Tennis season 2020-2021

[EagerBeaver]

Gaby,

If Thiem wins, Djokovic could very well post on his instagram, "hey Thiem, that's my trophy you are holding and you didn't go through me to win it. You can keep your prize money but we can play for that trophy any time, any place, any court, you name it and I will be there with my rackets and I will pay for the ball boys and umpire." Maybe he will have a few drinks and put up such a post. Maybe he would be right and he would beat Thiem in a match for the Trophy. It would be a fun match to watch.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Meanwhile on the women's side Serena into the semifinals but seems to be getting pushed to the limit in all her matches. I watched some of her prior match and to me she looks like she is carrying more weight than she did in the past and this could lead to mobility issues, although I don't know if the remaining opponents have the requisite mobility to expose this possible weakness.

 

[gaby]

Serena in her last games lost first set BUT bounces back strong to win.....yep she is not looking in her best shape BUT SERENA IS SERENA......OSAKA will deal with her mobility issues...lolll

 

[Zaeballo]

Azarenka looks awesome. She seems to be in the right place, both physically and mentally. Semifinals should be interesting

 

[EagerBeaver]

I realize Azarenka is a former world number 1 player but did anyone really see that complete destruction of Mertens coming?

 

[EagerBeaver]

In case you guys are wondering Serena is 19-4 lifetime vs. Azarenka:

Players & Rankings | Tennis.com

Players - Tennis.com

www.tennis.com

 

[gaby]

A walk in the park for THIEM yesterday,,,,,will play MEDVEDEV tomorrow ....a game to watch.

Big night this evening....2 semis starting at 7 with OSAKA--BRADY....no problem for OSAKA......later SERENA----AZA.....agree with Zaeballo....AZA is awesome and on fire...she looks great en comparaison de SERENA.....i would pick her to win....should b a great match.....enjoy .

 

[EagerBeaver]

Look at this- Eugenie Bouchard, not good enough in ranking to make the US Open field, has stunned the top seeded Kuznetzova in the Istanbul Open in a somewhat meaningful win:

Bouchard finds 'calm anger' to upset Kuznetsova in Istanbul epic

Qualifier Eugenie Bouchard survived wild scoreboard twists and turns to upset top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova at the TEB BNP Paribas Tennis Championships Istanbul in three dramatic sets.

www.wtatennis.com

 

[EagerBeaver]

Here is the Thiem-Medvedev breakdown. Thiem leads 2-1, but Medvedev won the only match on outdoor hardcourts between the 2:

Daniil Medvedev VS Dominic Thiem | Head 2 Head | H2H | ATP Tour | Tennis

Head to head records for players in men's professional tennis. View rivalry results and stats for matches on the ATP Tour.

www.atptour.com

I go with Medvedev in 5 sets, same prediction as Essentially Sports.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Azarenka completely steamrolled 6-1 in first set.

 

[Zaeballo]

Great victory Vika, richly deserved! Two best players in the final, fair is fair.

 

[EagerBeaver]

To me that match was a sign that Serena's age is showing in her play. I thought you could mail in the match after the first set, although I was concerned because she was sucking wind BIG TIME at the end of the first set. You could hear it on the TV due to no crowd noise. I think she just ran out of gas. She is traditionally a strong finisher but looked like she ran out of gas. It's going to be very hard for her to win another major. She might not.

 

[gaby]

Wow...what a game....best vs the best...high quality tennis....SERENA this time was well prepared and was all over AZA in first set....and she knew she did not wanted to play a third set vs AZA....she was dominant and AZA seemed complètement figée--paralysée BUT after it was all AZA and her body langage was fantastic.....i love this girl coming back from a long and bad journey in her life.....a CHAMP is back and am very happy for her.
Agree it will b very hard for SERENA to win another major...the door was open for her BUT....

Another big day today.......ZVEREV----BUSTA....am going with ZVEREV and the game to watch MEDVEDEV--THIEM....am going with THIEM in 4 sets.....enjoy.

 

[EagerBeaver]

You guys want to turn on the Busta - Zverev match right away. Down 5-3 in the 4th and with Zverev looking to take it to a 5th set, on deuce point, Busta fired a forehand slam into Zverev at the net, which nailed Zverev in the body (hit him on the side quite painfully). It was totally unnecessary, Busta could have easily hit a forehand winner right or left and Zverev would not have gotten racket on it. Zverev was PISSED and glared at Busta. Busta at first appeared to say, "WTF?", but then apologized on the changeover apparently. It looks to me like Busta fired up Zverev and he is now totally focused.

Going to 5th set after a Zverev ace wins the 4th set!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gaby]

...yep still lot of tennis to come tonight...enjoy.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I look for a fired up Zverev to kick Busta's ass in this 5th set.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Medvedev has allowed himself to be completely distracted by a bad linesman call. After arguing with the umpire he has become unglued and is letting the first set slip away. He needs to get his head out of his ass and into the match right away!

 

[EagerBeaver]

After watching that match last night- Medvedev lost his first set of the US Open and then all 3- I have to wonder whether this guy is a warrior or a mental midget. What happened in the first set was tank city after his exchange with the umpire, and after that he did not seem like he was ever the same.

"In an interlude redolent of his heel turn at Flushing Meadows a year ago, Medvedev got into it with chair umpire Damien Dumusois -- yes, the very same official who cited him for yanking a towel from a ballperson in 2019, prompting boos from fans and some egging on from the Russian -- and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McKewen in the first set.

This time, the starting point was a dispute with Dumusois over whether Medvedev challenged a call in time. Medvedev walked around the net to take a closer look at the mark and was called for a code violation, so he started chirping at the chair umpire, saying "Why, because you're not smart?'' at one point, and "US Open is a joke, right?'' at another.

Then, turning his attention to McKewen, who was at courtside, and smothering his words with sarcasm, Medvedev said: "Sorry, I think I killed someone, right? Sorry, I was so bad to cross the net. Sorry. My apologies. My sincere apologies to the US Open for crossing the net. Oh, my God.''

Zverev rallies in 5, will meet Thiem in Open final

Alexander Zverev rallied to reach his first Grand Slam final, beating Pablo Carreno Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at the US Open on Friday. He'll meet Dominic Thiem in Sunday's championship match.

www.espn.com

 

[gaby]

Well Medvedev has only him to blame....could have won second and third set.....BUT THIEM a bénéficié de ses étourderies.....a win in 3 sets but not a routine one....not an easy win......hope THIEM will b fine tomorrow with his injury---right foot.

This afternoon....OSAKA--AZA...i like both...2 terrific girls-.... 2 sweethearts........slight advantave to AZA cause she is in a formidable momentum....BUT OSAKA est une force tranquille, calme et très forte mentalement.....we should have a great one....enjoy.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Eugenie Bouchard has made the final at Paribas where she will play the Romanian girl Tig.