All Things 2022 Tennis Thread

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I attended the U.S. vs Colombia Davis Cup match this last weekend. Davis Cup has long been a bucket list item for me and it was a blast. The atmosphere was amazing, unlike any tennis tournament I have been to.

The doubles match in particular was fantastic. Jack Sock is so fun to watch, he and Rajeev Ram are polar opposites but they play well together. It's really a shame that doubles isn't a higher priority on the tour like it used to be as it is very exciting to watch in person.

Go U.S.A.!!
 
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Wow! In his first Masters final, Taylor Fritz took out Nadal 63 76! Nadal was undefeated on the year coming into this one too.
 

Absolutely amazing win for Fritz!! So happy for him!!

Nice to see Sock and Isner win mens doubles as well.

We went to the tournament Monday and Tuesday, saw some great matches. Beautiful grounds. I actually will be back next weekend as my son is playing in the Easter Bowl which is played on the courts at Indian Wells.

We watched Carlos Alcaraz play his round of 16 match, he’s going to be an absolute stud. He will be a multiple Slam champion in due time.

Go Taylor Fritz!!
 

I can’t believe Fritz is the first American to win at Indian Wells since 2001 by my guy Agassi.

Go USA!!
 


This NY Times article was written a few days ago, before Fritz won Indian Wells.

At Indian Wells, a Shot of Optimism for American Men’s Tennis​


False dawns in American men’s tennis? There have been quite a few in the last 20 years here in the California desert and in more well-watered parts of the pro circuit.

So, it is unquestionably wise not to get carried away in a sport the Europeans still rule, as they have since a smooth-moving Swiss man named Roger Federer calmed his nerves and slipped into a higher gear in 2004 to leave Andy Roddick in his rearview mirror at the top of the rankings.

Since then, tall and good-natured American men in the shadows, like John Isner and Sam Querrey, have had to field countless variations of one question: “What has happened to American men’s tennis?”

But Isner, 36, long the top-ranked American man, had a look of quiet confidence on Tuesday night as he revisited that topic.

“I think for the first time in a while you can actually say American tennis on the men’s side is very promising,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

How not to detect a cool breeze of optimism after watching Tommy Paul, 24, knock out the third-seeded Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker here at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday night and then seeing the 21-year-old Californian Jenson Brooksby outhit and outwit the fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in another three-set upset the following night?

Indian Wells, a second home to many an affluent elder, has been prime real estate for coming of age this year, and that does not even include the 21-year-old American Sebastian Korda’s missed opportunity against Rafael Nadal in the second round. Korda, the younger brother of the L.P.G.A. stars Nelly and Jessica, was up two service breaks and 5-2 in the final set before allowing Nadal, one of the game’s greats, to wriggle free.

Even without Korda, four American men reached the round of 16 here: Isner, Brooksby, Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka, the 6-foot-11 power server with a bushy beard and swing speed worthy of a lumberjack. That is the most since 2004, and it also reflects their rise in the ATP rankings. The seven American men in the top 50 is also the most since 2004, and six of those seven men — all but Isner — are under 25.

It is no takeover: The top 10 remains nearly all European, with Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada as the lone interloper. But it is progress, and there appears to be considerable upside.

“I think that’s true,” said Patrick McEnroe, an ESPN analyst, former pro player and U.S. Davis Cup captain. “I think particularly from Opelka, Brooksby, Korda and maybe throw Fritz in there, although I don’t know if he’s got the athleticism to get to the top-top.”

www.nytimes.com

At Indian Wells, a Shot of Optimism for American Men’s Tennis (Published 2022)

Long without a major tournament champion, the United States has four players in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open and seven in the top 50.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Go USA!!
 

per Axios Sports:

🎾 American men's tennis is on the rise
Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz beat Rafael Nadal on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open in his native California, catapulting him to No. 13 in the world.
The big picture: American men's tennis is on the rise again after struggling for years. There are currently seven Americans in the ATP top 40 (most of any country) and 12 in the top 100 (most of any country).
  • Top 40: Fritz (No. 13), Reilly Opelka (No. 18), John Isner (No. 22), Frances Tiafoe (No. 31), Tommy Paul (No. 37), Sebastian Korda (No. 38), Jenson Brooksby (No. 39).
  • Top 100: Marcos Giron (No. 52), Mackenzie McDonald (No. 54), Maxime Cressy (No. 72), Brandon Nakashima (No. 80), Denis Kudla (No. 84).
Flashback: Last May, there were no American men in the top 30 for the first time in the nearly half-century history of computerized tennis rankings.

Go USA!!
 






Nice tournament win for Opelka:

Opelka Beats Isner In 'Battle Of The Bots' For Houston Title​


In Sunday’s edition of “Battle of the Bots”, Reilly Opelka emerged with the win and a title.

Opelka defeated John Isner 6-3, 7-6(7) to triumph at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship and lift his fourth ATP Tour trophy and his first on clay. The clash between 6’11” Opelka and 6’10” Isner marked the tallest ATP Tour final in the Open Era.

“He was my idol growing up as a kid, and before I even met him, I liked him. But since we’ve become such good friend and spent so much time on Tour, I like him even more now," Opelka said of Isner during the trophy ceremony. "He’s been an unbelievable role model for not just myself, [but] Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. We all say the same. He’s been an unbelievable competitor for a long time.”

Opelka and Isner often joke with one another that they are "Servebots" — or "Bots" for short — who are only known for their serving. But there were 13 break points in the one-hour, 50 -minute match and five mini-breaks in the second-set tie-break, with the clash coming down to returns and passing shots in the critical moments.

Opelka, who earned the lone break of the match in the first set, saved three set points in the second-set tie-break, rallying from 4/6 down to claim his fifth consecutive win against Isner. The younger American now leads their ATP Head2Head series 5-1 and has won 11 of their 14 sets during that stretch.

“We’ve played a handful of times and you keep on beating me. I hate you for that!" Isner joked. "But it was really cool to play you in a final. I think that’s very unique. Obviously there are a lot of similarities between Reilly and I, but I’m much older than him and he has a lot more years ahead of him on Tour, so for me to get to play you in a final, I think that’s very, very special.”

www.atptour.com

Reilly Opelka Beats John Isner In 'Battle Of The Bots' For Houston Title | ATP Tour | Tennis

Reilly Opelka defeats John Isner in straight sets to win the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston for his second ATP Tour title of the year.
www.atptour.com www.atptour.com

Go USA!!
 

A guy who never realized his full potential is calling it a career after the FO:


Go USA!!
 

per Axios Sports:

Wimbledon plans to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's event in June, NYT reports.

Why it matters: Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, hasn't barred athletes from specific countries since the aftermath of World War II.

  • Four Russian men are ranked in the ATP top 30, including No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, the reigning U.S. Open champion.
  • Five Russian women are in the WTA top 40, and Belarus has two in the top 20, including No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka, a 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist.
The backdrop: After the war began in February, Russia and Belarus were quickly barred from team events like the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, both of which were won by Russian teams in 2021.

  • Individual players from Russia and Belarus have continued to play, though they haven't had flags or countries listed next to their names.
  • Last month, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston suggested that Medvedev and his fellow Russian players might need to provide "assurances" that they don't support Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What they're saying: Some in the tennis community have been calling for a full ban, while others argue that Russian and Belarusian athletes — some of whom have spoken out against the war — shouldn't be punished.

  • One side: "Why is somebody who works in McDonald's in Russia losing their job ... and the tennis players are exceptions? ... It has to be even," former Ukrainian player Olga Savchuk said last week.
  • The other side: "I feel very strongly that ... individual athletes should not be the ones that are being penalized by the decisions of an authoritarian leadership," WTA chief Steve Simon said last month.
The big picture: Wimbledon isn't alone. This week's Boston Marathon enacted the same ban, Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred from the Paralympics, and Russia was removed from World Cup qualifying.

Go USA!!
 



per Axios Sports:

Carlos Alcaraz won the Barcelona Open on Sunday, capturing the fourth title of his young — and incredibly promising — career.

Why it matters: The 18-year-old enters the top 10 today at the same age, on the same date and after winning the same tournament as fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal did in 2005.

The big picture: The Alcaraz buzz has been building for years, with whispers out of Spain that "Nadal 2.0" had arrived.

  • In February, he became the youngest player to break into the top 20 since 1993 — younger even than Nadal.
  • Elo rankings, which account for quality of competition, already have him at No. 3 in the world.
The bottom line: The post-Big Three era was supposed to belong to Daniil Medvedev and other stars in their early to mid-20s. But Carlos is coming, and he's coming fast.

Go USA!!
 

Alcaraz and Swiatek could win every major rest of year
 

Alcarez is an absolute stud!!


Go Alcarez!!
 


This is so dumb, she cares more about ranking points than competing for a Wimbledon trophy!?

Osaka says she may skip Wimbledon over ranking points row​

Former world number one Naomi Osaka said Monday she may skip Wimbledon over the decision to strip the Grand Slam tournament of ranking points.

"I would say the decision is kind of affecting my mentality going into grass, like I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to go there," said Osaka after her 7-5, 6-4 loss to Amanda Anisimova in the French Open first round.

The ATP and WTA tours last week removed ranking points from Wimbledon after the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players in response to the invasion of Ukraine.


"I'm leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances. I'm the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up," added the four-time major winner.

"So the intention of this measure was good, but the execution is all over the place. I'm sure there will be a bit of back and forth with the whole point situation. Then I guess I'll make my decision."

"I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition."

sg.news.yahoo.com

Osaka says she may skip Wimbledon over ranking points row

Former world number one Naomi Osaka said Monday she may skip Wimbledon over the decision to strip the Grand Slam tournament of ranking points.
sg.news.yahoo.com sg.news.yahoo.com

Go Who Ever is Playing Osaka!!

 

Per Axios Sports:

You probably can't pronounce Iga Świątek, but you should get to know her name, Jeff writes.

Driving the news: Świątek — pronounced shvi-ahn-tek in Polish and svi-ah-tik in English — cruised to a first-round win Monday at the French Open for her 29th straight victory.

  • That's the fourth-longest WTA streak this century, trailing only Venus Williams in 2000 (35), Serena Williams in 2013 (34) and Justine Henin in 2007-08 (32).
  • Wild stat: The 20-year-old has won 44 of her last 45 sets, 25 of which were either 6-0 or 6-1.
The backdrop: Świątek’s journey began in Warsaw, Poland, where her father Tomasz, a 1988 Olympic rower, pushed her towards competitive sports and ushered her through a successful youth tennis career.

  • She burst onto the scene in 2020 by winning the French Open, becoming the youngest women's major singles champion since 2004 and the first Polish major singles champion ever (man or woman).
  • She won twice more in 2021 but has taken her game to new heights this year, becoming the first Pole ever to reach No. 1 after then-No. 1 Ash Barty's surprise retirement in March.
Between the lines: Świątek modeled her game after her idol, Rafael Nadal, so her success at Roland Garros is no coincidence. But she's recently added a new element that helps her dominate on all surfaces.

  • Rather than rely on her Nadal-esque topspin forehand, she's attacking earlier and is lethal against serves, winning more than half of her return games this season — by far the most among the top 10.
  • Świątek also attributes much of her success to her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, who joins her at every tournament and helps her stay focused mentally.
What they're saying: "A lot of respect for Iga," Marta Kostyuk told the New Yorker. "The way she plays, thinks, talks ... I think it's great when someone like this is ruling."

Looking ahead: With numerous top players exiting early at Roland Garros, Świątek is the overwhelming favorite to win her second major.

Go USA!!
 

Bummer to see Fritz lose today, but 3 American men through to the 3rd round with more up tomorrow.

Korda vs. Alcaraz is going to be a popcorn match, for sure.
 



It’s Djokovic vs. Nadal, the French Open Rematch We’ve Been Waiting For​


As the kids like to say these days, it’s on.

Far sooner than many may have hoped, Novak Djokovic, the reigning French Open champion, will take on Rafael Nadal, a 13-time champion at Roland Garros, in a quarterfinal match on Tuesday, the first rematch of two of the leading men’s players since their epic semifinal last June.

It took some of Nadal’s greatest tennis to survive a five-set, four-hour, 21-minute thriller Sunday evening against Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, but the match that so many crave is on the horizon.

“A huge challenge and probably the biggest one that you can have here in Roland Garros,” Djokovic said, anticipating Nadal, after his fourth straight-sets win, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, a pummeling of Diego Schwartzman of Argentina. “I’m ready for it.”

Perhaps more than Nadal, who survived one of the great scares of his storied French Open career against Auger-Aliassime, the athletic and tireless Canadian with a booming serve and big forehand.

“We have a lot of history together,” Nadal said of Djokovic.

They have played each other 58 times, with Djokovic holding a 30-28 edge. It is a classic clash of styles, Nadal blasting away and running wild on the clay, his favorite surface, and Djokovic bringing his exquisite timing, incomparable steel, and the most varied arsenal in the game.

Even more, it is a clash of two men whose personalities and trajectories, especially over the past year, have pushed them into different realms of the sport and public consciousness. One is a beloved citizen of the world, the other a polarizing, outspoken iconoclast so set in his beliefs that he was prepared to spend his last prime years on the sidelines rather than receive a vaccination against Covid-19.

There were scattered boos as Djokovic was introduced on the Suzanne Lenglen Court on Sunday. Fans at the main court, Philippe Chatrier, chanted “Rafa, Rafa,” through the evening, urging on the Spanish champion who is immortalized with a nine-foot statue outside the stadium.

Since Djokovic pulled off the nearly impossible by beating Nadal at last year’s French Open, Nadal has been jousting indirectly with his chief rival.

www.nytimes.com

It’s Djokovic vs. Nadal, the French Open Rematch We’ve Been Waiting For

Djokovic, the world No. 1, and Nadal, the 13-time French Open champion, will continue their epic rivalry on Tuesday in the quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com

Go Nadal!!
 

What happened to Medvedev? Looks like Cilic just steamrolled him. I wouldn't have though Cilic had that level of play left in him at this point.
 

An absolutely epic match, past 1am Paris time, 2 of the 3 greatest players of all time slugging it out and Nadal comes out on top once again.


Go Nadal!!
 




Nadal on clay is unmatched by any athlete in any sport:


Go Nadal!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Nadal on clay is unmatched by any athlete in any sport:


Go Nadal!!
Click to expand...
Truly amazing. I think that's one of the fun parts about Tennis. The different surfaces add some variety, the same way different shapes to baseball stadiums require adjustment.

Congrats to Swiatek as well. She is absolutely in a different world than anyone else right now. I liked reading the bit that she gets pumped up for matches by listening to Led Zeppelin.
 

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