Olympic Tennis 7/24 - 7/30 2021

[ti-amie]

Paula Badosa defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Iga sat on her bench crying for a good ten minutes or more. I wonder if she was allowed to bring her therapist. It was disturbing to watch. Not too much about it on TT though. Maybe people haven't seen the match yet. They literally had to send someone to tell her she had to leave the court so that they could set up for the next match.

[ti-amie]

Artur Gac
@arturgac
Tam siedzi Iga. Sama ze swoimi myślami. Odeszła od wszystkich. Serce aż pęka Broken heart #Tokio2020
@SportINTERIA
Translated from Polish by Google
Iga is sitting there. Alone with your thoughts. She walked away from everyone. The heart breaks Broken heart#Tokio2020
@SportINTERIA

[JTContinental]

Sorry, meant this for the general olympics thread

[ponchi101]

Wow about Iga. I guess it shows that this means a lot to many people.
She has had a rough last couple of months. That RG defeat, W wasn't that great, now this.
And the games are bringing out some very good tennis from some people. Sabalenka out to Vecic, Kvitova out to Van Uytvanck. I still say Naomi takes the gold, but silver and bronze are wide open.

[Suliso]

Petra was beaten by the heat. Sadly she has never learned to adapt to that...

[JazzNU]

Paula Badosa defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Iga sat on her bench crying for a good ten minutes or more. I wonder if she was allowed to bring her therapist. It was disturbing to watch. Not too much about it on TT though. Maybe people haven't seen the match yet. They literally had to send someone to tell her she had to leave the court so that they could set up for the next match.

Interesting. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but I'll just say, this doesn't look good and I hope she's okay. And I also hope she doesn't rush back to play in a week or two and takes some time to regroup.

[Ribbons]

Donna Vekic was featured in a fluff NYT advertorial piece about athletes who like their watches:

Donna Vekic has won two Women’s Tennis Association singles titles and now is headed to Tokyo to represent Croatia at her first Olympics.

The 25-year-old grew up in Croatia in a family of professional athletes: Her father was a soccer player and her mother, a sprinter — even Grandma taught physical education.

At age 6, “I fell in love with tennis from the first practice,” Ms. Vekic said.

She now plays wearing a F.P. Journe Elegante Titanium Two Rows of Diamonds watch, a timepiece made by the Swiss independent François-Paul Journe (one of Ms. Vekic’s sponsors).

“I wear it a lot,” she said. “It’s light, it’s functional, and it’s very convenient. We have 25 seconds between points, so it’s good to keep an eye on the time.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/23/fash ... onman.html

[Fastbackss]

The empath in me hopes she gets the support she needs.

The realist in me wonders if this changes their considerations for Mixed Doubles (I presume they were qualified).

[ti-amie]

[Omess]

Paula Badosa defeated Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Iga sat on her bench crying for a good ten minutes or more. I wonder if she was allowed to bring her therapist. It was disturbing to watch. Not too much about it on TT though. Maybe people haven't seen the match yet. They literally had to send someone to tell her she had to leave the court so that they could set up for the next match.

Yup the therapist is in Tokyo. IGA said earlier that winning a medal will be the highlight of her career so it explained her reaction a little


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[JazzNU]

Naomi just lost to Vondrousova. Olympics man, strange results are always possible.

[jazzyg]

Osaka had nothing in her match against Vondrousova. Nothing.

it's understandable in her case since the tournament is in Japan, but any other player (besides Djokovic) who treats these Olympics as a huge event while playing in an empty stadium in a sport where the slams are far more significant than the Olympics is being self-delusional. I have zero sympathy for Swiatek if she felt this was a huge deal. It just isn't.

[jazzyg]

And while I''m on the negative kick, Rennae Stubbs, who has diarrhea of the mouth, just proved why she is my least favorite tennis announcer. She proclaimed confidently that Sakkari definitely will win a slam in the next year or two.

I like Sakkari's potential, and she certainly is capable of winning a slam, but that's simply an absurd statement on the current WTA. She'd never gone deep in any slam until Roland Garros, and with about 40 players capable of winning, the idea she's a sure thing in the next year or so is preposterous.

EDIT: and she just said she's never seen a player hit the ball as hard as Badosa. I don't even know where to go with that one.

[Deuce]

Osaka had nothing in her match against Vondrousova. Nothing.

it's understandable in her case since the tournament is in Japan, but any other player (besides Djokovic) who treats these Olympics as a huge event while playing in an empty stadium in a sport where the slams are far more significant than the Olympics is being self-delusional. I have zero sympathy for Swiatek if she felt this was a huge deal. It just isn't.

^ No-one but the individual in question can determine if the Olympics - or THIS Olympics - is meaningful or not.
If it's meaningful to the individual, then it's meaningful - period - regardless of anyone else's opinion or perspective.
I think it's wonderful that Swiatek was devastated at her loss. It shows she cares. It shows that this tournament is meaningful and important to her.
Athletes who give a damn are becoming fewer and fewer, as they play more and more for the paycheck and status than for the sheer joy of the competition and challenge. Jeez - if we can't appreciate - even admire - genuine passion and commitment in sports, then we're in big trouble.

EDIT: Typo - no 't' in 'status'.

And while I''m on the negative kick, Rennae Stubbs, who has diarrhea of the mouth, just proved why she is my least favorite tennis announcer. She proclaimed confidently that Sakkari definitely will win a slam in the next year or two.

I like Sakkari's potential, and she certainly is capable of winning a slam, but that's simply an absurd statement on the current WTA. She'd never gone deep in any slam until Roland Garros, and with about 40 players capable of winning, the idea she's a sure thing in the next year or so is preposterous.

EDIT: and she just said she's never seen a player hit the ball as hard as Badosa. I don't even know where to go with that one.

^ I will agree with you about Stubbs, though. Not because of what she said about Sakkari - anyone can say such things, and it doesn't bother me... but because Stubbs has repeatedly demonstrated that she is an arrogant person who loves to simply hear herself talk (or 'tweet', or whatever).

[jazzyg]

Yes, I was just using Stubbs' comment about Sakkari as an example of her arrogance. If she didn't make statements similar to that one all of the time, I would not have brought it up.