Tennis 2021

jon abbey

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The first set was very tense and even, although it wasn't particularly well played. And then Gauff just lost her composure, like a teenager is perfectly entitled to do. Nice rally from her toward the end, but we now have three very weird semifinalists on the women's side. (And the favorite to win the tournament will surely be the winner of the fourth quarterfinal now on court - probably Swiatek, but maybe Sakkari.)
They are showing it now, bummer that Gauff was up 5-3, 40-30 and couldn't finish her service game. Ah well, onward and upward, good tournament for her anyway.
 

jezza1918

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Berrettini just took the 3rd from Djoker after losing the first two 3&2. Match is now 2.5 hours old...I find it very hard to believe Djoker loses this, but by staying out there longer he is really going to make it (even more) difficult for himself against Rafa next round.
 

jon abbey

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Berrettini just took the 3rd from Djoker after losing the first two 3&2. Match is now 2.5 hours old...I find it very hard to believe Djoker loses this, but by staying out there longer he is really going to make it (even more) difficult for himself against Rafa next round.
He was up 5-4 and serving in the third set tiebreak and made two awful errors, which ended up costing him the set one point later. Agreed that this extra time is making an impossible job next round even more impossible.
 

jezza1918

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He was up 5-4 and serving in the third set tiebreak and made two awful errors, which ended up costing him the set one point later. Agreed that this extra time is making an impossible job next round even more impossible.
Appreciate you filling in the gaps. I have no watch options unless it goes five...
 
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jon abbey

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Djokovic's reaction after winning match point has to be seen - and heard - to be believed. (It also makes me think somehow that he has no chance vs. Nadal, although those could be famous last words.)
He did it two points before also after losing a long potential match point, not sure I've ever seen someone scream themselves to a win quite like that before.
 

jon abbey

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Amazing that the career head to head of Novak and Nadal is 29-28, 19-7 on clay is a little closer than I would have guessed (although beating Rafa 2 out of 3 is a lot easier than 3 out of 5, as we know).
 
Excluding Marcel Granollers' walkover win against Nadal in the third round in 2016, Nadal's match record at Roland Garros is now 105-2, which is right up there among the most ridiculous statistics in sports history. One of those losses was to Djokovic, in the 2015 quarterfinals; without looking, does anyone else remember who is the only other person to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros?
 

jon abbey

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Yeah, that is easy.

I can't believe I'm going to be home all day tomorrow for women's semis I have no interest in, and be out all day Friday for the men's semis. I hate watching tennis on DVR because it is so hard to catch up but looks like that's what I will be doing.
 
Well, you could be commentating on tennis on Friday - I'm calling the first two women's quarterfinals on grass from Nottingham and then driving home, so I'll probably miss both semis in Paris because I'll be getting paid to watch other tennis. Which is almost as ludicrous as Robin Soderling defeating Rafa Nadal in Paris.
 

jezza1918

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Robin Soderling in 09. Lost to Fed in the Finals.
I was there for this. It was an incredibly surreal experience. I think like much of the crowd, I wanted Rafa to win...but at the same time as it looked like soderling might pull it off you couldn’t help but want to witness history as well.
 

jon abbey

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The Soderling thing wasn't so so ridiculous, he was only seeded 23rd but he was quickly ranked 4th after that (not just because of that) and was seeded #4 and #5 in a bunch of majors over the next year or two. Then he got hurt and got mono and never recovered, but he was like Stan Wawrinka-level good for a year or two.
 

jezza1918

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The Soderling thing wasn't so so ridiculous, he was only seeded 23rd but he was quickly ranked 4th after that (not just because of that) and was seeded #4 and #5 in a bunch of majors over the next year or two. Then he got hurt and got mono and never recovered, but he was like Stan Wawrinka-level good for a year or two.
It was ridiculous at the time given it was Nadal’s first loss there. And then it wasn’t too ridiculous for a few years when Soderling backed it up with the string plan you mentioned. But I think it’s gone back to being so, so ridiculous given what Nadal has done at Roland Garros since. He’s got two losses there - one to the eventual (ugh) GOAT. And the other to Robin Soderling.

edit: maybe me arguing over degrees of ridiculousness is pretty ridiculous. But the basil Hayden’s I’m using to get through this bruins game says otherwise
 

jon abbey

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Whoo hoo, schedule has changed and I can see tomorrow's semis live. Go Djokovic and Tsitsipas!
 
Anyone have eyes on Krejcikova vs. Sakkari? Looks compelling based on scoreboard watching...
I'm watching the third set in my hotel room now, and Sakkari has gotten very edgy. Didn't convert her match point with Krejcikova serving at 3-5 30-40, and then she got broken back - 5-5 now in the third. Looks to me like she's having one of her "off" days...understandably so, and she probably still has enough game to win, but can she hold/recover her nerve?
 

shawnrbu

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Tsitsipas won the first two sets routinely. Zverev battling back winning the 3rd set and up an early break in the 4th. Zverev climbed out of a two set deficit in the first round.
 

jon abbey

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Djokovic playing terribly to start, missing overheads badly etc. 4-0 Nadal.
 

johnmd20

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Nadal already up 4-0 in the first set,(two breaks) looking completely dominant. Djok is going to have to dig down deep to even make this modestly respectable.
 

jon abbey

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Novak with his own push, he's won 5 of 6 games since going down 5-0. Up a break now in set 2, 6-3, 0-2.
 

coremiller

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This third set alone has turned into a Russian novel. Hard to believe they have to play more after this.
 

johnmd20

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They decide to let the fans stay and not stick to the curfew, which is the right move, in my opinion. They have been there, what is another two sets of tennis going to change?
 

swiftaw

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They decide to let the fans stay and not stick to the curfew, which is the right move, in my opinion. They have been there, what is another two sets of tennis going to change?
So when faced with a screaming demanding mob, the French surrendered?
 
Doesn't it immediately invalidate the need for the curfew if they can change their mind due to the fact that there's a good tennis match taking place?
I suspect it's a lot easier to relax the restrictions on the final night when any restrictions can possibly be required at all. There's literally zero chance of running into the curfew tomorrow or Sunday, so there's no precedent being set here to worry the authorities.