WTA 500 ATP 250 Eastbourne 6/24 - 6/29 2024

[ashkor87]

Paolini just beat Boulter in straight sets ..do people here still think she won't be a force at Wimbledon?!

[ponchi101]

Boulter retired from her match from last week's tournament, so i jury can't be ruled out.
Maybe you are seeing too much in just one single match.

[jazzyg]

Ponch, you make a good point, particularly about Ivanisevic, but what I meant to say was it was no fluke within that tournament for Raducano. She won 10 straight matches in straight sets and was never challenged in any of them, something none of the other one-slam wonders can say. That counts for something in my book.

As for Gaudio, you've touched a sore spot that only Patrick McEnroe and I seem to share. Gaudio was a terminally underrated talent who would have done a lot more in his career at Roland Garros if he were not such a headcase. His win against Coria was a fluke because Coria was on another level than anyone else at the time and simply choked, but Gaudio should have been a contender for several years with his game on clay and was a legitimate slam winner. The next year, though, he walked up to Ferrer during their very close fourth-round match and told Ferrer that Ferrer was going to win, which ultimately happened in five sets. Strange cat.

Majoli, Schiavone and Johansson's wins were one offs out of nowhere for me, but not Gaudio, who beat Nadal the first three times they played, never losing more than three games in the sets he won, and he even took him to three sets in their last two meetings after Nadal had truly become Nadal.

Pennetta I'd put in a different category, too, because she reached the U.S. Open semis three times, but definitely her career did not indicate a slam title was possible.

[jazzyg]

The wind was brutal during that match, rewarding Paolini's footwork and hurting Boulter because her movement is not very good, so yes, I totally do not expect Paolini to be a significant factor at Wimbledon.

Watching matches matters.

[ashkor87]

Keys vs Muchova today! I was actually at Eastbourne yesterday, couldn't get to see the tennis though.

Was the town as cute as they say?

Oh, like any other seaside town but the white cliffs of Dover are amazing!

[ashkor87]

Maybe so but isn't it a bit premature to write off Raducanu? As for Goran, certainly he was better than Ferrer...why would you think otherwise?

[ponchi101]

Ferru vs Goran. Ferru's numbers first.
Carrer titles: 27/22
Career high: 3/2
Career record: 734-377 (66.1%) / 599-333(64.3%)
Slams best (AU, RG, W, USO): SF, F, QF, SF / QF, QF, W, SF
DC,s (when it mattered): 3, 0.

And the imponderable: Ferru was one of the gutsiest competitors ever. Goran, at times, let the pressure rattle him (1992 Wimby final, 4-5 in the fifth, and he served 2 DF's).

So, no. Goran was not clearly better than Ferrer. At the very least it is debatable. Put Goran and Ferru on grass, and I give Ferru two pesetas of a chance. At RG, I will bet my house on Ferru. On hards... a very interesting match.

[ashkor87]

Ferru vs Goran. Ferru's numbers first.
Carrer titles: 27/22
Career high: 3/2
Career record: 734-377 (66.1%) / 599-333(64.3%)
Slams best (AU, RG, W, USO): SF, F, QF, SF / QF, QF, W, SF
DC,s (when it mattered): 3, 0.

And the imponderable: Ferru was one of the gutsiest competitors ever. Goran, at times, let the pressure rattle him (1992 Wimby final, 4-5 in the fifth, and he served 2 DF's).

So, no. Goran was not clearly better than Ferrer. At the very least it is debatable. Put Goran and Ferru on grass, and I give Ferru two pesetas of a chance. At RG, I will bet my house on Ferru. On hards... a very interesting match.

Why quote numbers to a non-believer?!

[JTContinental]

Paolini just beat Boulter in straight sets ..do people here still think she won't be a force at Wimbledon?!

Yes

It will take more than a win over a third tier British player to convince me

[ponchi101]

Ferru vs Goran. Ferru's numbers first.
Carrer titles: 27/22
Career high: 3/2
Career record: 734-377 (66.1%) / 599-333(64.3%)
Slams best (AU, RG, W, USO): SF, F, QF, SF / QF, QF, W, SF
DC,s (when it mattered): 3, 0.

And the imponderable: Ferru was one of the gutsiest competitors ever. Goran, at times, let the pressure rattle him (1992 Wimby final, 4-5 in the fifth, and he served 2 DF's).

So, no. Goran was not clearly better than Ferrer. At the very least it is debatable. Put Goran and Ferru on grass, and I give Ferru two pesetas of a chance. At RG, I will bet my house on Ferru. On hards... a very interesting match.

Why quote numbers to a non-believer?!

Because if you don't believe the data, then the other person is not at fault.

[ti-amie]

Fri, 28 June, 2024 (Day 7)

Centre Court
Starts At 11:00

L. Fernandez Vs M. Keys (4)
Followed By
J. Paolini (3) Vs D. Kasatkina (6)
Not Before 14:00
M. Purcell (Q) Vs (WC) B. Harris
Followed By
T. Fritz (1) Vs (LL) A. Vukic

Court 1
Starts At 11:00

G. Dabrowski/E. Routliffe (1) Vs C. Bucsa/M. Ninomiya
Followed By
H. Dart GBR/M. Lumsden GBR Vs L. Kichenok/J. Ostapenko
Not Before 14:00
F
M. Ebden/J. Peers (3) Vs (4) N. Skupski/M. Venus

[ti-amie]

Wait Muchova didn't even take the court against Keys? What?

Tennis Weekly Podcast
@tennisweeklypod
Karolina Muchova quote: “It was my first tournament back after a while and nobody knew what to expect or how my body would react. Today I woke up and when I tried to warm up the body and the wrist it was a little stiff. I’m in touch with my medical team back in Prague and they recommended that I did not risk it with Wimbledon around the corner...."

Karolina Muchova quote continued "...Even though I really love playing in Eastbourne and I felt great on the court here, unfortunately I had to pull out. I really, really loved it here. The grounds are packed and everyone was so nice and supportive, telling me welcome back, so that makes it even more sad for me that I cannot go out and play for them. It’s early in my comeback and I just don’t want to rush it."

[mick1303]

Class is to be seen by how good the player is at her best..on average, all players are around 50% probably ...Raducanu winning the USO was not a fluke, neither was Osaka, nor Andreescu nor Sloane...all of them won by playing extraordinarily well over 7 rounds .
As for Pegula, she is a very good player but never a great player..on the whole, a bit over-rated, specially by the American media ..

Given that in each tennis match there is one winner and one loser, it is not the revelation that on average tour winning percentage is 50%. Your stance that class is determined by how good the player is at his best is an opinion. I happen to have different opinion, because my stance is that the larger is the sample of data - the more precise estimation it gives. So the deviation from the mean, taken over the career for me is the most important number. 65% means that generally Pegula wins two matches out of each three. 53% for Raducanu means that she is just a smidgen better than having a loss for each win (losing in the 2nd round). I can't ignore such difference. All the players you mentioned have other high points in their careers. Andreescu won Indian Wells and Canadian Open - those are very big wins. Sloane reached the final of Roland Garros. You can't call player's run to slam final a fluke, if she made another one. Raducanu doesn't have ANYTHING ELSE.

[mick1303]

Ponch, you make a good point, particularly about Ivanisevic, but what I meant to say was it was no fluke within that tournament for Raducano. She won 10 straight matches in straight sets and was never challenged in any of them, something none of the other one-slam wonders can say. That counts for something in my book.

As for Gaudio, you've touched a sore spot that only Patrick McEnroe and I seem to share. Gaudio was a terminally underrated talent who would have done a lot more in his career at Roland Garros if he were not such a headcase. His win against Coria was a fluke because Coria was on another level than anyone else at the time and simply choked, but Gaudio should have been a contender for several years with his game on clay and was a legitimate slam winner. The next year, though, he walked up to Ferrer during their very close fourth-round match and told Ferrer that Ferrer was going to win, which ultimately happened in five sets. Strange cat.

Majoli, Schiavone and Johansson's wins were one offs out of nowhere for me, but not Gaudio, who beat Nadal the first three times they played, never losing more than three games in the sets he won, and he even took him to three sets in their last two meetings after Nadal had truly become Nadal.

Pennetta I'd put in a different category, too, because she reached the U.S. Open semis three times, but definitely her career did not indicate a slam title was possible.

We've seen countless times how the "draw opens up". One player does the heavy lifting, eliminating favorites in hard-fought matches, while other rips the reward. Vinci beating Serena and then having nothing left for Pennetta. This list is long. In this particular case Leyla Fernandez eliminated more favorites, clearing the path for Raducanu.

[ashkor87]

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4045994/ ... -withdraws
Good commentary from Leylah on what it takes to do well in grass