2016 Wimbledon Championships

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Big break for Djokovic with a rain delay here. He can possibly regroup now.
 

BigMike

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Looks like play is done for the night for Novak.

Federer not looking sharp so far in his matchup with Evans. He should get through this match, but he is going to have to improve his game multiple levels moving forward
 

BigMike

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Well, Novak was pissed this morning. A quick 4-0 run before more rain came.

Yesterday I would have put the over under on games won today by Querrey at 6, now I fear 4 might be optimistic.

Well Querrey comes out hot after the break and wins 4 of the next 7 games, and of course more rain.. Querrey 1-1 in the 4th when they called for a delay. Certainly seems like Sam's last best shot is right here in the 4th

And now they inexplicably opened the roof at center court

Less than 15 minute delay and they are playing again

Up to 3-3 in the 4th set. Honestly the level of tennis in this set has been shitty. Tons of break points mostly given away on unforced errors.
 
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jon abbey

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Novak saved three break points at 2-3 in the 4th, tied at 3-3 now.
 

BigMike

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Oh gee, we get Querrey up 6-5 in the 4th set, after a few bad calls (Novak ran out of challenges and it killed him). AND now we get more rain.

Really amazing stuff. Level of play is abysmal, but still compelling stuff
 

swiftaw

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Yeah, lots of errors from both players, but compelling stuff. Have to think Querrey has to win it in 4, if it goes 5 you'd have to think Novak will pull it out.
 

BigMike

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By the way so glad they have middle Sunday play tomorrow. It is one of the real special days when it happens, wish I was there
 

Infield Infidel

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Yeah, tomorrow will be fun, raucous crowds likely.

This match goes to show, no matter how good you are, when someone is bombing aces and service winners like Querrey was in the first two sets, it really messes with your head
 

Ed Hillel

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Here
Everybody there is so happy because Roger and Andy have a chance now.
 

cromulence

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Sam Querrey is an infuriating player to root for, but I officially forgive him for all awful shit I've seen from him and never ask him to do anything ever again. He's now one of my favorites forever.

Fuck Djokovic.
 
Dec 21, 2015
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Can't believe that tiebreak resurgence. Novak looks dialed in on *5-6, takes the first 2 points of the TB on loose errors, and then two 20+ stroke rallies and both are won by Querrey. Dunno where he got that focus back from, but it was a pretty special effort by him overall.
 

tbrep

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Man, Fed can't catch a break. The last 2 years (when he would have beaten anyone other than Novak on grass), Djokovic was in his way. And this year, when he'll probably struggle making the semi final, Novak goes out
 

BigMike

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Sincerely,
John Isner's career
Sure, John Isner is a better player than Querrey. John has holes in his game, but obviously so does Sam. And John's strengths are just much stronger than Sam's strengths.

Sadly at the end of the day he is just kind of ledfooted compared to better players on the tour
 

BigMike

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Isner has the higher floor because he's more consistent, but I think Querrey has the higher ceiling because he moves far better.
Not that much better. He looks less mechanical moving around, but he is very slow in and out of his cuts. Isner's serve is just much better. He also has a better forehand, and is better at the net.
 

BigMike

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Isner and Jo Willy Tsonga on serve at 9-8 in the 5th set now. How many hours of light are left today? This could take a while

(unless I've jinxed it)
 

Soxfan in Fla

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Isner and Jo Willy Tsonga on serve at 9-8 in the 5th set now. How many hours of light are left today? This could take a while

(unless I've jinxed it)
Now 12-11 in 5th. It's only 3pm over there right now. At least 5 hours of sunlight left today.
 

BigMike

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Honestly, I don't love this brand of tennis, so the fact that this is compelling (could end at any second), and features an American means we are going to get this until it ends, and that disappoints me

They are in my head, 2 minutes after I posted this, just as I was about to turn away, ESPN switches at least temporarily to Kyrgios v Lopez
 
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Infield Infidel

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WatchESPN has streams for every court, which has been awesome all week. They are all British feeds, including an alternate British feed for whatever is on ESPN. The Brits usually talk a lot less

Isnerathons can be compelling but there's only been 1 break point all set
 

Infield Infidel

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Finally getting to see 19 y.o. Sasha Zverev, he's losing to Berdych. Zverev's flashy, long hair, headband, gold chains, big game. Someone said yesterday he's gained 20 pounds of muscle over the past two years and he's still super skinny. Whenever he fills out he's going to be a monster

oooh Zverev takes the 3rd, down 2-1
 

BigMike

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Finally getting to see 19 y.o. Sasha Zverev, he's losing to Berdych. Zverev's flashy, long hair, headband, gold chains, big game. Someone said yesterday he's gained 20 pounds of muscle over the past two years and he's still super skinny. Whenever he fills out he's going to be a monster

oooh Zverev takes the 3rd, down 2-1
Yeah McEnroe has been hyping him as a future multiple Grand Slam winner. Obviously at some point someone else is going to have to win some. He certainly looks like he might; although, I'm not really sure what his dominant tool is
 
Dec 21, 2015
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Manic Monday's R16 Order of Play, for those of you like me who have to watch kids early and would like to watch something else while they're at it:

Centre Court:
1pm GMT / 8am ET: Federer [3] vs Steve Johnson (USA! USA!)
~4pm GMT / 11am ET: Serena [1] vs Kuznetsova [13] (no gimme - Kuznetsova knocked Serena out of Miami earlier this year in shocking fashion)
~6pm GMT / 1pm ET: Kyrgios [15] vs Murray [2]

Court 1:
1pm GMT / 8am ET: Halep [5] vs Madison Keys [9] (tough draw for Halepeño, Keys has looked good)
~3pm GMT / 10am ET: Venus [8] vs Carla Suarez Navarro [12]
~5pm GMT / 12pm ET: Gasquet [7] vs Tsonga [12]

Court 2:
11:30am GMT / 6:30am ET: Misaki Doi (JPN) vs Kerber [4]
~1pm GMT / 8am ET: Marin Cilic (CRO) [9] vs Nishikori [5] (a rematch of the 2014 US Open final; Nishikori has narrowly won both of the rematches since)
~4pm GMT / 11am ET: David Goffin (BEL) [11] vs Raonic [6]

Court 3:
11:30am GMT / 6:30am ET: Radwanska [3] vs Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) [19] (a toss-up despite the seeds - Cibulkova has won the last 2 and 5 of the last 8 H2H)
~1:30pm GMT / 8:30am ET: Makarova vs Vesnina
~3pm GMT / 10am ET: Jiri Vesely (CZE) vs Berdych [10]
(followed by men's doubles)

Court 12:
11:30am GMT / 6:30am ET: (ladies' doubles)
~1pm GMT / 8am ET: Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) vs Lucie Safarova (CZE) [28]
~3pm GMT / 10am ET: Bernard Tomic (AUS) [19] vs Lucas Pouille (FRA) [32]
(followed by Mixed doubles - Paes / Hingis)

Court 18:
11:30am GMT / 6:30am ET: Pavlyuchenkova [21] vs Coco Vandeweghe (USA) [27]
~1:30pm GMT / 8:30am ET: Sam Querrey (USA) [28] vs Nicolas Mahut (FRA) (Querrey could easily win this, Mahut might be checked out)
~4pm GMT / 11am ET: (Men's Doubles - Pospisil (CAN) / Sock (USA) [8] vs The Ghost of Lleyton Hewitt and Some Other Aussie)
~6pm GMT / 1pm ET: Men's Doubles - Herbert / Mahut [1] vs Robert/Sela - Mahut cares way more about this, I'd predict
 

BigMike

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A lot done on the day already

Mens side
Feder moves through Johnson in 3 sets
Cilic destroys Nishikori who retires down 5-1 in the second
Querrey blows through Mahut

Womens
Halep big 3 set win over Keys
Kerber Dominates Doi
Cibulkova defeats Radawanska

Right now Williams sisters are playing late in first set. Serena just had a break to even first set at 5-5, but with a slight mist, they have halted play, and are now closing the roof while everyone else is still playing
Venus just broke to get to 5-5 in the first,

And in the big match, which is not being broadcast, we have an upset brewing as Goffin is up 2 sets on Raonic
 

BigMike

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Rain to some degree changed things around a lot this afternoon.

Williams sisters both turned around and cruised to easy wins after their rain delay, and Raonic came back for a 5 set win

Pouille gets 5 set win over Tomic
Jo Willy Tsonga gets a much needed walkover as Gasguet retired midway through the first set
Murray destroys Krygios
Last major match of the day has Berdych and Vesely even through 2 sets
 
Dec 21, 2015
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I watched the last 2 sets of Raonic-Goffin, that was a very narrow comeback of his. But Raonic moves on to play Querrey in the Querreyfinals.

Serena really had some problem-solving to do to get through Kuznetsova. She was down a break, facing SK about to serve for the set, and was crying a little as they went to the changeover. Got really upset with herself, though no tantrums this time. Came back out, broke back with a few epic points. They have a pause to close the roof, and when they return she's kept the focus, wins the next 2 to take the set, and then the next 6 of the 2nd set for a bagel. Ends up winning 9 games in a row after getting mad and a little scared. It wasn't Peak Serena level play, but it was pretty close. Wrong-footed or hit behind Kuznetsova a half-dozen times, and I think her first-serve % was >80%.

Poor Madison Keys injured her left knee towards the end of the 2nd set, ended up losing that and then the 3rd pretty convincingly. Never called for a trainer despite the announcers doing everything but leaning out their window and yelling at her during changeovers.

The match to watch on the ladies' side was definitely Radwanska-Cibulkova. Went to 9-7 in the 3rd, and the crowd gave a standing ovation after it was over.

On the men's side, Gasquet defaulted to Tsonga about 30 minutes into the match. Now that's some French solidarité. And Kyrgios-Murray may have been in straight sets but it was no cakewalk for Murray, there was a hell of a lot of great points and risk-taking going on there. Lots of entertainment if you feel like watching the replay. And cursing (mostly) under their breath.
 

jon abbey

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Serena really had some problem-solving to do to get through Kuznetsova. She was down a break, facing SK about to serve for the set, and was crying a little as they went to the changeover. Got really upset with herself, though no tantrums this time.
I was falling asleep then, but didn't she slip on the damp court and do a full split that she didn't mean to just before that? Couldn't that have been why she was tearing up?

The match to watch on the ladies' side was definitely Radwanska-Cibulkova. Went to 9-7 in the 3rd, and the crowd gave a standing ovation after it was over.
This match was fantastic, Mary Carillo was saying it was the best woman's match in years.
 
Dec 21, 2015
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I was falling asleep then, but didn't she slip on the damp court and do a full split that she didn't mean to just before that? Couldn't that have been why she was tearing up?
Yes, and that certainly could have been why. But she was also frustrated at having just been broken, and you could see it in how she mocked her own missed shots and moped a bit. She wasn't a happy camper. And then she came out after the changeover on that damp court and broke right back. She certainly wasn't pouty after that happened, to say nothing of after resting during the roof closing.

This match was fantastic, Mary Carillo was saying it was the best woman's match in years.
I dunno about that, but it was pretty good. Serena and Muguruza have had some good ones, Halep-Sharapova in the RG 2014 final, and my pick would probably be Azarenka-Serena at the Cincinnati final in 2013. And for drama it'd be hard to top Serena v Heather Watson at last year's Wimbledon. Radwanska is a great counterpuncher with amazing footwork and consistency in her shots, she can make you beat yourself real well. Cibulkova has just enough power and net play to expose Radwanska's weaknesses.

Anyway, tomorrow morning the women play again (and Berdych-Vesely play their 5th set, at 8am).

8am ET: Halep-Kerber, and Venus-Shvedova.
~10am ET: Serena-Pavlyuchenkova, and Cibulkova-Vesnina
(and then ~12pm ET: Bryan Brothers, and Herbert/Mahut, the top two doubles teams, both play their R16)

Probably around 2pm, the Williams Sisters play their R16 doubles match, too. Ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees.
 

BigMike

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Kerber versus Halep is a fun little match this morning. Great rallies. Neither probably serves well enough to win this tournament, but man the level of excitement and fun is so much higher in this game than in the Venus-Shvedova match, which is miserable to watch,
 

Infield Infidel

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Never thought I'd see Venus in another grand slam semi. Slow start (again) but she won 10 of the last 13 games She won 8 of the last 10 games. Serve isn't as big as the olden days but still relatively huge. She looked good at the net in previous rounds but dDidn't get to the net as much today. She'll probably have to play more aggressively versus Kerber

edit- see strikethrough
 
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Dec 21, 2015
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Kerber probably outclasses Venus everywhere but net play, and has a roughly equal serve except on Venus's best days. She's also an excellent returner - I can see a lot of return winners on Thursday for Kerber. Venus is probably 20% to win the match - possible, but unlikely.

Still, a grand slam semi at age 36 is an incredible accomplishment for her. Navratilova made the semis of Wimbledon at age 35, 36, and the finals at age 37 (in 1994, losing to Conchita Martinez). Evert had some success from 33-34 but packed it in after her age 34 year. Graf was done at 30, pretty much dropped the mic after losing the '99 Wimbledon finals to Davenport.

Speaking of the Williams Sisters, they're playing right now, on-serve 3*-4 in the first set. I'm double-screening that one, it's a treat we won't get for much longer.
 

Infield Infidel

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That was a fun doubles match. On one point Serena hit a shot so hard her opponent turned away, but dangled the racket to her side. The ball hit the racket (which wasn't moving) so hard it bounced back over the net for a winner.
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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Cilic's serve has been great so far as he wins the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-3). Also blasted a 106 MPH forehand winner against Roger as well.
 

BigMike

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Cilic's serve has been great so far as he wins the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-3). Also blasted a 106 MPH forehand winner against Roger as well.
Any rain in the forecast?

Roger is in huge trouble at the moment, Cilic is at the top of his game right now. And Roger just dropped a service game (on a bunch of second serves) to go down 1-2 in the second
 

jsinger121

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Jul 25, 2005
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No rain in the forecast plus they are on Center Court where they could close the roof but man is Roger in trouble. Cilic looks locked in right now.