The Tennis Thread - Part 4

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[regwec]

Excellent...

 

[Iceman]

I can see the men's final being a classic. Not so sure about the women's.

 

[kit1982]

Wow I couldn't have been more wrong..... what a performance from Federer. it felt like the '08 US open, men against boys. As one of those *****es who has an RF cap it was a joy to watch.

 

[Sakuraba]

My preliminary pick is Djokovic, but Federer will be well rested and he's playing at a high level and he is the grass king. Should be good, but if Djokovic loses the final, I think it's fair to start looking at him as a prolific loser. That would make him 8-9 in Slam finals, losing many as the favorite. It's sort of a critical match for him in that regard, he can be the prolific loser or be well on his way to another 2011 when he owned the year.

Federer has now won 17 out of 22 sets against Murray at Slams. That's pretty damn lopsided. Federer started figuring out how to play Murray back around 09, 2010 when he would just slice the ball short and in the middle of the court giving Murray no angles to work with or a ball that he can easily attack. Adding a little bit of aggression on his part the past few seasons has helped too. It's funny to think that Murray looked like another Nadal-like obstacle for Federer at one point.

 

[Sakuraba]

I want to discuss more about Serena Williams (how players have beaten her historically) and the state of the WTA. There was a period when Serena only won a couple of slams over several seasons, people forget how competitive the Tour used to be. I mean, there was real depth of high quality players. But it all blew up.

Anyway, I have to get back to work.

 

[Kaleb]

Id say the last great era of Women's Tennis was between 2002-2007 ( S. Williams, V. Williams, Henin, Clijsters, Davenport, Sharapova, Mauresmo)

 

[raisethe3]

Id say the last great era of Women's Tennis was between 2002-2007 ( S. Williams, V. Williams, Henin, Clijsters, Davenport, Sharapova, Mauresmo)

Agreed with this. They would all just beat each other up. Very competitive. But now, its just Serena. None of the other girls have the power, the mental and stamina to play her anymore. The only one that beats Serena is either because she plays too awful or the opponent is either having a really good day.

@Sakuraba- You do raise a good point about Djokovic. He does seem to lose a lot of Grand Slam finals. But I am thinking if Djokovic can come out in his 2011(god mode) form, then Federer is toast. The finals should be pretty competitve. I think the third set of their match is crucial. Whoever wins that third set (assuming they are tied 1-1 set apiece) will decide the winner. Unless we get some eye-candy 5 set match.

 

[Iceman]

Serena gets no.21 today. So what happened to all the other female players?

 

[regwec]

Muguruza does have a (slim) chance, but that is very dependent on her being able to hold her nerve and play as positively as she did against Radwasnka. Too often recently, a player in the women's final has just melted away.

 

[AnneFan]

I'm expecting a straight sets win for Serena today. Unless she's seriously unwell or injured, I can't see her runaway train of grand slam dominance stopping. There's no-one in the women's draw to compete with her.

 

[regwec]

So, in a surprise to nobody, Serena takes it. Muguruza showed a lot of grit, however. And I want to marry her a bit.

 

[Fallen Angel]

It's a joke. They want equal prize money, make them play best of five set's.

 

[regwec]

I also feel this is right. At least then stamina would be a factor along with power, weight and muscle.

 

[Iceman]

Missed the match but congrats to Serena.

 

[Iceman]

It's a joke. They want equal prize money, make them play best of five set's.

To be fair they should get 3/5 of the prize money. The one sport where women do not put in an equal shift to men is the one where the equal pay campaign is loudest. Women in other sports do the same work as the men and deserve parity. They run full marathons and play games that are the same length as men. I really don't understand why tennis is different.

 

[Sakuraba]

It's a simple case of do they really bring in the money? Who brings in the viewers? Trying to make it a case of the amount of labor performed doesn't neatly compute because tennis players aren't really paid for labor rendered, they're paid for their ability as an attraction.

 

[regwec]

Yes, but equality regulations mean they get equal prize money. The danger lies in the perception that they get overpaid for playing poor tennis that no-one cares about.

 

[Sakuraba]

I don't really care about Europe's equal pay regulations. I'm just speaking for myself on the topic. Just my opinion, I don't know enough about laws from Dubai to Brisbane to Antwerp lol

See, I think the real danger is that some of these joint events that the WTA currently enjoys with the ATP outside of the Slams, I think it's like eight or so total events, those tournaments could just decide that it isn't worth having the women at all. I'm not saying that it will happen, but if it becomes unprofitable to host the WTA at like Madrid or somewhere, sure they could just drop them. Those showcase events are pretty important to the WTA's prosperity. Losing a showcase event like a Masters/Premiere tournament would be a heavy loss

 

[Sakuraba]

Looking ahead for Serena Williams, she will have a lot of pressure on her going into the U.S. Open, but she handles pressure as well as anyone, and she's the three time defending champion. An overwhelming favorite. Sadly, she won't have enough matches to match Navratrilova's 86-1 mark, but she could still get through the year with one loss.

How about Martina Hingis winning another Slam. Figure somebody here would post some pictures of her. It's good to have her around in some capacity even if it's doubles

 

[terry78]

Some were saying it gets boring watching her steamroll everyone. That's like saying watching Shakespeare compose in his prime was boring. That's right, my comparison stands.

 

[raisethe3]

Damn it, I didn't get a chance to watch the match at all. My niece spent crying all day. Hopefully I can see a replay somewhere.

 

[Sakuraba]

Damn it, I didn't get a chance to watch the match at all. My niece spent crying all day. Hopefully I can see a replay somewhere.

Come on, women's tennis isn't that bad

 

[Sakuraba]

Some were saying it gets boring watching her steamroll everyone. That's like saying watching Shakespeare compose in his prime was boring. That's right, my comparison stands.

Watching dominance isn't boring, but it does have a tinge of "bum of the month club" to it. There just isn't any great rival or any depth to the game to keep it interesting. These past few seasons have easily been Williams most dominant since 2002, which itself was something of a transitional year for the tour.

That takes nothing away from Serena Williams. Her longevity is astounding, and while her great contemporaries have left due to injury and personal reasons she is still going despite her own injuries, motivation issues, and even personal tragedy.