Running tennis thread 2016 / 2017

Well, that sucks. Even healthy he was going to be hard pressed to get past the quarters anyway. But it's time to savor every chance we get to see him now.

 

Djokovic won his first French Open today, giving him a total of 12 Grand Slam titles. He's also the first man to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time since Rod Laver in 1969.

So the question is, at 29 years old, how many more can he win?

Federer has 17. Nadal and Sampras have 14. Will he catch them?

I think he has a pretty good chance. With Federer and Nadal no longer being serious contenders, Novak is so far ahead of the rest of the competition, and I could easily see him winning at least 2-3 Grand Slams per year for the next few years.

 

Looking forward to seeing Djokovic win the Golden Slam (calendar Grand Slam plus Olympic gold) and then seeing some American swimmer or gymnast win SI's Sportsperson of the Year award.

 

Women's tennis is awful right now. Almost every match has at least one or two that returns are in the air for 3 or 4 seconds. I think soft hitters give Serena much more trouble than Azarenka, Sharapova. Last two losses in Finals to soft hitters.

Disappointing name that I thought could have forged name into men's ranks is Tsonga. Dude has some crazy tools but never puts entire tournament together (or 95 percent of time). Plus now injuries. A shame he likely won't ever win GS.

 

Wow ... did not see this coming. Seems a little harsh, considering the drug (which she has taken for 10 years) was banned in December, a month before she tested positive.

 

Likely the first of many for Russian athletes, whose doctors appear to have studied better living through chemicals.

 

The stage is set for Djokovic and Murray to dominate men's tennis for the next 3 years at least. Wawrinka could push them for a while, but he's 31.

The rest of the contenders are relative no-names, but keep an eye on Dominic Thiem of Austria. He's 22 and on the rise.

 

Thiem is fabulous, although I suspect he'll be the next Berdych (all kinds of tools, makes quarters and semis of majors, but . . . )

 

If healthy, Djokovic will roll past Federer's all-time majors haul. He won't have much competition outside of Murray for at least a few years. And both were 29 when they collected their 12th GS.

 

Sam Querrey with the stunning upset of the Djoker. It's Murray's Wimbledon to lose now.

This also means Nicholas Mahut --- most famous for being on the losing end of the 70-68 fifth set against Isner a few years ago --- has a very winnable match to make it to the quarterfinals.

 

Sam Querrey is one of the nicest guys you'll meet. Happy to see him enjoy the spotlight, even if it's for another round or two.

 

DJEXIT