2021. Year in review

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2021. Year in review

#1

Post by ponchi101 »

Now that the Davis Cup is over, maybe it is time to review what was an interesting year. So, what was your:
Player of the year, ATP and WTA
Newcomer of the year, ATP and WTA
On court story of the year, either tour, or as many as you want.
Off court story of the year, either tour.
Match of the year, ATP and WTA
Player you are getting to enjoy a lot, ATP and WTA
Player that has gotten a bit on your wrong side.
How do you feel about the state of the game? Is it as appealing as always, getting better, losing sparkle? By either tour, or overall.

Or any other interesting story/idea you might think of.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#2

Post by meganfernandez »

What was your:
Player of the year, ATP and WTA: Djokovic and Barty

Newcomer of the year, ATP and WTA: Alcaraz and Raducanu

On-court story of the year, either tour, or as many as you want: Djokovic's quest for a Golden Slam; Osaka's mental health bombshell, which reverberated throughout the sports world

Off-court story of the year, either tour: Peng Shuai

Match of the year, WTA: I'd go with Fernandez def. Sabalenka in the semis of the US Open. I don't care that Sabalenka cracked a bit at the end. The implications, the excitement, the crescendo of the teenagers storyline...and it was more exciting than the final. There was one I didn't see (Kerber def. Sorribes Tormo at Wimbledon, maybe) that got a lot of match-of-the-year buzz at the time.

Match of the year, ATP: Djokovic def. Tsitispas in the French Open final. I think most people will say Alcaraz over Tsitsipas at the US Open, but for me, the historical implication of Djokovic coming back from 2 sets down to keep his Golden Slam alive was incredible. I'd also put Tsitsipas def. Murray at the US Open up there. Sascha def. Tsitsipas in the Cincy semi was sensational entertainment - he puked off court and still won, and Tsitsipas took one of his marathon bathroom breaks, which lit the fuse on the bomb that exploded in the Murray match a couple weeks later.

MOTY is always hard because I only see a tiny fraction of all the matches.

Player you are getting to enjoy a lot, ATP and WTA: Botic van der Zandschulp and Luisa Stefani. Wish I had been bitten by the Leylah bug.

Player that has gotten a bit on your wrong side: Leylah got on my nerves when she complained (repeatedly) to the umpire about Raducanu's medical timeout on her bloody knee in the final. It seemed bratty to me. The blood was running down her leg - obviously it had to be bandaged. And Leylah should have welcomed the break to reset - she was losing. I know it was an intense moment and she was probably blowing off steam from being frustrated, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I'll probably let it go eventually.

How do you feel about the state of the game? Is it as appealing as always, getting better, losing sparkle? By either tour, or overall. Love it as much as ever. The state of the WTA is especially exciting to me, and I've gotten more into doubles.

Or any other interesting story/idea you might think of:
--Krejickova is probably most improved on the WTA. Leylah is close but Krejickova got the major. Might give it to Botic for the ATP.
--Gauff had a very quiet but respectable year.
--Big disappointments: Brady, Kenin, Krygios. The first two didn't built on their excellent 2020 years. Kyrgios is now irrelevant, squandering all of his potential. He could have come back in shape, rested, motivated. Instead, he came back is such bad shape that he couldn't last a couple rounds at a Slam.
--King Richard is one of the best sports movies ever made.
--Dumbest use of brain cells - the potty-police issue
Last edited by meganfernandez on Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#3

Post by Deuce »

meganfernandez wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:11 pm
Player that has gotten a bit on your wrong side: Leylah got on my nerves when she complained (repeatedly) to the umpire about Raducanu's medical timeout on her bloody knee in the final. It seemed bratty to me. The blood was running down her leg - obviously it had to be bandaged. And Leylah should have welcomed the break to reset - she was losing. I know it was an intense moment and she was probably blowing off steam from being frustrated, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I'll probably let it go eventually.
Having watched Leylah for a few years now, and having spoken with her and her dad several times, I will say that that was very much out of character for her. I’m 99% sure it was the result of a completely overwhelming 2 weeks of activity, during which she not only beat several top 10 players, but also had to deal with a huge degree of media coverage all of a sudden for the first time in her life, as well as the shock of playing in the Final of the U.S. Open in front of some 20,000 people, plus a world-wide TV audience. It was all surreal, and surely felt like some sort of ‘out of body experience’ to her. Though she'll deny it publicly, she was very nervous in that Final.
Believe me - Leylah is one of the nicest, sweetest, most humble (yet self-confident), most respectful players on the tour - and it's all very genuine. I hope you get to meet her one day - I’m quite confident that if you do, you’ll see this for yourself. You might even discover that you're distantly related!

That said...

Player of the year:
ATP - Daniil Medvedev. I like him less and less as a person, but that he can have so much success - dominance at times - with such a bizarre and quirky and unorthodox style is bordering on tennis genius.
WTA - Ons Jabeur. Not a threat to be #1, but a very solid year, making the most of what she has, a great on and off court attitude, and genuinely liked and respected by her peers.

Newcomer of the year:
ATP - Lorenzo Musetti. Not as highly ranked (yet) as other kids, but I think he has more natural tennis ability than any of the others. His level of success will depend completely on his psychological abilities.
WTA - This is difficult, as the definition of ‘newcomer’ is very vague - the WTA even change their definition from year to year... I’d say Leylah Fernandez, simply because even most tennis fans knew little to nothing about her before this year, where she won her first tournament and knocked off several top players at the U.S. Open.

Most improved player (which was not asked):
ATP - Sinner? Norrie? Hurcacz? Karatsev? Pick one.
WTA - Emma Raducanu. She came out of nowhere in 2021. (Leylah is not the most improved in 2021 - she actually improved more from 2019 to 2020 than she did from 2020 to 2021 - it’s just that 2021 was the year that everyone got to know her because of her U.S. Open run.)

On-court story of the year, either tour, or as many as you want:
I am biased here, but I would say Leylah’s run at the U.S. Open, beating Osaka, Kerber, Svitolina, and Sabalenka, and reaching the Final.

Match of the year, WTA:
Leylah vs. Osaka at the U.S. Open. Despite Osaka not being in top form mentally, this lit the fire under Leylah that burned for several more matches. Without this win to provide the spark and confidence, the other victories in that tournament likely would not have occurred.

Match of the year, ATP:
I honestly can’t think of one.

Player you are getting to enjoy a lot:
ATP - Hubert Hurcacz - just because I predicted about 5 or 6 years ago that he’d be a top player eventually, so it’s nice to see him solidly inside the top 20 now.
WTA - Aside from Leylah, I’d say Jabeur for her creative, eclectic game (Leylah can learn from her), and Kontaveit, who just seems to play for the right reasons.

Player that has gotten a bit on your wrong side:
Medvedev. I’d like to like him because of his quirky, extremely unorthodox playing style - but his attitude is proving to be too much that of an arrogant, entitled jerk, especially on court.

How do you feel about the state of the game?:
I find myself more and more enjoying the WTA more than the ATP. There’s more parity in the WTA, for one... I also think there’s more creativity in the WTA, with players using drop shots, angles, change of pace, etc. more than the men do. And, of course, fewer points are won on serve in the women’s game. The ATP is comparatively more monotonous and predictable.
R.I.P. Amal...

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Re: 2021. Year in review

#4

Post by ponchi101 »

For me:
POTY, ATP. When you make all four slam finals, and win three, I don't care if you went 0-18 in every single other tournament you played for the year. Any player on tour would sign in blood for that sort of year on January 1st.
POTY, WTA. A case of elimination. Raducanu? Nope. Great two and a half weeks, but that was all. You can't be that narrow in your pick. Krejcikova? A damn good year, and I am not sure she is a one slam wonder, but I don't see it as great. Naomi was well on her way with that great start at the Aussie, but you can be the POTY if you don't play. Which leaves me with Barty, simply because she won W and had a good year. But she has got to be the weakest POTY in a long time.
Newcomer. Emma. That was too much of a bang to let it slip. On the men, really nobody comes to mind as a stellar performance. I will give it to Alcaraz.
The on court story to me is still Naomi. I am still wondering if she is representative of what the pros go through, or was it just a very personal issue. And I still say neither the ATP not the WTA have addressed this properly, especially regarding interviews. Must the idea that players need to walk around with a microphone next to them be curtailed? Can losing players call for a few hours of delay before giving their interview, to collect themselves? Nothing has been done and therefore, I believe no one is for the better.
The off court story is Peng Shuai. Let's see, if once again, it is women that tackle the ugly truth. I find that the silence from the ATP makes them very complicit, in an identical manner as Ivanka's.
Match OTY: ATP: Novak-Zverev, USO. Sure, Zverev lost, but he was the one that took the final air out of Novak's bid for the slam. And I felt the quality was really high. For the women, Sakkari-Krecjikova at RG was great. Pliskova-Mugu at Guadalajara was also intense (I only saw highlights).
I am finally getting to enjoy Anett more, as she is winning more. On the men's, I saw two matches with Sonego and I liked his style, a lot. Plus, I can't go against a guy that should be called Lorenzo Linguinni (he is thin) and has a mustache that would make Salvador Dali pale with envy. Just can't.
Rubbing me the wrong way: Daniil. I just can't watch that awful style, and he does almost everything the way I dislike it. The forehand is horrible, the backhand even more, the standing 10 meters behind the baseline to receive. I can only think of one other player whose style I disliked as much, and well, she was never a fave either.
My love for the sport stands at the same location as it was in 2002. The men? Sure, I can watch the matches, but there is nobody I really root for (except whomever stands across Novak that day, which is circumstantial). But the women are showing so much promise. I don't mind the parity, and I really have like 6 players that I will put aside what I am doing to watch them. And they all seem decent and quiet, which I like. I gather I will stick to the WTA for a few years now.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#5

Post by meganfernandez »

Deuce wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:42 am
meganfernandez wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 11:11 pm
Player that has gotten a bit on your wrong side: Leylah got on my nerves when she complained (repeatedly) to the umpire about Raducanu's medical timeout on her bloody knee in the final. It seemed bratty to me. The blood was running down her leg - obviously it had to be bandaged. And Leylah should have welcomed the break to reset - she was losing. I know it was an intense moment and she was probably blowing off steam from being frustrated, but it rubbed me the wrong way. I'll probably let it go eventually.
Having watched Leylah for a few years now, and having spoken with her and her dad several times, I will say that that was very much out of character for her. I’m 99% sure it was the result of a completely overwhelming 2 weeks of activity, during which she not only beat several top 10 players, but also had to deal with a huge degree of media coverage all of a sudden for the first time in her life, as well as the shock of playing in the Final of the U.S. Open in front of some 20,000 people, plus a world-wide TV audience. It was all surreal, and surely felt like some sort of ‘out of body experience’ to her. Though she'll deny it publicly, she was very nervous in that Final.
Believe me - Leylah is one of the nicest, sweetest, most humble (yet self-confident), most respectful players on the tour - and it's all very genuine. I hope you get to meet her one day - I’m quite confident that if you do, you’ll see this for yourself. You might even discover that you're distantly related!
I'm sure you're right and she'll win me over pretty soon.
Last edited by meganfernandez on Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#6

Post by meganfernandez »

ponchi101 wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 3:58 pm
POTY, WTA. A case of elimination. Raducanu? Nope. Great two and a half weeks, but that was all. You can't be that narrow in your pick. Krejcikova? A damn good year, and I am not sure she is a one slam wonder, but I don't see it as great. Naomi was well on her way with that great start at the Aussie, but you can be the POTY if you don't play. Which leaves me with Barty, simply because she won W and had a good year. But she has got to be the weakest POTY in a long time.
Barty also won Miami, Stuttgart, Cincinnati, and a tournament in Australia over Muguruza. Finaled Madrid, then got hurt and retired in Rome and the French. Barely lost to Rogers 7-6 in the third in NY. She was 42-8 for the year, defended her No. 1 ranking, and mostly while not going home. I think it was an impressive year, just cut a little short.
The on court story to me is still Naomi. I am still wondering if she is representative of what the pros go through, or was it just a very personal issue.
I think half and half. I'm sure many pros deal with similar issues - to the same extent that the general population does - but they also don't have a platform, media attention and scrutiny that she does, so that compounds the issue for h. I also think she is a bit on the immature side, emotionally. Perhaps doesn't have the experience or aptitude yet to deal with those stressors in a healthy way. She's also from a generation that feels more comfortable being candid about their mental health. So many factors.
And I still say neither the ATP not the WTA have addressed this properly, especially regarding interviews. Must the idea that players need to walk around with a microphone next to them be curtailed? Can losing players call for a few hours of delay before giving their interview, to collect themselves? Nothing has been done and therefore, I believe no one is for the better.
I think some tweaks can definitely be made without compromising transparency. If players want to collect themselves and process before going to the press conference, that should be fine. But most players won't want to wait on site if they're feeling that badly. They'll want to leave. So do they come back, or Zoom in? They can figure it out. But the pressers aren't nearly as tough or irritating as people have made them out to be.
Sakkari-Krecjikova at RG was great.
Forgot about this one. You're right. Sakkari def. Andreescu R4 US Open was also sizzling.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#7

Post by Deuce »

meganfernandez wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:02 pm But the pressers aren't nearly as tough or irritating as people have made them out to be.
^ I think that it is up to each person/player to determine individually how difficult/irritating/stressful they are for them. One player may really like to answer media questions, win or lose, while another player may hate to answer media questions, win or lose. Still others may be very stressed to answer questions more when they lose... etc.
It really is an individual thing, and not universal. And I think that should be respected by making it as optional to speak with the media as it is to do sponsorship commercials, sign autographs, etc.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#8

Post by ti-amie »

Image

Again this is hard for me. UGH.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#9

Post by meganfernandez »

ti-amie wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 10:23 pm Image

Again this is hard for me. UGH.
There are no wrong right wrong answers!
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#10

Post by meganfernandez »

Deuce wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 9:17 pm
meganfernandez wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:02 pm But the pressers aren't nearly as tough or irritating as people have made them out to be.
^ I think that it is up to each person/player to determine individually how difficult/irritating/stressful they are for them. One player may really like to answer media questions, win or lose, while another player may hate to answer media questions, win or lose. Still others may be very stressed to answer questions more when they lose... etc.
It really is an individual thing, and not universal. And I think that should be respected by making it as optional to speak with the media as it is to do sponsorship commercials, sign autographs, etc.
Sure, pressers are stressful sometimes - for everyone involved. We can't eradicate stress. The tours/ITF should help players (and all involved) with reasonable adjustments that also respect the role of the media, which, to me, is sacred in society, and obviously the sport values the media or they wouldn't keep credentialing people. I don't believe that press conferences are unreasonably stressful to the point that we have to blow up the system, as it has been characterized in this last year. I'm saying I disagree with the characterization of the press conferences among the fans and Twitter crowd. I think Zoom has helped a lot. I have an idea that maybe players could be avatars on screen! Seriously! Think about Osaka, who loves gaming and is really uncomfortable* sitting in front of people answering those questions. Maybe she would be more comfortable if she can separate herself from it, feel less on display, choose an avatar. You lose the expressions, I think. The non-verbal communication. That doesn't come through in transcriptions anyway. But maybe you gain something else.

*I give her a lot of credit for handling them as gracefully as she does. In Cincinnati, she was given an out for what was considered by some to be a "tough" question and she waved it off and chose to answer, thoughtfully. I'm also still fascinated by the dichotomy of her early role as a media darling, so disarming and charming (even though she was uncomfortable the whole time)... those candid moments became part of her story, her appeal. But yet they also were her undoing in some way. So weird.

Anyway, back to the Matches of the Year. :)
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#11

Post by meganfernandez »

Adding Best Fan-Cam Moment

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Re: 2021. Year in review

#12

Post by ponchi101 »

Chug-a-lug girl by a mile.
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Re: 2021. Year in review

#13

Post by the Moz »

Ms Hilton unfortunately deserves a mild shout out on this too :thumbsup:
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:shock: :shock: :shock:
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