Tennis 2021
- Thread starter jon abbey
- Start date
Back to the McEnroe discussion - his analysis is entirely limited to the mental side of the game and he shows no ability to break down the Xs and Os of tennis in the way other analysts do. Martina is good, but I think Jim Courier on Tennis Channel is my favorite. He points out subtle things that are going on that I would have never otherwise noticed and he's got a good voice and personality.
Very much agree. And I think James Blake has a chance to be one of the better commentators with a few more years of seasoning.
Didnt get a chance to see Barty take down Kerber, but this second semi is pretty entertaining with some drama. Pliskova serving up a break 4-3 in the 3rd after dropping the first set.
I can't quite believe Pliskova has reached the Wimbledon final. I commentated on her 6-0 7-5 loss to Pavlyuchenkova in Madrid, and in that first set she was a total mess; then she got double-bageled by Swiatek in Rome (in the final, after getting very lucky with the draw), lost in R2 to Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros, and then lost both of her grass-court tuneups in Berlin and Eastbourne. Navratilova was commentating on Pliskova-Sabalenka today for the BBC and said it was the best she'd ever seen Pliskova play; when she hired Sascha Bajin as her coach late last year, she'd said that was all about winning a Slam, and everyone on Tennis Forum had been absolutely slaying that partnership for weeks if not months when I researched her for Madrid. I guess I know who is laughing now...although that said, it wouldn't exactly shock me if she were to win only 3 or 4 games against Barty on Saturday.
Brutal. Shapo beating himself when it looks like Djokovic is mortal today. These guys need to actually believe they can beat him before they will. So frustrating to watch as a proud Djokovic hater.
By the way, could ESPN have gotten one or two more Queen songs to use? I don't ever want to hear Don't Stop Me Now again, and I used to really like it.
By the way, could ESPN have gotten one or two more Queen songs to use? I don't ever want to hear Don't Stop Me Now again, and I used to really like it.
It's bad enough that you root for this monster, but do you have to first name him too?
I’m just one of those casual fans who watches the ends of grand slam events but this guy seems like a bit of a headcase
He's young, but yeah, he is, and he's been much better about that so far during this tournament. Not today, though.
It seems like Djokovic has won a million big matches like this, where he doesn't play all that well but grinds out enough of the key points until his opponent cracks. I'm not sure if Djokovic is the greatest player ever, but he's certainly the mentally strongest player ever. He just does not beat himself.
Thanks. It’s a shame because he’s playing great and coming so close but just missing and then cut to him yelling at the ump
If every game were first to two points and not first to four points, Shapovalov would have won this match by now.
That's what Djok is for. My go-to when texting with my friend about how much we hate him.
LOL. It was certainly one of Novak's more entertaining matches this Wimbledon.Novak wins in straight sets, impressive win for Novak on a day he was outplayed for the first two sets.
Novak.
Novak.
Novak.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that Barty will annhiliate Pliskova tomorrow - losing no more than 5 games in a straight-sets thumping. (I hope I'm wrong...I don't particularly care who wins, but I'd quite like to see a close match.)
Was there for the semis. Thought Sabalenka would annihilate Pliskova at first but she calmly absorbed the power and steadily took control of the match. Showed almost no emotion at all while doing it. I think Barty is the favourite but only just - Pliskova has game and she’s motivated. I can easily see her pulling it off.
My prediction is based on the gut feeling that the Pliskova we saw on Thursday won't be the Pliskova we see today. I'm guessing that her 6-0 6-0 loss to Swiatek in the Rome final has left scar tissue that will be on display during today's even bigger final, and that she might crumble under the pressure of the occasion. But a) again, I hope I'm wrong, and b) there's no guarantee that Barty will play her best tennis in the final either. We'll see.
Your prediction looking spot on so far. First 12 points of the match all to Barty.
Pliskova has indeed come out more or less as I was expecting (and feared) she might. The difference is that Barty got to 4-0 and suddenly woke up to the fact that she was in a Wimbledon final herself, and her level of play dipped significantly. But she still had enough to take the first set, 6-3.
Haven't been following Barty's career closely. Is she subject to nerves a major tournaments?
I'm not sure how much of it is down to nerves, but Barty has mostly underperformed at the Slams:
http://www.tennisabstract.com/cgi-bin/wplayer-classic.cgi?p=AshleighBarty&f=ACareerqqC0
(EDIT - although in fairness, you could probably say that about most of the women's Top 20, not just Barty...and for that matter, Pliskova.)
If this is a comment about Barty not showing nerves...well, I've seen plenty of nervous tennis from Barty today.
The last time it happened, the Sox had only won two World Championships this century.
I don't think either woman is playing anything close to their best tennis. But no matter how this works out, I'm pleased for Pliskova - she's shown some grit that I feared she might not be capable of showing, and win or lose she can hold her head up high after this.
Agreed. The fact that she is in a third set after how this match started is amazing.
Yes, despite the apparent drama of a third set this has for the most part been brutal to watch. Just when Pliskova seems to get momentum (mostly from Barty mistakes) she falls apart again.