US Open Series Thread

[bksballer89]

God Venus got destroyed by Lisicki

 

[Old Lion]

God Venus got destroyed by Lisicki

She just looked raggedy. She is pretty close to done. Would not surprise me if she announces her retirement at the open.

 

[cezero]

She just looked raggedy. She is pretty close to done. Would not surprise me if she announces her retirement at the open.

I don't think she's playing because she hopes to win another major or anything. She's playing for her own satisfaction, and I think she wants to play one last Olympics in Rio next year for another doubles gold with Serena, so I'm not sure she'll retire until after that.

Her auto-immune disease hits sporadically. From what I've read, it's very much like relapsing-remitting MS in terms of how it affects the autonomic nervous system.

Exercise is good for people with auto-immune diseases like hers, and she can get paid to do what she enjoys, so good for her.

 

[cezero]

By the way, if you get sick of them showing lame WTA matches, ESPN 3 is showing the 2 show courts for the ATP event in Montreal.

 

[Old Lion]

By the way, if you get sick of them showing lame WTA matches, ESPN 3 is showing the 2 show courts for the ATP event in Montreal.

Thanks. Unfortunately, I dont think my cable provider carries ESPN3 though.

 

[cezero]

Thanks. Unfortunately, I dont think my cable provider carries ESPN3 though.

If you have ESPN, you can watch ESPN3. It's online only, though. I run it through Chromecast from my ipad to my tv.

 

[Smart]

Tiafoe beat Kozlov in 5 the other day for the Main Draw Wild Card at the US Open. He has pro-level strokes, particularly for the forehand the first serve. Tiafoe does have maturity issues, and he sort of choked away the third set (he was up two sets and a break). The net play needs to improve for him to be a legitimate top 100 talent, but the rest of his game is pretty much there. I fully expect him to be a top ten player when he reaches complete mental maturity.

Kozlov has great feel, but just seems to lack the firepower on both sides to subdue great hitters. His backhand and forehand are both well outside top 100 caliber. His serve has seemed to improve a lot over the last year, which is a great sign. The return and the drop shot are both world-class. Actually, his drop shot may be among the top ten in the world today. He in one of the few teens who can really handle pace well. He just has incredible touch, but it won't matter if he can't get some more power in his strokes.

Taylor Fritz has the best strokes of any American junior not named Frances Tiafoe. His game screams "top 25 player" and he really just needs a bit more consistency.

I'm not really sold on Tommy Paul. He has a solid all-around game, but there is nothing in his game which is world-class.

Opelka will be very interesting. His serve is big with the chance to be huge. 6'10 guys tend to not be very good at young ages, so in theory he is right on schedule to be a superstar and better than Ivo or Isner at the same age. At the same time, his forehand and backhand aren't scaring anyone, and he makes enough net errors to think he would not win breakers at the rate Ivo or Isner do.

The only bit of Mmoh I saw was him getting waxed by Fritz. The results on the junior circuit and the Futures are tough to argue with, but if he can't handle the heat of people like Fritz, he isn't going higher than #50 in the world.

 

[cezero]

it's very silly to judge much of anything off of junior tournaments between 17 year olds, but kozlov will easily make the top 100 because of his groundstrokes, not in spite of them.

anyway, coric/tsonga is on ESPN3 right now. No idea what they're showing on Tennis Channel. I'm not going bac because there is ZERO commentary on ESPN3 coverage now, which is glorious.

 

[cezero]

Coric moves wonderfully, and is a real shot maker.

He just broke back Tsonga on a point he had no business winning.

 

[cezero]

Then Coric gets broken right back to lose the set.

It's interesting to see him try to get to Tsonga's backhand, but he can't move him out of position quite enough for it to be effective.

 

[cezero]

coric lost today, but he will make the 2nd week of a slam in 2016, i'm pretty sure.

 

[Old Lion]

Except for Steve Johnson, the Americans did pretty well in Montreal.

Also, Coco got beat early in Toronto. Too bad, it looked like she was going to take a step forward this year.

 

[bksballer89]

Raonic eliminated in his hometown tourney.....must suck for him

 

[cezero]

bouchard went down, too

the canadiens still have popsicle, though

 

[bksballer89]

bouchard went down, too

the canadiens still have popsicle, though

She's been incredibly bad all year

 

[Old Lion]

She's been incredibly bad all year

She was overhyped. Had a short stretch where she played real well and got her ranking high, but I really do not see her as a top 10 threat.

The US has a young lady coming up named Louisa Chirico who seems to have everything needed to be a top 10 player.

 

[bksballer89]

She was overhyped. Had a short stretch where she played real well and got her ranking high, but I really do not see her as a top 10 threat.

The US has a young lady coming up named Louisa Chirico who seems to have everything needed to be a top 10 player.

Dimitrov is the male version of Bouchard this year

 

[bksballer89]

Holy shit Donald Young eliminated Berdych in straights

 

[cezero]

Isner not doing great against Pospisil. About to start the 3rd set.

Big John has played A LOT recently, and I can't imagine how he wouldn't be tired. A loss wouldn't be all bad because he'd be a little fresher going into Cincy next week.

 

[cezero]

Dimitrov is the male version of Bouchard this year

Sock could do some major damage over the next month, so I wouldn't look at today's loss by Dimitrov as anything too negative.

Sock's forehand explodes off the court because of the RPM. For his opponent, it's like trying to hit a rock.

And the scary thing for the field is that they've gone to Sock's backhand so much, even that shot is highly improved over the past few months.

My only worry for Sock is that he hasn't committed fully to fitness yet. Could hold him back more than anything.