Running 2014 Tennis thread

[sportsnut2002]

Haven't seen one yet, but if one pops up Mods can kills this off.
Serena Williams just went down in Australia to Ana Ivanovic in three sets. Second straight year she loses to someone after winning the first set (Stephens). Williams kept missing so many backhands and Ivanovic looked awesome. She went for her shots and made them count.
I wonder if Ivanovic can carry this through and win the tournament now, or will Azarenka take full advantage and storm through to the title.
As for the men, are we destined for another Nadal-Djokovic final?

 

[heyabbott]

Of course Williams has an undisclosed back injury that led her to lose in the 4th round.

 

[sportsnut2002]

Of course Williams has an undisclosed back injury that led her to lose in the 4th round.

Yeah, funny how that wouldn't have come up if she had won. To be fair, though, I watched the whole presser and Williams did give a good amount of praise to Ivanovic for her play in the match.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Nadal is a true competitor. Love watching him play.

 

[Mark2010]

Azarenka's road to the title certainly got easier with both Williams and Sharapova going out. She's the favorite, but she doesn't strike me as so invincible that she couldn't fall to an upset as well. Not like the old days when Navratilova, Evert, Graf or Seles almost never lost to anyone except each other.

Just like that, Ivanovic is ousted by Eugenie Bouchard, the greatest women's player in the history of Canadian tennis since.... well, ever. I wouldn't count out Radwanska, either.

 

[sportsnut2002]

So much for my theory of Djokovic-Nadal being inevitable, as Wawrinka takes care of the defending champ in five sets this morning.
Now we've got a Wawrinka-Berdych semifinal on one side, with Nadal likely to win his quarterfinal. As for the other quarter, I have no clue who wins.
Is it fair to say now Murray, Nadal or Federer, whichever likely comes out of the top half of the bracket on the men's side, will win the title? Dimitrov could somehow pull off the big one against Nadal, but I'm not counting on it.

 

[Mark2010]

When Djokovic came back to win the fourth set against Wawrinka, I thought he would pull out the match. He's in good condition and has played a lot of five setters. The last couple of points in the last game were very strange, but Djokovic had given himself no margin for error.

Lots of credit to Wawrinka.

I think Federer has a good shot to beat Murray in their quarterfinal and we might get another Federer vs. Nadal match. Nadal is still my pick to win the title.

 

[Double J]

Azarenka's road to the title certainly got easier with both Williams and Sharapova going out. She's the favorite, but she doesn't strike me as so invincible that she couldn't fall to an upset as well. Not like the old days when Navratilova, Evert, Graf or Seles almost never lost to anyone except each other.

Just like that, Ivanovic is ousted by Eugenie Bouchard, the greatest women's player in the history of Canadian tennis since.... well, ever. I wouldn't count out Radwanska, either.

Until Bouchard wins a Slam or three WTA events, she's still looking up at the immortal Carling Bassett.

 

[sportsnut2002]

When Djokovic came back to win the fourth set against Wawrinka, I thought he would pull out the match. He's in good condition and has played a lot of five setters. The last couple of points in the last game were very strange, but Djokovic had given himself no margin for error.

Lots of credit to Wawrinka.

I think Federer has a good shot to beat Murray in their quarterfinal and we might get another Federer vs. Nadal match. Nadal is still my pick to win the title.

We will get Federer-Nadal in the semis after both got through their matches. Nadal had to fight back after dropping the first set. Federer lost a few match points in the third set, I believe (I didn't stay up to watch it, just read the review).
I may force myself to get up early Friday morning and watch that match live. I don't know how many more times they'll meet in a Slam.
And I wish someone would offer Azarenka a million dollars to not do her yelling, or screaming, or owl impersonation, whatever it is she does in match.

 

[da man]

When Djokovic came back to win the fourth set against Wawrinka, I thought he would pull out the match. He's in good condition and has played a lot of five setters. The last couple of points in the last game were very strange, but Djokovic had given himself no margin for error.

Lots of credit to Wawrinka.

I think Federer has a good shot to beat Murray in their quarterfinal and we might get another Federer vs. Nadal match. Nadal is still my pick to win the title.

We will get Federer-Nadal in the semis after both got through their matches. Nadal had to fight back after dropping the first set. Federer lost a few match points in the third set, I believe (I didn't stay up to watch it, just read the review).
I may force myself to get up early Friday morning and watch that match live. I don't know how many more times they'll meet in a Slam.
And I wish someone would offer Azarenka a million dollars to not do her yelling, or screaming, or owl impersonation, whatever it is she does in match.

I actually watched a little bit of that match, and Federer looked a whole lot like Federer -- the one who hoisted all those trophies, not the guy who impersonated him last year. Roger was downright surgical. I'd love to see him win another major here.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Azarenka's road to the title certainly got easier with both Williams and Sharapova going out. She's the favorite, but she doesn't strike me as so invincible that she couldn't fall to an upset as well. Not like the old days when Navratilova, Evert, Graf or Seles almost never lost to anyone except each other.

Just like that, Ivanovic is ousted by Eugenie Bouchard, the greatest women's player in the history of Canadian tennis since.... well, ever. I wouldn't count out Radwanska, either.

Until Bouchard wins a Slam or three WTA events, she's still looking up at the immortal Carling Bassett.

That's a tough one.

^^^^^Has the looks, but awkward.

^^^^^Yow. Za.

 

[Mark2010]

Gosh, I had almost forgotten about Bassett. I wouldn't call Bouchard the favorite, but it wouldn't be a complete shock for her to win the thing. Semifinals are Bouchard against Li Na and Radwanska against Cibulkova. I'd pick Radwanska, but not put a ton of money on it.

Love the way Federer is playing, but he's still a significant underdog against Nadal, even on a hard court.

 

[da man]

Gosh, I had almost forgotten about Bassett. I wouldn't call Bouchard the favorite, but it wouldn't be a complete shock for her to win the thing. Semifinals are Bouchard against Li Na and Radwanska against Cibulkova. I'd pick Radwanska, but not put a ton of money on it.

Love the way Federer is playing, but he's still a significant underdog against Nadal, even on a hard court.

Li Na is probably the favorite in the women's draw now, no?

And yes, Federer is obviously the underdog against Nadal these days on any surface. mostly I'm just hoping he brings this one home. Still, he's looked great so far, and you'd have to think he has at least a chance.

 

[Mark2010]

Li Na is seeded fourth and Radwanska fifth, so not too much difference there. I would call them co-favorites. I really wish someone played serve and volley. Would make for more exciting matches.

 

[Double J]

Azarenka's road to the title certainly got easier with both Williams and Sharapova going out. She's the favorite, but she doesn't strike me as so invincible that she couldn't fall to an upset as well. Not like the old days when Navratilova, Evert, Graf or Seles almost never lost to anyone except each other.

Just like that, Ivanovic is ousted by Eugenie Bouchard, the greatest women's player in the history of Canadian tennis since.... well, ever. I wouldn't count out Radwanska, either.

Until Bouchard wins a Slam or three WTA events, she's still looking up at the immortal Carling Bassett.

That's a tough one.

^^^^^Has the looks, but awkward.

^^^^^Yow. Za.

That's primarily why she's immortal. ;D

 

[MileHigh]

If you're up, Rafa is getting run ragged in the final by Wawrinka. Rafa calls an injury timeout (nothing new) and Wawrinka calls it out.

Rafa comes back and can't do crap with what looks like a seized back. Would not be surprised if he retires here.

 

[Mark2010]

Hats off to Wawrinka for winning his first major, although one can't help but wonder how things might have turned out if Nadal hadn't been injured. Credit to Nadal for gutting out a win in the third set and making Wawrinka work hard in the fourth to close it out.

Wawrinka moves ahead of Roger Federer in the world rankings for the first time. He's a first-time Slam winner at age 28. I always respected him as a player, but was doubtful that he could break through the Nadal/Djokovic/Federer/Murray monopoly, which had combined to win 34 of the previous 35 majors. Adds some additional interest to the men's game.

 

[Gator]

With Roger Federer's loss yesterday -- the third time in four majors he hasn't reached the quarterfinals after 36 straight appearances -- it made me realize he's never going to win another GS. So he'll finish with 17. That means Nadal (who is 27) needs only four more to catch him and five more to surpass him.

Then it got me to thinking about this era of tennis, and maybe why the sport isn't as popular. I grew up watching a number of players (Agassi, Sampras, Courier, Rafter, etc.) compete for GS titles, not just 3-4. In the past decade or so, you could have penciled in Federer, Murray, Nadal or Djokovic, with a very rare exception (Warwinka). Also, I think a lot of it was dominant players in the US, which we haven't had since Agassi retired.

So, two questions:

1) Does Nadal catch Federer?

2) Will tennis ever be a popular sport here again?

 

[Songbird]

Tennis is one of those sports where it's kind of sad (not sure that's the right word) to watch the Gods lose their status bit by bit. In my lifetime it's been Connors and McEnroe and Lendl and Edberg and Courier (more of a shooting star; here one minute, gone the next) and Sampras and now Federer. Nadal will be next.