounding into form nicely, beats Carreno Busta 3 and 2.

 

[kihei]

He has spoken openly that he hates tennis and that he only does it for money.

It sure shows on the court. So lavishly talented, hopefully he will have a change of heart like Agassi.

 

[MaxV]

Karatsev!

And the run continues. Biggest win of his career to date, win over Djoker on his home soil.

Djokovic had 28 break points, only converted 5 of them. He had 2 break points in the last game, but Karatsev showed heart and won 4 straight points. Karatsev went 6 for 16 on break points.

What a year for this guy.

 

[Hadoop]

Gees where has Aslan Karatsev been all these years? The guy has been a beast this season!