Laver Cup

[ponchi101]

I thought that, with the total screwup for the transmission yesterday here in S. America, it was her in the background. Her voice is pretty distinctive.
Regardless of my opinion in the issue, kudos to Carillo. She stands where her opinions are. A brave position of integrity.

[ti-amie]

Some are saying it was Renae Stubbs who worked with Courier yesterday?

[dmforever]

Hmm, I had lost a lot of respect for MC. She's gotten a little back in my book.

OK, here's a hypothesis. The level of play at the LC is pretty high because it's not a "real" tournament, it isn't single elimination, and thus the players feel like there is less to lose, which allows them to play with less pressure. What say y'all?

Kevin

[JazzNU]

Not that brave IMO. More performative.

And I'd believe Ben's constant reporting was more for the cause if he'd spent even a single Tweet in recent months on Basilashvili, but he hasn't, it's all Zverev, followed by a link to the most recent article he's written.

[ponchi101]

Hmm, I had lost a lot of respect for MC. She's gotten a little back in my book.

OK, here's a hypothesis. The level of play at the LC is pretty high because it's not a "real" tournament, it isn't single elimination, and thus the players feel like there is less to lose, which allows them to play with less pressure. What say y'all?

Kevin

Uhm, good observation. So maybe indeed they are hitting out freely and are like us, playing at a higher quality when there is no pressure.
I mean, ROTW knows they are getting their $125K, Europe already has their $250K in the bank. Let's watch them hit some fun shots.
I would say you nailed it.

[JazzNU]

OK, here's a hypothesis. The level of play at the LC is pretty high because it's not a "real" tournament, it isn't single elimination, and thus the players feel like there is less to lose, which allows them to play with less pressure. What say y'all?

Kevin

I don't think so personally. But I get why others generally think of it this way.

I think there's a decent enough difference between $125k and $250k to motivate good play (and I would've thought Shapo agreed, but he looked like a liability in that doubles match).

But more than that, I think this is a fantastic tournament to elevate your brand. The upgrade your brand can get when showcased at this event is immense, because there's so little to distract from it. There aren't multiple matches going on at once, it's like the semis or the finals of a grand slam with worldwide TV contracts to rival it. Every player that is in it, win or lose, can greatly benefit their off the court careers here and that's worth playing your heart out for. And in terms of future play on the tour, you can show a little something about yourself, get players in the locker room to take your more seriously. Ruud, for instance, was not favored to win that match against Opelka, I believe he was a 65/35 underdog, but he's looking a lot less like just a clay court player after yesterday's match.

[ponchi101]

Agreed. But as you say, you have a good chance of improving your brand, but not too much to diminish it. It is sort of WIN-WIN, regardless of the results.
Shapo last night simply showed what a lot of people already say. His net game is one thing he can improve, by a lot. Why Mac put him there.... let me know if you have an idea. I don't.

[dmforever]

I would be very very hard pressed to come up with a match I have less of a rooting interest in than Zverev-Isner. Is there a way they can both loose? Maybe get injured on the same point and both have to retire? I'm sure there are more creative ways that could happen. One of them pulls a Nole and the other punches him and gets arrested? But seriously, yuck.

Kevin

[JazzNU]

No clue, Jack Sock was sitting right there.

But I think Shapo hurt his brand with his showing yesterday. Done next to nothing since Wimbledon, he can use this weekend to show that wasn't a fluke (much like Zverev did in 2019 I believe, when he was able to change the narrative with his showing), and he didn't show anything but disappointment really. Hopefully he'll look good in his singles match, which I would assume he's scheduled to play.

[skatingfan]

No clue, Jack Sock was sitting right there.

But I think Shapo hurt his brand with his showing yesterday. Done next to nothing since Wimbledon, he can use this weekend to show that wasn't a fluke (much like Zverev did in 2019 I believe, when he was able to change the narrative with his showing), and he didn't show anything but disappointment really. Hopefully he'll look good in his singles match, which I would assume he's scheduled to play.

This surface doesn't suit Shapovalov very well, so I doubt he'll play well this weekend. His timing during the doubles match looked awful.

[JazzNU]

This surface doesn't suit Shapovalov very well, so I doubt he'll play well this weekend. His timing during the doubles match looked awful.

I saw comments about the surface earlier in the thread. What about this surface is so bad for Shapo that Matteo can see his way to overcoming it but he can't?

[skatingfan]

I saw comments about the surface earlier in the thread. What about this surface is so bad for Shapo that Matteo can see his way to overcoming it but he can't?

It's too slow, and it seems a bit sticky. Berretini on the forehand can hit through the court a bit better than Shapovalov.

[JazzNU]

[Suliso]

If it goes well in the future I can see this becoming a semi official tournament. First four or five players qualify by ranking and the remaining 1-2 are wild cards selected by the captain. Similar to Ryder cup which is widely popular in golf.

[Deuce]

I read that Carillo did commentary yesterday though?

Carillo has long been one of my favourite TV announcers. She's never been afraid to say what she thinks and feels, and I appreciate her intelligent humour.

As for the matches... yes, I suppose the quality of play is good. But has anyone noticed that about 80% of the sets are very close? I believe that it is scripted this way - which is quite typical of exhibitions.