official French Open thread

[cezero]

i've been a believer in waws for a decade.

it was amazing to see him finally put it together a couple years back.

 

[cezero]

whoa.

nole moving completely differently now.

good for murray for not pulling off the gas pedal right now. he's let nole's physical state bother him way too much in the past.

i love any scenario that plays out now. would love to see any of these 3 guys win the french. REALLY happy that we get to see a first-time winner after nearly a decade of rafa.

 

[bksballer89]

Proud of Andy but that 5th set was a letdown.

Congrats to Serena. 33 going on 34 and still destroying the competition.

 

[Liberal Icon]

Proud of Andy but that 5th set was a letdown.

Congrats to Serena. 33 going on 34 and still destroying the competition.

Congratulations, Serena. She is still amazing.

 

[cezero]

I just realized that all Serena needs is Wimbledon for another Serena Slam.

 

[Old Lion]

I am surprised Safarova even won a set. Really think she was fortunate to even get to the semis. I thought the Swiss lady whos name I can not pronounce or spell played extremely well the whole tourney but ran out of gas in the final set against Serena. The other 2 semifinalist really don't possess a good enough service gain to challenge Serena.

 

[bksballer89]

Stan had so many chances to break but is failing to convert

 

[bksballer89]

We have a match!!!

 

[Smart]

That volley right there off the huge Stan backhand by Nole was big time. Lose that point and Stan is two holds from the titles. Now the pressure is all on Stan.

Nole has played the big moments pretty well today. So far it hasn't mattered all that much. Stan has just been the better player for the last two sets.

 

[bksballer89]

Novak had 3 break points to go up 5-3 and failed to get the break

 

[bksballer89]

The French Open is on Stan the man racquet

 

[bksballer89]

Championship point

 

[bksballer89]

Stan is the fucking man

 

[Smart]

And I think we can put the "well, prime Nadal would have lost to Nole" stuff to rest. Nadal is much, much worse this year from last year, after being much worse than the year before. It's a new era. Fed and Nadal are way past their prime, trying to sneak in a couple more titles. The old challengers (Berdych, Tsonga, Wawrinka) are trying to get their titles now that 2 of the 3 kings are gone. Djokovic is rock solid and the clear best player in the world, but he is far from invincible. Whether Murray's recent resurgence is permanent is another big question.

But most interesting, it is time for a new challenger to rise. The void is there. Now the question becomes who will seize it. Kyrgios? Coric? Rublev? Tiafoe? It's time for some new blood at the top. And while Kei and Raonic are solid talents, they aren't transcendent. We need the next champion to come along soon.

 

[bksballer89]

 

[bksballer89]

7 or 8 years ago I never thought I would have this much respect for Novak. I used to think he was a clown but the man has grown into such a class act in defeat. I don't know how anyone can dislike him as a person or player these days

 

[cezero]

breathtaking display of tennis from wawrinka

 

[Liberal Icon]

Stan is the fucking man

Yes, he is! I was expecting Djokovic to win and I am surprised he did not. Maybe he wanted it so bad that the nerves gave up. He clearly had chances and uncharacteristically let it go. At the same time it was an outstanding display of tennis and purpose from Wawrinka.

 

[bksballer89]

Is it a stretch for Stan to possibly get the career GS? He is very good at hard courts so I think he can win a US Open. Wimbledon will be his hardest task

 

[Old Lion]

Damn, I missed the entire match. Too many family things going on today. Happy for Stan. Glad to see he is not done yet. Looked as if he might have hit the wall the last few months, but played incredible in Paris.

Now we can move on the meat of the tennis year, Grass and US open series.