The Tennis Thread

[Arnoldtoo]

Nadal is in great form so far on Clay and if he can carry that into the French and stay injury free then he's going to be close.

Can't see Thiem breaking into the top four yet but he's certainly one of the contenders when age finally catches up with Fed/Nadal.

Going to be one of the tightest run races for #1 in years as Djoko & Murray are both struggling with injury and Fed/Nadal have been sharing the big tournaments between each other so far.

It's a hard one, isn't it. I honestly can't see Murray getting to the French final - he's more likely to go out early - or winning Wimbledon. I don't think Djokovic has got his head right. Stan the Man is a possibility if he hits form at the right time. Surely it can't be Fed or Rafa again, can it? (Yes it can!)

I suggest Thiem only because he is the form player outside the traditional top 4 at the moment, #9 right now, and the likes of Raonic, Nishikori & Cilic ahead of him you just can't see doing it.

Like you say, it's going to be interesting, and I honestly couldn't settle on a prediction.

A lot might depend on Ivan Lendl ...

 

[aliyid]

It's a hard one, isn't it. I honestly can't see Murray getting to the French final - he's more likely to go out early - or winning Wimbledon. I don't think Djokovic has got his head right. Stan the Man is a possibility if he hits form at the right time. Surely it can't be Fed or Rafa again, can it? (Yes it can!)

Yeah they've all got different issues I just can't see anyone from the rest of the field jumping ahead of the big four for a whole season (all far too inconsistent).

Murray - Getting a bit worried about his elbow and that he still hasn't got the confidence to serve at full pace

Djokovic - Just goes to show how much the mental side comes into play at the level he was at for so long. Lose focus in your personal life and it has an impact on the court.

Federer - Looks like he's only focusing on slams and doesn't care about rest of season (almost counting him out of #1 race) strange that he's not playing any clay tournaments apart from Rolland Garros but obv wants to keep focus and fitness high with a view to playing his way into form in the early rounds

Nadal - Best clay court player of all time just not sure his knees can carry him through a full hard court season (unless he prioritises the masters events & US Open).

 

[aliyid]

Fed has pulled out of the French... not injured just doesn't want to play on clay

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...er-miss-french-open-wimbledon-maria-sharapova

 

[talkshowhost86]

Wow. Margaret Court really has gone full numpty hasn't she?

I'd be painting over that name on the court immediately.

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Very pleasantly surprised that Murray dispatched del Potro in straight sets. Sets him up well in this tournament, hitting some form at the correct time, and also not having to get engaged in what could have been an attritional energy sapping marathon. Got off the court quick, and can rest up for his next match.

I do think he has a French Open in him, just depends on whether the Nadal comeback can last for the duration of this tournament and French Opens to come

 

[aliyid]

Very impressive win as Del Potro was playing some great tennis in both those first 2 sets. Kinda felt for him that he was playing better than Murray but was still 2sets down.

Would love to see Murray have a good run here but it'll be tough with Nishikori (sp?) in his quarter and Stan had a great demolishion of Fognini today

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Another straight setter from Muzza. If Nadal wasn't in such fine form I'd be backing Murray to win his first Roland Garros, if he keeps winning, lets hope someone can take Nadal deep and take a few chunks out of him. Despite his return to form, you'd have to back Murray to beat him in an attritional war on most surfaces.

 

[BSJ93]

He's starting to get into a rhythm at the right time but he's still gotta get through two incredibly tough matches before we even think about him taking on Nadal or Djok.

 

[ajspurs]

Can't believe how tamely Djokovic went out then, crazy how he's just suddenly declined. Looking forward to Murray and Nishikori, hopefully he'll be aggressive in his play.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Can't believe how tamely Djokovic went out then, crazy how he's just suddenly declined. Looking forward to Murray and Nishikori, hopefully he'll be aggressive in his play.

Staright sets and 6-0 in the final is unbelievable, didn't get to watch to judge if it was the brilliance of Thiem of Djokovic playing poorly. Thiem had a good chance of winning this considering he beat Nadal in Rome last month.

 

[ajspurs]

Staright sets and 6-0 in the final is unbelievable, didn't get to watch to judge if it was the brilliance of Thiem of Djokovic playing poorly. Thiem had a good chance of winning this considering he beat Nadal in Rome last month.

It was a bit of both really, Thiem was good but he wasn't mind blowing. You know for Djokovic to be bageled he has to be somewhat underperforming. None of the top players, especially those with adequate serves should really be getting bageled. It was a shame to see actually, hopefully he'll regain his form from last year.

 

[ajspurs]

And where did this Garcia come from? She's got some fantastic ball striking.

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

And Nadal gets a walkover which is precisely what we didn't want ( we being Murray supporters or of anyone else ).

Always seems like injuries help other players other than Murray. Was it the US Open last year that Djokovic got 2 walkovers in a row ? I remember cursing that as I felt he was the only guy that could beat Murray there. Of course, it appeared that a long season caught up with Murray as he ended up losing to Nishikori in a weirdly flat performance so it was all irrelevant.

A break down here in the 4th. Really need him to pull back, take this set and get off the court. None of the other quarters went long.

If he gets through this I'll fancy him beating Wawrinka

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

And where did this Garcia come from? She's got some fantastic ball striking.

French Open is always the best Slam for randoms to go deep in - clay court specialists that don't fare particularly well anywhere else etc

Think she has come on to a good singles game for the past year or so

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Seemingly having a convo with myself, but great finish from Murray there. He's arguably in the best position he's ever been in at Roland Garros. Semi finals and hasn't been sapped by a marathon match.

Desperate for Thiem/Nadal to go deep. Murray has to beat Wawrinka, he's the better player in every way really. It's a source of annoyance to me that they have the same amount of Slams, considering Murray has 45 titles to his name and Stan has 16.

Djokovic still looking shaky. Nadal is a question mark for a full grass court/hard court season. Federer will be refreshed for the grass court season but I think Murray would have to be very disappointed if he didn't haul in a Slam out of RS, Wimbledon and the US. Two would be absolutely fantastic, albeit very very hard

 

[ajspurs]

French Open is always the best Slam for randoms to go deep in - clay court specialists that don't fare particularly well anywhere else etc

Think she has come on to a good singles game for the past year or so

Yeah true. She does but this is the disappointing thing about the women's game, players come and look promising to then fade away so often. Hopefully she stays around.

I missed the Murray match, fell asleep Great win against a tough player. Generally good to see Murray having a good French Open so far after a pretty miserable clay season in the masters.

 

[BSJ93]

Got a feeling Stan might have a little bit too much for Murray.

 

[hughy]

The French fans are awful. There must have been about a quarter of the stadium full to see the end of that semi-final.

A SEMI-FINAL FOR CHRIST SAKE.

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

How did Murray come back in that third set ? I'm working so can't watch, but apparently amazing defence and recovery

 

[Geyzer Soze]

Couple of real squealers on court right now eh