OT: Canadian Tennis

[joestevens29]

Sounds like she'll return for the Beijing open on Sept 28th

 

[rboomercat90]

Sounds like she'll return for the Beijing open on Sept 28th

Thanks for this. Was searching last night on where she was playing next and couldn’t find anything.

 

[guymez]

Sounds like she'll return for the Beijing open on Sept 28th

Will it be televised though?

 

[guymez]

Canadian Mens Tennis is on the verge of making history.
They have advanced to the Davis Cup final. I believe the last time that happened was 1913....106 years ago.

They play the winner of Spain and Great Britain.

For anyone interesting in watching the Final match hey play tomorrow at 8:30 AM (Mountain) on Sportsnet 1.

 

[rboomercat90]

They play Spain. They were the winners in the doubles match against Great Britain.

I wonder if this would be the right time to finally switch Felix in for the singles match after Pospisil lost in straight sets today.

Shapovalov has beaten Nadal in the past. I’d Give him another shot tomorrow and let Felix go up against either Lopez or Carreno-busto, whoever Spain goes with. Save Pospisil for the doubles match with Shapovalov. I suppose they could just sacrifice Felix or Pospisil to Nadal and let Shapovalov have the 2, hoping they can win the doubles match. I’m curious to see what Dancevic does. Either way, I’m excited to watch this tomorrow morning.

 

[rboomercat90]

Tough matchups for the Canadians today. Bautista-Agut has rejoined the Spanish team after the death of his father and goes against Felix in the first round. Nadal and Shapovalov in round 2. These Championships are also being played in Madrid just to make it even more daunting.

 

[rboomercat90]

Spain won 2-0.

I figured it was going to be a tough hill to climb when I saw Bautista-Agut was playing this morning. I’d have liked either Shapovalov or Felix’s chances against either Lopez or Carreno-Busta and then take your chances in the doubles matchup but it wasn’t to be. I thought they both played well today, especially Shapovalov but Bautista-Agut and Nadal are better players. Still, it was a lot fun watching this event this week.

 

[guymez]

Spain won 2-0.

I figured it was going to be a tough hill to climb when I saw Bautista-Agut was playing this morning. I’d have liked either Shapovalov or Felix’s chances against either Lopez or Carreno-Busta and then take your chances in the doubles matchup but it wasn’t to be. I thought they both played well today, especially Shapovalov but Bautista-Agut and Nadal are better players. Still, it was a lot fun watching this event this week.

Yeah...I was concerned when I saw that it was Felix going up against Agut. I didnt think that Felix's game is consistent enough (especially on his serve) to win a match like that.
I thought that the difference between Felix and Dennis today was that Dennis was able to elevate his game...Felix wasnt.
It ultimately wasnt enough for Shapovolov but he raised his game to a level higher than any Canadian mens player ever IMO. He is going to get better with this experience as well.
So will Felix.
In the end the Canadian team just isnt deep enough...depth is what you really need in a tournament like this. Not sure if Raonic was injured or what the case was with him.
Hopefully there are some younger players in the Junior ranks that can help fill out this team moving forward.

Still very proud of this accomplishment though...the boys exceeded expectations for sure.

 

[rboomercat90]

Yeah...I was concerned when I saw that it was Felix going up against Agut. I didnt think that Felix's game is consistent enough (especially on his serve) to win a match like that.
I thought that the difference between Felix and Dennis today was that Dennis was able to elevate his game...Felix wasnt.
It ultimately wasnt enough for Shapovolov but he raised his game to a level higher than any Canadian mens player ever IMO. He is going to get better with this experience as well.
So will Felix.
In the end the Canadian team just isnt deep enough...depth is what you really need in a tournament like this. Not sure if Raonic was injured or what the case was with him.
Hopefully there are some younger players in the Junior ranks that can help fill out this team moving forward.

Still very proud of this accomplishment though...the boys exceeded expectations for sure.

I don’t know how the matches are set but I assume one team submits the two names of the players they’re using that day and the other team picks who they want to match up with. I also assume Canada was the team that submitted first otherwise I don’t know why you wouldn’t have played Shapovalov against Bautista-Agut to give yourself a better shot at getting a split.

Agree with your assessment on how the two played. I didn’t want to rip too hard on Felix playing in his first match coming back but I thought he crumbled pretty quickly and missed a lot of shots in the first set that cost him. I thought Shapovalov showed a lot of fighting spirit and battled as hard as he could against a superior player.

 

[guymez]

I don’t know how the matches are set but I assume one team submits the two names of the players they’re using that day and the other team picks who they want to match up with. I also assume Canada was the team that submitted first otherwise I don’t know why you wouldn’t have played Shapovalov against Bautista-Agut to give yourself a better shot at getting a split.

That is an excellent point. Play your strongest player in the match that you have the best chance to win and then take your chances in the Doubles match.

Agree with your assessment on how the two played. I didn’t want to rip too hard on Felix playing in his first match coming back but I thought he crumbled pretty quickly and missed a lot of shots in the first set that cost him. I thought Shapovalov showed a lot of fighting spirit and battled as hard as he could against a superior player.

I agree completely. Shapovolov really impressed me. He is such an intense/emotional competitor which I really appreciate. He is learning to harness his emotions and manage his shot selection (trying less very high risk shots)...I think its just a matter of time before he is a top 10 player.

IMO Felix seems like a young 19 year old...he may take a little more time to break though into the top 10 but I think he will get there.
Overall I like Shapovolovs game better though.
Still...having 2 quality young Canadian players to watch for years to come is going to be a lot of fun for tennis fans like us moving forward.

 

[Delicious Pancakes]

That is an excellent point. Play your strongest player in the match that you have the best chance to win and then take your chances in the Doubles match.



I agree completely. Shapovolov really impressed me. He is such an intense/emotional competitor which I really appreciate. He is learning to harness his emotions and manage his shot selection (trying less very high risk shots)...I think its just a matter of time before he is a top 10 player.

IMO Felix seems like a young 19 year old...he may take a little more time to break though into the top 10 but I think he will get there.
Overall I like Shapovolovs game better though.
Still...having 2 quality young Canadian players to watch for years to come is going to be a lot of fun for tennis fans like us moving forward.

Yeah if Shapovalov could be a little more patient on points and tried to go for the risky winners less I think he would win more points and he'd definitely have less unforced errors. He's definitely able to elevate his game with the emotion he plays with but it also makes him a bit more volatile. Exciting player though who once he matures should be a fun top player to watch for the next number of years.

 

[guymez]

More bad news than good at the Aussie Open.
Bianca Andresscu withdrew from the tourney due to injury.
Shapovalov and Auger-Alliasime were both knocked out in the first round.

Milos Raonic is the only Canadian player left and he is doing great.
He dispatched number 6 ranked Tsitsipas in straight sets and moved on to the round of 16.

Milos looked really sharp against Tsitsipas...pretty much dominated the match.
If he can keep up this level of play he has a good chance to get to the Semi final for sure.

 

[rboomercat90]

More bad news than good at the Aussie Open.
Bianca Andresscu withdrew from the tourney due to injury.
Shapovalov and Auger-Alliasime were both knocked out in the first round.

Milos Raonic is the only Canadian player left and he is doing great.
He dispatched number 6 ranked Tsitsipas in straight sets and moved on to the round of 16.

Milos looked really sharp against Tsitsipas...pretty much dominated the match.
If he can keep up this level of play he has a good chance to get to the Semi final for sure.

Raonic has looked so good the last two years when he’s been healthy. Let’s hope his body can hold up for another week. Seems like it’s been a while since he’s been able to stay sound for more than a month or so. In a way he’s starting to remind me of Del Potro in the sense that whenever you see him he’s always very competitive but you only see him a few times a year.

 

[guymez]

Raonic has looked so good the last two years when he’s been healthy. Let’s hope his body can hold up for another week. Seems like it’s been a while since he’s been able to stay sound for more than a month or so. In a way he’s starting to remind me of Del Potro in the sense that whenever you see him he’s always very competitive but you only see him a few times a year.

Good points.
Raonic surprised me when I watched him against Tsitsipas. I dont remember his return game being that strong.
I hope he can stay healthy for a few years because if he can then the Canadian contingent is that much stronger. Raonic looks like a top 10 player to me right now.

 

[Duke74]

Death, taxes, and Djokovic beating Federer. In straight sets nonetheless.

Federer will go down as one of the greatest players of all time. But I think it's time for Roger to hang up the racket. He barely beat two unseeded players and didn't even put up a fight against Novak.

 

[guymez]

Death, taxes, and Djokovic beating Federer. In straight sets nonetheless.

Federer will go down as one of the greatest players of all time. But I think it's time for Roger to hang up the racket. He barely beat two unseeded players and didn't even put up a fight against Novak.

Damn...I knew I shouldnt have gone into this thread before watching the match on my PVR.

Not that I am surprised to hear this though.

IMO the Nadal/Theim match was the best match so far....absolutely brilliant.

 

[Duke74]

Damn...I knew I shouldnt have gone into this thread before watching the match on my PVR.

Not that I am surprised to hear this though.

IMO the Nadal/Theim match was the best match so far....absolutely brilliant.

Sorry for the spoiler

Glad to see Theim upset Nadal though

 

[Drivesaitl]

Death, taxes, and Djokovic beating Federer. In straight sets nonetheless.

Federer will go down as one of the greatest players of all time. But I think it's time for Roger to hang up the racket. He barely beat two unseeded players and didn't even put up a fight against Novak.

I like Djoko. Always did. Followed him even when he had that weird thing where he would cramp up all the time or get hurt in matches and it held him back for awhile. But the dedication is so apparent, the will to be better than anybody else. Of all of Djoko, Nadal, Federer, Djoko just keeps getting better, to his credit.

I NEVER liked Nadal.

Nobody commented on this earlier but Raonic has lost all 10 matches with Djoko. Every one, and never close. Its like watching a fly fight a spider.. I watched one set and remembered why I can't watch Raonic play. So many unforced errors he doesn't even have a chance to win against top opponents. Always been his story. Whatever aces he gets he more than gives away in his atrocious decisions and misplays.

 

[guymez]

Sorry for the spoiler

Glad to see Theim upset Nadal though

No worries...entirely my fault for going into this thread. I dont mind seeing Federer lose actually.

 

[Stoneman89]

Like the Joker, but Roger is my fave. Always classy, and an amazing athlete.

 

[Canovin]

Death, taxes, and Djokovic beating Federer. In straight sets nonetheless.

Federer will go down as one of the greatest players of all time. But I think it's time for Roger to hang up the racket. He barely beat two unseeded players and didn't even put up a fight against Novak.

That can be said about anyone ranking below Federer. Not many or any can put up a fight against Novak right now. Great competitor but so boring to watch.

 

[Oilhawks]

Anyone bothering with the US Open this year?

Nadal and Federer opted out and now Djokovic is out due to disqualification. Heavily asterisked but could see Shapovalov going deeper because of that.

Edit: Could be a year Thiem takes it all too, underrated player. Though he's more a clay court guy (RIP against Nadal), could see him being the favourite now.

 

[MuzzaFuzza]

Anyone bothering with the US Open this year?

Nadal and Federer opted out and now Djokovic is out due to disqualification. Heavily asterisked but could see Shapovalov going deeper because of that.

Edit: Could be a year Thiem takes it all too, underrated player. Though he's more a clay court guy (RIP against Nadal), could see him being the favourite now.

Should be a great match between Thiem and Felix today. I agree Thiem should be the favourite with the big 3 out but AA has been playing really well so far

 

[Drivesaitl]

In pandemic times Djoko is getting harder and harder to like. First his pandemic parties in which several people caught Covid-19. Now him whacking a line girl with the ball. I like the player, I don't like the person, at least not anymore. Looks wide open. But I'm long past watching Tennis. Used to love it, but now I can't play it the enthusiasm for it has waned.

In anycase still hearing about Nadal and Federer makes Tennis in 2020 seem dead. I wouldnt know Thiem or any of the current players, except Shapalov, out of a police lineup.

 

[Oilhawks]

Should be a great match between Thiem and Felix today. I agree Thiem should be the favourite with the big 3 out but AA has been playing really well so far

Shaping up to be a great match so far, I think Thiem takes it (I like Thiem and would like to see him take the tourney).

In pandemic times Djoko is getting harder and harder to like. First his pandemic parties in which several people caught Covid-19. Now him whacking a line girl with the ball. I like the player, I don't like the person, at least not anymore. Looks wide open. But I'm long past watching Tennis. Used to love it, but now I can't play it the enthusiasm for it has waned.

In anycase still hearing about Nadal and Federer makes Tennis in 2020 seem dead. I wouldnt know Thiem or any of the current players, except Shapalov, out of a police lineup.

Regarding Joker I can see people not liking his stance on Covid-19, guess the disqualify was karma of sorts. I really don't think he intended to hit her, but it was idiotic either way. The guy was having a great year but could have done with keeping his mouth shut a little more and avoiding controversy. He'll have to give his head a shake and "embrace the bad guy image" as per McEnroe (who knows the irony of that coming from him as an 'unlikable guy' himself).

You should watch Thiem, I think you'd like his style. Once the big guns retire I could see him being the guy to beat as long as he can find a level of consistency.