The Official Tennis Thread (Vol. 2024 US Open)

Harkleroad looks pretty good.

harkleroadplayboy_450x475.jpg
 
Last edited:
I wish Tomic and Kyrgios could've met in this tournament with Tomic's dad and Nick's mom as the special on court coaches.
 
^Didn't see that match, but that's an impressive win over a quality opponent. He's got your boy Rafa next though.

So yeah, I wasn't there long, but I did manage to go to the Indian Wells Masters. I caught most of the Kvitova-Gibbs match and all of Isner-Mannarino.

The depth and angles on Kvitova's shots... they were a thing of beauty to watch in person. Whether it was from her lefty forehand or her backhand, she was able to pull them off. The only problem with Petra is that she made far too many errors. Nicole Gibbs put up a good fight, but the match would've been over much sooner if Petra made less UFEs. It's a shame because if she could just clean up on her errors and be a bit more consistent, Kvitova could be winning Slams at a much better rate. She has the weapons to take on any top player in the WTA.

Isner's game was pretty much what you'd expect: all serve. I was impressed on how much better his return game had gotten in 2015, but it wasn't nearly as good today. The lady next to me (who claimed to be a huge Isner fan) said he hasn't been playing well, so I'll go with that. His arm looked more bandaged than usual. Still, Mannarino did have trouble on his service games, so I have to give John credit. I didn't know this until now, but Isner did win all 34 of his first serve points in his victory.

Anyway, I enjoyed my short time at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and will be back in 2017! Watching Kvitova was worth it alone. I planned on watching Halepeno play before leaving, but because the Lopez-Bautisa Agut match went to a third set (her match was after that), I left early to avoid the rush hour traffic. My Cali NTers know how awful that traffic can be, lol. I'm kinda upset I didn't stick around longer, but since Halep won due to Strycova retiring, I guess I shouldn't be too mad? Watching Rafa hand out a bagel on the big screen was a nice note to leave on.

I didn't take that many pictures, but I did snap a pic of this Sampras mural by one of the Stadium 1 entrances. Thought it was pretty cool.
 
Last edited:
SAMPRAS!!!!! 

Yeah I'm gonna keep an eye out for that match. I'm hoping Serena Simona will be good too.
 
You know me... huge Agassi fan... but mad respect for Pete.  Got to see him play during his pro-days as well as after he retired.  

I get the feeling fans respected their fav's opponents more back in the day.  Nowadays, there's a lot more hatred and petty bitterness, which is sad to see. 

Aside from the usual suspects, gonna keep an eye on Kasatkina.  First saw her in the Kremlin Cup last year... and was very impressive. 
 
Looking forward to the top half of the women's draw today. Serena potentially has to go through Halep, Kvitova and Vika to win Indian Wells. It's rare to see her with such a tough draw at this point in a tournament. It'd be a nice feel-good story to see Serena win Indian Wells, but I'd be happy if any of the ladies I mentioned or Aga would win this event.

I hope I'm wrong, but I can't see Nole winning IW for the fourth straight year. He hasn't been playing that great. I think Raonic or an in-form Jo Willie could defeat him here.
 
Zverev blew that match. He had a match point at 5-4, 40-30 in the third, but he botched an overhead into the net. I felt so bad for him... It looked like someone broke his heart when he shook Nadal's hand at the net. Completely devastating loss for the guy.
 
Last edited:
Thoughts on Zverev anyone?
Sascha washed Simon and nearly (should have) upset Rafa. Held a 5-2 lead in the final set. Zverev, Thiem (playing Tsonga 11:30 PM EST tonight), Jared Donaldson, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios, Nishioka, Coric, Taylor Fritz are the future. I consider myself a Nick Kyrgios supporter with the athleticism and big serve, but his shot selection and maturity leave much to be desired.

Zverev blew that match. It looked like someone broke his heart when he shook Nadal's hand at the net. Completely devastating loss for the guy.
Growing pains. Comes with the territory of being an 18-year-old. Sascha has the size and pedigree to be a star.
 
Yea that was a tough one for Zverev. I will keep an eye on how he performs after something like that. Hopefully a learning tool and a turning point. 

You really got to be mentally tough against top players like Rafa and that jackhole Nole. Otherwise its like having an open cut in the middle of shark infested waters. 

On another note. Got an alert that said Federer will be playing at Miami.
 
Sascha washed Simon and nearly (should have) upset Rafa. Held a 5-2 lead in the final set. Zverev, Thiem (playing Tsonga 11:30 PM EST tonight), Jared Donaldson, Kokkinakis, Kyrgios, Nishioka, Coric, Taylor Fritz are the future. I consider myself a Nick Kyrgios supporter with the athleticism and big serve, but his shot selection and maturity leave much to be desired.
Growing pains. Comes with the territory of being an 18-year-old. Sascha has the size and pedigree to be a star.
Nick has game. Maturity wise, I'm game if he talks sh%& or showboats whatever. Its the excuses and the not taking responsibility part that I can't get with. Have fun, don't take it too far and handle it like a man. 
 
Vika-Serena final.
pimp.gif
Both women's semis were quality matches.

Djokovic vs. Nadal XLVIII tomorrow. I think it'll be a lot closer than their meeting in Doha.

Speaking of Nole, he's now #1 in all-time ATP career winning percentage. He's currently at 82.77%.  
 
Last edited:
Only Serena can make players feel pressured even if it looks like they are in control. 

However, I am pulling for Vicha here. I'd like to see her come back.
 
Vika with the win! I'm happy for her. She's back in the Top 10 where she belongs.

Nole's gonna need his God Mode from last year to beat Raonic. I don't think this will be easy.

On another note, I gotta make sure I buy my tickets for Indian Wells early next year. I wanted these two finals to happen at the Oz Open... Can't believe I'm missed out on watching both of these matches and Rafa-Nole in person.
sick.gif
sick.gif
mean.gif
 
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom