Quintus Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Go Halep! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 On 11/07/2019 at 16:39, Anna C said: I’ll be optimistic and go for Federer. The cross-court speed he displayed against Nishikori was unbelievable. What a match. For the sake of my heart rate I’m glad it didn’t go to 5 sets! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Federer seems to be on another level this year. Usually when someone has won loads of times at Wimbledon I start wanting someone else to win just for a change! But Federer is such a joy to watch that he is probably the one exception. No disrespect to Serena as she is great but after 24 wins I would really like the other lady to win this year Halep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Yes Federer was special, and made a great player like Nadal look, well not ordinary, but definitely second best. What a final it promises to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Federer and Nadal, even though they're competing against each other, are like the greatest of ballet partnerships, and like Torvill and Dean: there's an indefinable bond between them and time seems to stand still as greatness takes over. They're magnificent. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 Simona Halep played out of her skin and was a worthy winner. Congratulations! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Haven't seen it yet! But caught sight of the winner on the BBC news page! I'm glad somebody can now take on Serena Willams though at 37 she is still pretty amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 She was stunning, Lin! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Even Serena said: "she played out of her head" and no-one had ever seen Simona play as well as that. She was utterly magnificent and a wothy winner. Serena was very gracious in defeat, and I thought Simona was also gracious and amusing and just thrilled. I also think she has more respect for the British Royal Family than some of its own members do. I am thrilled that she got to meet the Duchess of Cambridge afterwards as that is who she wanted there! Very well done to her on an amazing win. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 I’m rather worn out after a three minutes shy of five hours gents’ doubles final! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Just now, bangorballetboy said: I’m rather worn out after a three minutes shy of five hours gents’ doubles final! I’m not surprised! What a match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 19 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said: I’m rather worn out after a three minutes shy of five hours gents’ doubles final! But not as worn out as they are. I hope there's no lasting damage to Mahut - 3 really nasty strikes in one match is really rather too much, especially two of them coming so close together 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 13, 2019 Share Posted July 13, 2019 Incredible match. There has never been a doubles match like it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 😭😭😭😭 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 What an incredible final. I'm so sad that Federer lost, but it was a brilliant match and Djokovic is amazing, especially given he had moreorless the whole crowd against him too. There were times when I wanted to weep at the sheer beauty of Federer's tennis, and in a way that's a greater achievement than winning a match. Talk about stress!! What with the tennis and the cricket - I was switching to the cricket at every changeover and that got more and more tense and then the super over (of which I had never heard until today) happening at literally the same time as the tie break! Unbelievable stuff. The moment of England winning the world cup will rank with Jonny Wilkinson's kick for sheer ecstasy and unbelievable drama. You just couldn't make it up. I LOVE SPORT!!! Totally exhausted now (having spent all afternoon and evening on my sofa). 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 I initially assumed that, despite the commentators saying that Federer was the better player in virtually every set, Djokovic must have had the edge, so wasn't initially that upset, although disappointed. Then I made the mistake of looking at the statistics on the Wimbledon website, which bore out what they'd said. I don't think I've ever seen a match in which all the statistics were so much in favour of one player: everything showed Federer as better than Djokovic apart from the unforced error count - he even scored 218 points to Djokovic's 204! That was when I started feeling really gutted for Federer for not winning it (BTW, we have a cricket thread too, should anyone feel like reviving it) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 14 hours ago, alison said: I initially assumed that, despite the commentators saying that Federer was the better player in virtually every set, Djokovic must have had the edge, so wasn't initially that upset, although disappointed. Then I made the mistake of looking at the statistics on the Wimbledon website, which bore out what they'd said. I don't think I've ever seen a match in which all the statistics were so much in favour of one player: everything showed Federer as better than Djokovic apart from the unforced error count - he even scored 218 points to Djokovic's 204! That was when I started feeling really gutted for Federer for not winning it Though one particular stat that doesn't get included in the official ones is the fact that Djokovic always had the upper hand in tie breaks... Who knows how it might have gone if the final set tie-break rule hadn't come in this year, but we are where we are! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Too true, on both counts! Which points you win can be more important than how many. The joys of tennis ... I must say, though, a first-to-7 tiebreak felt horribly inadequate for the occasion, although that may have been more down to the length and epic-ness of the match than anything else. Maybe they should change it to first-to-10, as in champions' tiebreaks, at least for finals. But it's early days yet, and the Club may change its mind in future years, I suppose. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonrothbart Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 It just proves that stats aren't the be all and end all in sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 I guess so But then Djokovic obviously sets great store by them, or why would he be employing the ATP's "statistics supremo" to get an additional edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 (edited) On 15/07/2019 at 22:52, alison said: I must say, though, a first-to-7 tiebreak felt horribly inadequate for the occasion, although that may have been more down to the length and epic-ness of the match than anything else. Maybe they should change it to first-to-10, as in champions' tiebreaks, at least for finals. I totally agree - given the fact that it's triggered by 12-12 instead of 6-6, I think the tie break rules should proportionally reflect that in some way. Or rather, I think that the thinking behind the 12-12 rule (presumably "if it's still neck and neck by this stage then the players need to be given more of a run at getting one up on their opponent") should be applied. Edited July 17, 2019 by RuthE 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Talking about epic finals, it struck me, rather sadly, the other day, that with roofs on both Centre and No. 1 Court at Wimbledon now there should never be a need for the BBC to replay large chunks of, say, Wimbledon men's finals 1980, 2008, semifinal 1977 (I think - Borg v. Gerulaitis?) and so on to cover rain delays. The end of an era (And I don't think I ever did get to see the Monday 2001 final. I suppose it's on YouTube somewhere, but it's not quite the same ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 7 minutes ago, alison said: (And I don't think I ever did get to see the Monday 2001 final. I suppose it's on YouTube somewhere, but it's not quite the same ) I watched that in the pub beside my office! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeauxArts Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I watched it in a bar in the basement of the offices where I was working - great fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Not totally on topic, but there's a "Champions of Real Tennis" competition on at the Real Tennis court at Hampton Court Palace this week featuring the world's leading players. I believe the final is being livestreamed on YouTube on Sunday. I've been along to watch, and it's absolutely fascinating (even if I couldn't always follow it too well)! It's played on a very strange, asymmetrical indoor court and has roofs on 3 sides onto one of which you hit the ball when serving so that it (hopefully) drops off into the service box, and various lines marked crosswise on the court, all of which are important in the match. It's a bit like playing squash, except that the bounces are probably rather more unpredictable because of all the walls and roofs they could be bouncing off, and it can be very fast and furious - I certainly wouldn't like to get in the way of one of those balls! Wooden racquets - and probably gut strings, I should think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 On 19/07/2019 at 20:10, alison said: Not totally on topic, but there's a "Champions of Real Tennis" competition on at the Real Tennis court at Hampton Court Palace this week featuring the world's leading players. I believe the final is being livestreamed on YouTube on Sunday. I've been along to watch, and it's absolutely fascinating (even if I couldn't always follow it too well)! It's played on a very strange, asymmetrical indoor court and has roofs on 3 sides onto one of which you hit the ball when serving so that it (hopefully) drops off into the service box, and various lines marked crosswise on the court, all of which are important in the match. It's a bit like playing squash, except that the bounces are probably rather more unpredictable because of all the walls and roofs they could be bouncing off, and it can be very fast and furious - I certainly wouldn't like to get in the way of one of those balls! Wooden racquets - and probably gut strings, I should think. I used to dabble in Fives at school, which has a court modelled on a corner of Eton college, with a split level floor and a buttress coming out of the wall - and played with a gloved hand. Tennis was similarly originally 'jeu de paume' so I wonder if that too originated in some specific building, with its echo just surviving now in the real tennis court? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 I think the thinking is that "real" tennis was originally played in the streets, and only moved inside once kings and the aristocracy adopted it, when they wanted to be able to play away from the hoi polloi BTW, glad to see Andy Murray appears to feel well enough to try his hand at playing singles again. I just think he should have probably tried a lower-level tournament than a Masters 1000 to be making his comeback at, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 1 hour ago, alison said: I think the thinking is that "real" tennis was originally played in the streets, and only moved inside once kings and the aristocracy adopted it, when they wanted to be able to play away from the hoi polloi . The OED has this to say: The addition of real adj.2 seems to have arisen from a need to distinguish this game (i.e. tennis n. 1) from the newer sport of lawn tennis (i.e. tennis n. 2; compare lawn-tennis n.). Derivation < real adj.1 (i.e. = "Royal") is apparently a folk etymology, since that adjective appears to have been obsolete by the time the present term was coined (ca. 1880). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 Yes, but my point still stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Well, I have to say that, at least from the men's side, this US Open is getting ever more ludicrous! First the defending champion and world No. 1 retires from his match due to an ongoing injury. Then in the next round (and all in the same half of the draw) of the remaining most realistic challengers the player who beat him is beaten apparently largely because he's ill and the other because he picked up a pre-match injury. On the other side of the draw, I think it's still conceivable that Rafael Nadal might win the whole thing without playing a single player ranked in the top 20, just like in 2017. Mad! The women's side could be more interesting, although I suspect that, given who's left in the draw, Serena Williams will probably win it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 On 05/09/2019 at 11:36, alison said: The women's side could be more interesting, although I suspect that, given who's left in the draw, Serena Williams will probably win it. Hope you didn't put money on that! I thought there were some interesting strands in the women's US Open this year. The Townsend saga was fascinating - particularly how she beat a completely exasperated Halep, who just could not adapt her game to that relentless serve and volley. There were some dramatic doubles matches along the way too, though the final was dull. A classy, gracious victory over young Coco Gauff by Naomi Osaka, comforting and keeping her on court for the interview. Then Andreescu beating Serena... what a resourceful player she has proved to be, and what a journey over the last year! The women's draws had it hands down this year. I could probably have rephrased that last sentence but I'll just leave it out there.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 On 10/08/2019 at 11:38, alison said: BTW, glad to see Andy Murray appears to feel well enough to try his hand at playing singles again. I just think he should have probably tried a lower-level tournament than a Masters 1000 to be making his comeback at, though. Even more pleased to see him actually winning one, even if it was at a rather lower level (and I'd really have preferred Stan Wawrinka to have won). Bet Andy was relieved the baby didn't decide to arrive early! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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