Tennis: Roland Garros 2017

[kihei]

Ostapenko moves from #47 to #12; Nadal from #4 to a firm #2.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

I remember when we said Roger and Rafa would never win majors again before 2017.

 

[Tuggy]

Nadal just destroyed this tournament.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

Ostapenko moves from #47 to #12; Nadal from #4 to a firm #2.

Given his recent results on grass it is unlikely, however number 1 is in play for him at Wimbledon. Murray bowing out early would certainly help his cause but isn't necessary. I figure Nadal needs at minimum a semifinal appearance for a takeover to be realistic. Its still possible with a QF appearance but that would require a ton of help from Murray.

I don't see Nadal being able to advance far enough at Wimbledon to make a serious charge at number 1 despite defending no points from last year.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

I remember when we said Roger and Rafa would never win majors again before 2017.

Hoping to see Fed/Rafa Wimby and US Open finals with Fed hopefully winning at the All England Club and Rafa at Ashe to make this year perfect in terms of slam match-ups on the Men's side.

The way they've both been playing, definitely possible.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Ostapenko moves from #47 to #12; Nadal from #4 to a firm #2.

Ostapenko didn't really impress me to be honest. Looks like a baseline ball basher that benefited from competition that was less than impressive and allowed her to dictate.

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

Amazing turn back of the clock by Fed and Rafa this year.

Happy for Rafa to get #10, an incredible achievement.

 

[kihei]

Ostapenko didn't really impress me to be honest. Looks like a baseline ball basher that benefited from competition that was less than impressive and allowed her to dictate.

Here's a list of women who have won a Grand Slam tournament in the modern era when they were her age or younger:

Evonne Goolagong
Chris Evert
Tracy Austin
Han Mandlikova
Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Monica Seles
Martina Hingus
Iva Majoli
Serena Williams
Maria Sharapova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Jelena Ostapenko

I'm not arguing that this necessarily proves anything, but Ostapenko joins an extremely impressive cohort of 13 women, everyone of whom, except for Iva Majoli, is in the Tennis Hall of Fame or will be locks to do so the moment they retire (Sharapova may have to be patient, but she is a lock based on her record on the court).

That being said, I hope winning so early doesn't go to Jelena's head. I don't think she is close to realizing her full potential, and her second serve remains a severe liability. Also, her gung-ho, do-or-die style, which is very exciting to watch, needs to be modified a little bit if she is to win consistently. So there is a lot of work to do. I would assume she might struggle for awhile. But there is also the chance that she could end of being something special.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Here's a list of women who have won a Grand Slam tournament in the modern era when they were her age or younger:

Evonne Goolagong
Chris Evert
Tracy Austin
Han Mandlikova
Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Monica Seles
Martina Hingus
Iva Majoli
Serena Williams
Maria Sharapova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Jelena Ostapenko

I'm not arguing that this necessarily proves anything, but Ostapenko joins an extremely impressive cohort of 13 women, everyone of whom, except for Iva Majoli, is in the Tennis Hall of Fame or will be locks to do so the moment they retire (Sharapova may have to be patient, but she is a lock based on her record on the court).

That being said, I hope winning so early doesn't go to Jelena's head. I don't think she is close to realizing her full potential, and her second serve remains a severe liability. Also, her gung-ho, do-or-die style, which is very exciting to watch, needs to be modified a little bit if she is to win consistently. So there is a lot of work to do. I would assume she might struggle for awhile. But there is also the chance that she could end of being something special.

Don't disagree. In a vacuum, this tournament was encouraging for her and she deserves praise; just leery of some of the pundits who are already quick to anoint her the next big thing and using endless superlatives to describe her potential. We've seen Muguruza and others garner much of the same praise in the past and witnessed the critiques as these players struggle through the growing pains.

Let her develop; like you said, improving that second serve first and foremost is the biggest weakness she needs to work on. Some variation and better placement on her serve in general as well. Love those huge flat groundies and the angles she can conjure up but would like to see her learn to restrain that tendency to go for broke and think the game better from a tactical perspective. That will come with time and experience, as will managing her emotions a little better, I believe. Either way, impressive accomplishment and hopefully she keeps getting better.

 

[rangerssharks414]

I didn't watch because I was doing something else, but that must have been one of the quickest finals ever. Congrats to Rafa.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

If you were Rafa, would you trade this Stan win for a win over Stan in the 2014 Aussie Open? That would've made him a multi-champ at each GS. But I'd say no. 10-time champ in just one GS is unmatched.

 

[kihei]

If you were Rafa, would you trade this Stan win for a win over Stan in the 2014 Aussie Open? That would've made him a multi-champ at each GS. But I'd say no. 10-time champ in just one GS is unmatched.

I'd hope that he would opt for the 10 French Open championships. Wimbledon started in 1877, so in 140 years no man has managed to win any Grand Slam tournament more than seven times. To win ten titles, especially on clay, the toughest surface to play, is absolutely titanic, one of the greatest sports records of all time.

 

[Loosie]

What absolute domination by Nadal! Congrats on #10 at RG.

As already stated who though that in 2017 we would have slam wins by both Federer and Nadal.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Tennis overall is a bit of a gong show-especially on the women's side. So many (SO MANY) mental midgets. The men's game is somewhat interesting because Fed and Rafa persist, but that's kind of an indictment of the sport as well. I'll be interested to see where the sport is in five or so years when the big 4 + Serena are gone. There are some guys I like (like Thiem) but let's see if they have what it takes to be a champion.