Phenomenal tennis between Alcaraz and Sinner. Alcaraz survives match point on Sinner’s racquet.
4th set ends at 2:01 AM Eastern.
4th set ends at 2:01 AM Eastern.
2022 Tennis
- Thread starter jezza1918
- Start date
Nothing quite like waking up at 7:30 a.m. in the UK and discovering that the tennis is still going on. Great finish by Alcatraz.
Latest finish at the US Open ever by far (2:50 AM), the long-standing previous record was 2:26 AM.
Second longest match ever at the US Open (5:15) behind only an Edberg/Chang semi in 1992.
And the quality of play was just incredible, both guys hitting five or eight winners on one point and all of them just coming back with even more insane shots.
Wow.
Second longest match ever at the US Open (5:15) behind only an Edberg/Chang semi in 1992.
And the quality of play was just incredible, both guys hitting five or eight winners on one point and all of them just coming back with even more insane shots.
Wow.
Bit of fun as an interlude: Fastest tennis serves. A list of personal-bests (so, each player listed only with their fastest).
I'd seen Taylor Dent cranking upper 140s at the US Open like a decade ago, had no idea he was actually that exceptional. Isner very high up of course, but Sam Groth owns the fastest. On the women's side, Caroline Garcia (whose guns / gym results were getting appreciated the other night) is tied for 6th-fastest personal best serve, only slightly behind Serena (#5) and Venus (#3). #2 is Lisicki, and #1 is some Hungarian I've never heard of.
I'd seen Taylor Dent cranking upper 140s at the US Open like a decade ago, had no idea he was actually that exceptional. Isner very high up of course, but Sam Groth owns the fastest. On the women's side, Caroline Garcia (whose guns / gym results were getting appreciated the other night) is tied for 6th-fastest personal best serve, only slightly behind Serena (#5) and Venus (#3). #2 is Lisicki, and #1 is some Hungarian I've never heard of.
Small correction but looks like #1 is a Spaniard who never cracked the top 100 and has only been in one singles slam main draw, so doubt many would know her (Georgina Garcia Perez)...I certainly hadnt. the serve, clocked at 136.7mph (a full 5.7mph faster than #2), happened at the Hungarian Open.
Really hoping that two straight 5 setters and ending at 250am sets Alcaraz back a step and gives Tiafoe an opening tomorrow night...
Do I believe that with training women would be able to adapt. Sure why not. These are great athletes. I Transition period could get ugly, and I really hate the idea of different rules of play as the tournament progress. And even just waiting for the later rounds still impacts TV etc. You could no longer do nighttime doubleheaders.
All that said. Why does extending to 5 sets make the sport better? Do you think the quality of play will increase? Do you feel 3 sets is not a test of a true champion?
Two thoughts:
NHL/NFL/NBA: regular season minimal overtime. Playoffs: unlimited overtime, if needed.
Soccer: in league okay or group stages, no overtime. In tournament knockouts, added extra time and penalty shootout if needed.
Different stakes at different stages => slightly different match format.
(2) this article, specifically for women's tennis:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/fivethirtyeight.com/features/serena-williams-grand-slam-us-open-best-of-five-sets/amp/
Longer matches reduce randomness and should allow the better player to progress significantly more often than in shorter matches. It's much easier for an underdog to upset a significant favorite when he or she only has to win two sets instead of having to win three sets. (And given the ridiculous parity - if you want to call it that - of women's tennis these days, a format which identifies and elevates better players on a more regular basis would probably be a good thing, methinks.)
The first women’s semi was painful to watch, Garcia self-destructed and Jabeur nudged her all the way.
The second one was very high level, Sabalenka played a great first set, overpowering Swiatek 6-3, but Swiatek is incredible at figuring out matches she is losing and turning them drastically. This one she actually had to do that twice:
6-3 Sabalenka
6-1 Swiatek
4-2 Sabalenka
4-0 Swiatek
The second one was very high level, Sabalenka played a great first set, overpowering Swiatek 6-3, but Swiatek is incredible at figuring out matches she is losing and turning them drastically. This one she actually had to do that twice:
6-3 Sabalenka
6-1 Swiatek
4-2 Sabalenka
4-0 Swiatek
I was there - first match was a pounding, second was great. Everyone thought Saba had it in the 5th. Lots of Saba supporters in the crowd.
The young guns are making some rookie mistakes so far but these guys are incredible athletes. Should be a good one.
Yeah that was an ugly, ugly point. and it's not like the approach shot was so good that Alcaraz shocked him by getting to. He basically teed Alcaraz up for a passing shot, Alcaraz actually hit a poor passing shot right to his forehand, and tiafoe didn't even flinch
I only joined at the start of the third set, and am somewhat baffled tiafoe won the first. And now the Crowd is singing the Ole song for him
Man, this has been a fun match. Tiafoe looked dead in the water down 2-0 in this set and clawed back. Can he hold here?
