2024 Green Acres: The Strawberries and Cream Lounge

[Oploskoffie]

This is where we come together to sit and eat strawberries and cream, complain about the weather, perhaps break into song, drink Pim's and chat about the players. Feel free to drop by whenever the spirit moves you. We enjoy discussing the players' strengths, weaknesses, color palette preferences, and pratfalls.

Be forewarned, everyone will be expected to rise if the King pays us a visit.

[Oploskoffie]

The first couple of entries are in - deadline is tomorrow morning, 11 AM CET!

Here's wondering how many Raducanu wild card entries we're going to see. Will she get through Wimbledon qualifying?

[ashkor87]

I am assuming Raducanu gets a wild card

[Oploskoffie]

I am assuming Raducanu gets a wild card

Both she and Wozniacki have entered qualifying: https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4033404/ ... -alternate

Seems like a good move to me; both are short on match practice. Will definitely be following the quallies this year

[ponchi101]

Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.

[Oploskoffie]

And we're off! (In Stuttgart that is - the weather in 's-Hertogenbosch isn't helping at the moment..)

The trades thread will be up some time later today.

[Oploskoffie]

Even if she gets a WC, she will be a wasted pick.

Let's see how this post ages In the end, though, only two people picked Emma was the wild card option. A couple of Osaka's in there as well.

[jazzyg]

My first match of the contest was a wild one when Koepfer got outplayed for the first two sets but managed to hold his serve through the second set and win the tiebreaker. Then he got up a break in the third set, gave it back, was two points away from winning three times before going to another tiebreak, got down 6-4 and then benefited from a double fault by Zhang on the first match point on his way to winning the final four points.

Koepfer won despite winning seven fewer points overall. I'll take it.

[Oploskoffie]

I would too! Wouldn't it be nice if that's a sign of things to come

[jazzyg]

It probably won't mean much in the long run, but there has been a lot of drama in the opening rounds.

Maria, picked by 4 of us, saved six match points over three games--one near the end of the second set and then in both tiebreaks.

Mannarino, picked by 2, rallied from a set and double break down when he was a point away from falling behind 5-1 in the second set and ended up winning despite taking three fewer points overall.

Berettini, picked by 4, saved 4 break points over three games in the third set before breaking for the first time in the match to win despite taking eight fewer points overall.

[ponchi101]

Preparing our nerves for the Wimby SP?

[Oploskoffie]

I think the Boulter - Dart match is also worth a mention, lasting for over three hours and including Dart effectively betting the umpire 50.000 pounds that an overrule was (very) wrong.

[Oploskoffie]

Preparing our nerves for the Wimby SP?

Not sure mine will have healed themselves in time from the FO

[ponchi101]

Oh, after that double first day exit, I am just scar tissue for wimby. I am picking Alcaraz on day 1 and at the very least Ons. Just to be sort of sure.

[jazzyg]

The gods got me back for Koepfer saving match points with the help of a double fault by Zhang in the first round.

This morning, he played one of the best matches of his career against Musetti and was two points away from a straight-set victory at 5-3 in the second-set tiebreak on his serve when he made a routine error at the end of a long point, something he had not done at all earlier. Musetti sneaked out the tiebreak, but Koepfer recovered from the first break of the match early in the third set to break right back and got up 15-40 on Musetti's next service game. Musetti held on with the help of hitting the sideline with a winner to save the second break point and ended up winning an outstanding match. He was effusive in his praise for Koepfer on the ATP website, but my only reward for that effort was a first-round win.